Beyond the glitz and glamour
What has been the talk of the town since 2023 kicked in? It is no other than artificial intelligence (AI), as ChatGPT (OpenAI) and BERT (Google) have been showcasing its prowess as well as advanced capabilities. The emergence of such cutting edge generational AI tools were brought about by the concept of ergonomics, where machine and technology alike are moulded to increase quality of human life. Far from its early days where such tools were mainly tested and used under the umbrella of Silicon Valley tech giants, AI has transformed into a technology that can serve any business or individual by revolutionizing the way activities were carried out on a day-to-day basis.
But what exactly is AI?
For those that have recently jumped into the bandwagon of AI after being repeatedly served news or stumbled upon water cooler conversation pertaining to it, then it is inevitable that you will realise the vast variations of what ‘artificial intelligence’ actually means.
There will be a crowd of people that would relate AI directly with scenes from science fiction movies while others may pull their imagination from comic strips. However, in reality the general reference to AI is that it relates to a technology known as ‘machine learning’. That simply means that a technology with smartly crafted algorithms is capable of learning to become better over time when performing tasks. Just like how humans hone their craft over a specific skill over time, the process that AI goes through is similar but at a greater speed and depth.
Why is it integral to enterprises?
Consistency, efficiency and scalable growth. AI’s role is increasingly important as time goes by because it provides business and individuals alike with greater insights into matters that many may not be aware of. There is the notion that AI can never fully replace a human being when it comes to performing tasks, however in some cases it does beg to differ especially involving repetitive and detail-oriented activities. Research has often supported the notion that AI tools have successfully completed jobs quicker (average of 2.5x across industries) and with relatively minimal errors (0.2% margin of error).
Advantages of AI adoption
Due to the fast and constant evolving nature of an AI’s artificial neural networks as well as deep learning capabilities, large amounts of data are being processed at the speed of light. This means that analytics, predictive models and even decision making processes are becoming more accurate and reliable compared to human capabilities.
Imagine a situation where an analyst is being buried with a mountain of data on a daily basis, backlogs in delivering reports and insights would be in evitable. Also, factor in the reality that data value diminishes over time if left unattended promptly. Such a scenario is a common sight in most enterprises and hence AI tools with machine learning capabilities are central to turning data quickly into actionable information. In a nutshell, the advantages of AI are as follow:
• Very organized and efficient at detail-oriented tasks
• Delivers consistent results
• Fast turn-around-time (TAT) for data-heavy activities
• AI-powered virtual agents and bots are available around the clock
Where are AI tools being used today?
Healthcare – The most significant lever is on improving patient outcomes and reducing costs for both patients and healthcare centres. Businesses that deploy machine learning are able to make better, faster and accurate diagnoses than humans while also ensuring communicative alignment with key stakeholders. Take one of the most well-known AI in healthcare as an example, IBM Watson. It is capable of natural language and can respond to questions when prompted. The system mines all data sources to form a hypothesis, which is rather similar to how frequently asked questions (FAQ) are being supported by virtual agents. Other applications that support better patient experience comes in the form of chatbots that assist medical information searches, appointment schedules, billing processes and administrative chores. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, such AI tools were deployed vastly across the globe to assist healthcare workers as well as patients.
Business – Algorithms are being constantly developed for machine learning capabilities as part of integration with analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms to deliver accurate information as well as insights. If we were to look into reputable websites, it is a common ground for chatbots to be incorporated into platforms to better serve customers. Gone are the days where customer service is only available at a specific operational window as chatbots are more than capable to support a business around the clock without fatigue or lag.
Education – Several reputable institutions have been automating their grading system through AI as it frees up educators to focus on other tasks where required. It is also capable on behavioural and learning capability assessment that is consistent and unbiased, thus helping educators understand what is working or not working for a particular student when it comes to learning approaches. To a certain degree, AI has begun replacing human teachers in some capacity especially through online learning platforms as it is capable in supporting more students while having a wider as well as faster reach for queried information.
Manufacturing – An industry that has long championed the use of robots and AI in their work processes. It is a common practice where industrial robots are programmed to perform repetitive single-natured tasks while freeing human workers to fulfil other strategic roles. As time progresses, these robots are becoming smaller but more capable and thus improving workspaces, optimizing resources and helping scale productivity to a higher level.
Service – Who would have thought that AI would be part of how we secure reservations of our favourite food, restaurants as well as products procured from our online spending sprees during high-time sales? Well, the time is now as more and more service-centric establishments are utilising AI tools to help manage orders of product and services, provide support for customer enquiries and help manage the flow as well as cohesiveness of operations.
Transportation – AI technology is no stranger to helping operate vehicles autonomously, regulate traffic flow, minimize flight delays and making transocean shipping more efficient. Airlines have also begun to see the benefits of having AI bots help manage their communication internally as well as customers as part of customer service.
Sage42 at your service
Are you looking for a thought partner to help improve the efficiency of your enterprise? We are just a click or a phone call away if you would like to understand better how AI tools and its capabilities can be tailored to help your business. Let our experience and expertise do the heavy lifting for you while we grow together as partners in this challenging economic landscape.
