Artificial Intelligence – Is it more of a hype?
All businesses seem to be talking about the Artificial Intelligence these days! All solution or product companies desire to say that they are using AI ? what exactly is AI ?
What exactly is Artificial Intelligence ?
In simple terms, AI lets the machine mimic the cognitive functions of the human brain, such as learning and problem solving. It is actually an old technology, however, it has become a common household name in the recent past due to advancements in the ‘big data’ and the proof businesses have seen in the AI usage, which was otherwise in ones imagination or in sci-fi!
Earlier, data was not available, it was expensive to store and its processing was slow & time-consuming. All these factors were big constraints to artificial intelligence technology. Now, with the advancements in the ‘big data’, extracting meaningful data by analysing the huge amount of complex, variously formatted data at high speed is possible.
Also, in the past few years, there have been various proofs which have made businesses believe that AI is going to change their course of business. We all were delighted when Alexa and Srini came into this world. When a google GPS guides us through the shortest route possible while driving, we appreciate the AI power!
Presence of AI in the Business world
AI is making it mark in every business sector! You name it and it is there! Media, Automotive industry, Mining, Military, Education and the list goes on!
First article which was written by an AI bot for a newspaper was in 2014 for the Los Angeles Times. Today, we know, many big media organisations have their own AI bots for writing articles. IBM’s ‘Project Debater system’ is supposedly to be very good at simulating opinions which are so essential for media organisations!
Automotive industry is perhaps the first one to leverage AI! Idea of self-driving cars is a reality these days! Big names in this sector like, BMW, Volvo, Tesla are leveraging AI capabilities for improving their products, and increasing their supply chain efficiencies.
In recent Israel & Palestinian conflict, an AI drome by the name Iron Drome, was able to intercept & destroy more than 90% of the rockets fired by the enemy!
LXP is becoming backbone of corporates and universities! LXP provides personal recommendations and learning paths to the learners! This all is possible because of AI.
There are many examples of AI changing the face of a business. We have just given a minuscule glimpse of the same!
How can AI help my business ?
Before looking at how AI is going to help my business, first of all, I should be clear on as to why I need AI! I should ask myself if there are any big challenges for my business? If I think there are none, then AI is not for me, otherwise, these big business challenges are the use case for the AI to solve. AI needs big challenges to get started with!
Next comes the how part! AI is a complex technology, hence not everyone’s cup of tea! It is created by exceptional human talent, therefore, it is not advisable to build AI from scratch. There are pre-trained models and services made available by technology giants like Google Cloud’s AI, MS Azure AI platform etc., which provide modern machine learning services to generate tailored AI models. Using these pre-trained models requires lesser effort and ML expertise!
Conclusion
AI has progressed rapidly over the last few years and the implementations that exist or might exist in the near future is slowly closing the gap between reality and sci-fi. Different forms of AI have become part and parcel of our lives, which has powered the demand for more. Artificial intelligence is here to stay and it is a going to be a big ‘Game-Changer’ in every sector of the industry sooner than one can envisage.