Artificial intelligence has gone from an abstract concept to a buzzword, thanks partially to tech giants like Amazon, Google, and IBM. As AI continues to make headlines, businesses are beginning to see the potential of significantly improving their operations and customer relationships with it. But what is artificial intelligence, and why should companies care? Here we’ll cover everything you need to know about AI and business.
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What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a concept that’s excited and terrified people for decades, but what exactly does it mean? Are we all going to be The Terminator soon? Well, not quite. One of the most common examples people think of when they hear AI is the chatbots that are becoming increasingly common on websites, including this one. These are simple programs that aim to simulate communication with humans through voice recognition software and text-to-speech technology.
AI aims to create computer systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as making rational decisions, learning, and problem-solving. This includes anything defined as “problem-solving” or data processing, including planning, scheduling, transportation, logistics, and translation.
Why Should Businesses Care?
As helpful as these chatbots are for specific functions, the truth is they’re only part of what AI can do for businesses. The real potential lies in the massive amount of data businesses have amassed and how it can be used to improve customer relations, marketing efforts, product development, and several other processes.
As a simple example of what AI can do for businesses, think about the predictive text you get on your smartphone when typing an email. When you type “The” it will suggest “The Sun”, “The Moon” and so on. This same technology has already been used to develop predictive text for surgeons, which means they can spend more time focusing on the patient with less worry about making slip-ups with their tools.
Other examples of how AI is being applied to business are email subject lines designed to increase open rates. A study confirmed that job listings with the applicant’s name included in the subject line had over 200% more views than those listed without.
Machine learning is another practical application of AI, which Swarovski uses along with Accenture Digital to optimize their product catalog and pricing display dynamically based on data about previous purchases.
Other businesses are using AI to improve the customer experience. For example, AI can understand what a particular user may want and offer personalized suggestions such as showing someone viewing an expensive watch other comparable watches they might also be interested in. A study found that Google’s search algorithm was getting smarter each time it answered a question because it could take the context of the question into account.
Businesses know that AI is one of the most exciting developments in technology today, which means they want to get in on it.
The Challenges Facing Businesses Today
Unfortunately, many businesses who are interested in incorporating AI into their products and processes encounter two main issues:
1) How do they integrate AI into their existing systems?
2) How can they be confident that the AI is doing its job correctly?
This is an interesting dilemma because businesses are exploring how to use technology that isn’t yet mature. Even IBM’s Watson, which is considered one of the most advanced examples of AI currently in existence, has had its share of embarrassing errors.
These two issues may not seem very intertwined at first. Still, they actually both come down to a more fundamental question: How confident can we be that the AI will do what we want it to?
For businesses to use AI in their processes, they need to be confident that the systems will work. In other words, there needs to be a way for businesses to test and evaluate the AI’s performance before using it in their products or otherwise making it accessible for public use.
The Opportunities and Trends in Artificial Intelligence
Several trends in the AI market are helping to ease both of these issues. The first is an increase in companies that are building platforms that allow businesses to integrate AI into their existing systems with relatively little re-coding or development work. A company called Uizard provides this kind of service for computer vision, which allows users to take image data and turn it into computer vision models with simple drag-and-drop functionality.
Another platform for developing machine learning models is Amazon Machine Learning. This service allows users to upload their data sets, use wizards to help create predictive machine learning models that can then be used without any further configuration within Amazon’s cloud computing environment.
Another recent development is the growth of online marketplaces that allow businesses to buy and sell AI models or even complete solutions. A company called Figure Eight will enable users to submit data sets used by participants in “micro-tasks” who then produce models based on those inputs. These completed models are then sold to customers through the marketplace.
Artificial Intelligence Career Opportunities
The impacts of AI are widespread, and this new technology is creating some fascinating career opportunities.
Data Engineers – Data engineers have a lot in common with software developers because they create tools that can turn raw data into information that businesses can use. However, they also need to know how to structure algorithms so that machine learning models can be used to make predictions.
Data Scientists – Data scientists use advanced mathematics and statistical methods to create new insights from data sets. They also work to identify patterns in the data that can provide business value through new products or services. Their skills are highly sought after, which means they command very high salaries (an average of $120,000 USD per year) and they can be hard to find.
Software Engineers – Software engineers who work on AI-related products need strong programming skills and knowledge of machine learning concepts like classification, clustering, and prediction to build product features like computer vision. They also have the opportunity to learn new technologies as they’re released because these tools are being built every day.
From Google’s AlphaGo beating the world champion of Go to self-driving cars, artificial intelligence is no longer just a sci-fi concept. It has become an integral part of our everyday lives. If you wonder how it will affect your job or company in the future, we have some answers. Our team at EZY Skills can help you get certified in the very latest emerging technologies of the future through eLearning.
EZY Skills offers certification tracks dedicated to DevOps, Blockchain, IoT, Cybersecurity, Containerization, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. Learn at your own pace, 24/7, anytime, anywhere, and on any device—the perfect solution for busy technology professionals.
