Most of these things are solved with simple algorithms though. That we are able to solve a lot of these problems is pretty much inevitable as the technology stack grows and we are able to stick stuff together via APIs. These systems may seem smart or intelligent but really they are just a large complex network of systems. There is nothing intelligent about them.

AI of this kind is not just the result of a simple step or several. AI will probably be a revolutionary break through that requires an understanding of intelligence and being, we have not made any significant progress in.

A lot of the modern changes are a difference in size or extent, but not in kind. I mean to say: A small hard drive replacing a massive hard drive is very, very useful. But it's not, by itself, any smarter than the magnetic core storage that filled a room. You could ask your Nokia dumbphone for the weather using a text message 15 years ago. People were wiring their home lighting systems into the internet by the early 2000s. Of course, it was more ad-hoc and expensive then. Now you can go down to Best Buy and buy a home automation kit for a few hundred dollars.

The miniaturization and extension of digital technology into every part of our lives and waking moments is extraordinary. But it's not, by itself, much of a guarantee that we'll see strong AI. It's probably necessary but not sufficient.