The rise of artificial intelligence in business

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business is very topical. Its use is spreading and is even changing companies' operating models and customer relationships.

Just look at any media and, without going into technical details, you will find references to a new application, development or functionality associated with AI in areas such as nutrition, sports or the arts.

Let's see, in a very generic way, what we are referring to.

The term artificial intelligence

The term artificial intelligence was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, and Claude Shannon in the famous Dartmouth Conference.

Artificial intelligence is, therefore, an ancient concept that has evolved over time and is related to the idea of constructing machines capable of thinking like human beings.

But why, if the concept has been around since 1956, has it not been as popular as it is today?

We'll see you in a moment. 

What is the use of artificial intelligence

Technologies and artificial intelligence software are used today in companies for the transformation of current business processes, to boost customer interaction, improve decision making and increase employee productivity through machine learning,

According to recent studies (IDC Oct 2020), 65 % of all organizations will have accelerated the use of digital technologies by 2022 and the preponderant role will have been played by the development of AI.

Potential applications of AI

We can get an idea of what AI is aiming for from the classic differentiation of Russell and Norviq. 

1. Systems that think like humans. These systems try to mimic human thinking. For example, neural networks.

2. Systems that act like humans. These systems try to act like humans; that is, they mimic human behavior. For example, robotics. 

3. Systems that think rationally. They try to imitate the rational thinking of human beings with the use of logic. For example, expert systems. 

4. Systems that act rationally. They try to rationally emulate human behavior. For example, intelligent agents.  

We are dealing with systems that seek the ability to think and act. To do so, they rely on additional technologies that deploy their full value thanks to artificial intelligence:

• The massive use of data (BI).
• Storage and processing capacity (Cloud).
• The interactivity of the elements of complex systems, through common protocols (APIs).

AI extracts the maximum value from these technologies through algorithms capable of learning, as well as providing its own knowledge based on the algorithms that integrate it.

Many experts see here the reasons for the rise of artificial intelligence, even though it was conceptually devised in 1956. The applications based on AI are enormous and are increasing day by day. Here are just a few examples of the solutions based on artificial intelligence

Examples of AI in sectors

BANKING AND FINANCE 

Intelligent technologies can help the banks to detect risk and fraud, predict market patterns and advise clients on trades. 

COMMERCIAL

It makes it possible to make sales forecasts and choose the right product to recommend to the customer. The implications in increasing sales are very interesting.

OPERATIONS 

Interactive Systems (chatbots) will be able to suggest products, restaurants, hotels, services, shows, according to our search history.

HEALTH

Data collection generates patterns that help to identify factors that can be used to recommend a particular treatment, predict a disease or determine the level of utilization of an emergency department. 

LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION 

Determine better ways to direct traffic and enable autonomous driving of vehicles, sharing information in real time. 

PUBLIC SAFETY AND DEFENSE

Individuals with undesirable behaviors can be identified much more easily and early, based on the use of existing data. 

The limits of the artificial intelligence

As we have mentioned, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence that we see today, it is already changing the world. This will give rise to specific regulation, as is already happening at the level of the EU and for which we provide more information here. 

But what is the limit of AI. It is impossible to predict here. Regulatory aspects and the very ethical regulation of companies and corporations will undoubtedly pose new constraints.

The user or customer himself will own his ability to "be predicted", so these changes will give rise to debates in universities, companies and regulators.

Technically, the most striking aspect of the current situation is the level of integration between new and existing technologies. Future interaction will also depend on advances in different technologies and on the most urgent needs of each company and sector.