Artificial intelligence has suddenly become a hot topic at Koalition’s weekly team check-ins. It’s a good mix of awe, excitement, and perhaps slight anxiety that this technology will change how we all work in the very near future. 

I don’t think that became totally clear to me until I tried an AI image generator called mid-journey. With mid-journey, you can generate completely original images just by giving a prompt. Completely photo-realistic and incredibly detailed. You can tell this software to create a picture of an obese hamster with a bucket on its head, and a few seconds later, there it is in all its glory. You even get a few alternate versions of the image, so you can pick the hamster you like the best.

The closest brush with AI I’ve had before this was properly our vacuuming robot here at the office. This Roomba is notoriously stupid and a clear indicator that no cleaning people should feel threatened. At least not with this old Roomba.

But seeing what AI-powered software is now able to do, the Artificial intelligence (AI) workforce is clearly knocking on the door. We humans are wired to avoid any dramatic change in our lives, but in this case it looks like resistance is futile.

According to Accenture, Artificial intelligence in business can significantly impact productivity. Understanding and adopting this technology will eventually become vital. And according to statistics from the World Economic Forum in 2017, over 75 million jobs are expected to be automated within the next ten years, resulting in an additional 133 million new jobs. This fortunately contradicts that adopting AI will leave more people unemployed. 

Companies such as Google, IBM, Salesforce, Facebook, and many others are implementing AI technology into everyday operations. And here are Koalition we have already started dabbling with GitHubs co-pilot that basically helps write code. It’s not quite there just yet, and we still can’t go to the beach while the AI builds our new Shopify website, but eventually being a developer will look very different that it does today.

According to SEM rush, $2.9 trillion of business value and 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity is increased with the use of artificial intelligence across businesses in 2021. The report of Lionel Sujay Vailshery on Statista says that 433 billion US dollars were the expected revenue from the global AI market in 2022 and it is projected to reach more than half a trillion US dollars by the end of 2023.

Some of the countries will increase in GDP because of the improvements in productivity and product enhancements by using AI technologies, as stated in another report by Bergur Thormundsson, that AI is going to contribute about:

• 26.1 percent of China’s GDP in 2030
• 14.5 percent of the GDP in North America
• 13.6 percent of UAE’s GDP

Pheew, lot’s of numbers! The early adopters will eventually have the competitive edge. But let’s explore this topic more.

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What is Artificial Intelligence?

Let's understand the concept of Artificial Intelligence before moving toward its maneuver in businesses. According to Britannica,

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.

John McCarthy proffers a definition in his 2004 paper that is:

It is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence, but AI does not have to confine itself to methods that are biologically observable.    

In simple words, Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that makes computers do things that would normally require human intelligence, such as understanding natural language and recognizing objects. 

Machine learning is a subset of AI that deals with making computers learn from data without being explicitly programmed. For Example - A simple machine learning algorithm might be able to tell if an email is spam or not by looking at the words used. A more sophisticated algorithm might be able to read an image and tell you what is in it. 

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses neural networks, a type of algorithm that mimics how the brain learns.  For Example, A deep learning algorithm might be able to take a captioned image and generate a description of the scene in words.

AI epitomizes in a number of forms. A few examples are:

• Chatbots use AI to comprehend customer problems swiftly and provide more proficient answers.
• Intelligent assistants avail AI to parse critical information from extensive free-text datasets to amend scheduling.
• Recommendation engines provide automated recommendations for TV shows stationed on users’ viewing habits.

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What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Business?

The steadily expanding amount of data available today creates a constantly evolving customer base that demands a constantly evolving business method. Traditional methods will not suffice.

The AI revolution has taken the world by storm. It has given businesses a whole new level of insights to drive business growth through actionable insights generated from customer data.

These insights can help businesses to improve the customer experience, grow revenue, and reduce costs.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business means using software with human-like capabilities to increase revenue, improve customer experience, increase productivity and efficiency, and drive business growth and transformation.

AI is being integrated into businesses at a record pace. Artificial intelligence is already making sense of data on a scale never seen before. It’s even starting to make sense of speech so we can communicate via voice as well as text. Having that capability can return huge business benefits.

If you're wondering how Netflix was able to grow its customer base by more than 25% in 2017, Netflix uses a variety of techniques including personalization and other machine learning-based services.

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Why is there a need in future to use AI in business?

Artificial intelligence is used by businesses to develop a competitive edge over others in the market. With the rapid pace of technological innovation, markets are constantly changing. Businesses that can adapt to new market dynamics will be more successful than those that don't.

In the future, businesses will increasingly rely on AI to survive. As the world becomes increasingly fast-paced, it will be harder and harder for businesses to keep up with customer demands without the help of AI.

Let's explore on needs of the business markets:

Efficiency and Productivity:

 With the help of artificial intelligence, businesses can automate time-consuming tasks and improve their overall efficiency.  For Example, a business could use AI to automate the task of customer data entry. This would free up employees to do other tasks that require human interaction. With ZApier workflow software, a business could automatically send customer data from one application to another. This can lead to increased efficiency and profitability.

New capabilities and business model expansion:  

Artificial intelligence can help businesses expand their capabilities and business models. A business could use AI to develop new products or services or to enter new markets. Businesses can do it by analyzing customer data to understand their needs and desires better. For Example, if a business sells clothes and uses AI to study customer data, it could understand the customer’s need for a new clothing style. The business could then develop a new clothing line to meet this need.  

Improved customer service: 

With the help of AI, businesses can provide more personalized and efficient customer service. For Example, a business could use AI to provide recommendations to customers based on their purchasing history. Another Example would be a business using AI to provide real-time customer support using Chatbots, e.g., they can ask customers about their preferences and make suggestions accordingly or solve their queries. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Improved monitoring:

 AI can help businesses monitor their operations more effectively and identify areas of improvement. Productivity apps such as rescuetime can give you detailed insights into how you and your team are spending your time. This can help you optimize your workflow and improve your team’s productivity. 

Better quality and low risk of human error: 

Artificial intelligence can help businesses improve the quality of their products and services while reducing the risk of human error. Businesses can use AI to test products before they are released to the market. This can help ensure that only high-quality products are released, which can improve customer satisfaction. An app like Grammarly can help you proofread your documents and avoid embarrassing mistakes.

Better talent management: 

With the help of AI, businesses can identify and attract the best talent. By analyzing applicants' data, businesses can identify the skills and experience most important for success in a particular role. This can lead to improved team performance and a more successful business. For Example, a business could use AI to identify the top 10% of applicants for a sales position. The business could then focus its recruiting efforts on these applicants. Linkedin Recruiter is an AI-powered tool that can help businesses find and attract the best talent.

Segmenting audiences:  

Businesses can use AI to segment their audiences more effectively. By analyzing customer data, businesses can understand the needs, wants, and desires of different customer segments. This can help businesses tailor their products and services to better meet the needs of their customers. For Example, a business could use AI to segment its customers into different groups based on their purchasing habits. The business could then create marketing campaigns specifically tailored to each customer segment. This can lead to improved marketing and sales results.

Businesses will need to use AI to survive in the future. AI can help businesses improve their efficiency, expand their capabilities, and provide better customer service. AI can also help businesses segment their audiences more effectively and attract the best talent.

Integration of AI into Businesses

‍According to Forbes, 83% of businesses consider AI a strategic primacy for their business today. Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in various industries, with great promise for improving manufacturing and retail operations. Virtual assistants, chatbots, and customer support agents incorporating AI and machine learning are appearing in more and more products, and this trend is likely to continue as new applications for these technologies are developed. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to choose an AI program that best fits their needs and capabilities, and to develop a prioritized project portfolio accordingly.

AI companies should use a combination of multiple assessments in these three areas:

• Identifying the possibilities
• Assessing the use cases
• Choosing the appropriate technology

You can integrate your business with AI depending upon needs of your business, AI can be integrated in the form of the following:

• Voice and face recognition - For example, Automatic number-plate recognition, Speech synthesis, voice search and voice assistants
• Targeted advertising and remarketing - For Example,  Google AdS
• Smart assistants - For example, Siri and Google Now
• Autonomous vehicles - For example, Tesla and Toyota
• Fraud detection - For example, Credit cards Fraud detection
• Computer vision and image search - For example, Amazon Go and Google Photos
• Natural language processing - For example, Google Translate
• Chatbots, online support, and virtual assistance agents - For example Apple Siri and  Microsoft Cortana 
• Predictive analytics and customer service - For Example Salesforce
• Web search suggestions - For Example, Google Search 
• Email spam filters and categorization - For Example Google Gmail and Microsoft Outlook 
• Automatic scheduling - For Example Calendly 

Artificial intelligence is seen as a critical component of society’s digital revolution, and future uses are projected to bring significant changes. Moving forward you can find examples of AI integrated businesses in different industries.

Challenges of AI

The next generation of AI systems is expected to majorly impact our lives, often making decisions on our behalf in highly personalized contexts. However, this raises some challenges, as AI systems may be biased in ways that are difficult to spot.

Some of the key challenges that need to be kept in mind when developing and using AI systems include:

1. Ensuring that AI systems are free from bias and accurately represent all members of society. For example, a facial recognition system that is trained on a dataset of mostly white faces is likely to be less accurate at identifying people of other races. This can lead to discrimination against those groups of people.
2. Ensuring that AI systems are transparent and explainable so that users can understand how and why they are making decisions. For example, a credit scoring system that relies on artificial intelligence may be opaque to the user, making it difficult for them to understand why they were denied a loan.  Another Example from healthcare is that if a doctor is using an AI system to help diagnose a patient, the doctor needs to be able to understand how the AI system arrived at its diagnosis. 
3. Preventing AI systems from being used for malicious purposes, such as fraud or cyberattacks. For example, a malicious actor could use AI to create fake videos of people saying things they never actually said (known as deepfakes).
4. Regulating AI systems to ensure that they are safe and reliable. For example, autonomous vehicles need to be regulated to ensure they are safe for passengers and other road users. Another example is AI systems used in healthcare need to be regulated to ensure they are providing accurate diagnoses and treatment recommendations.

Impact of AI on Work Force

Artificial intelligence is changing the world. It's not just creating new jobs—it's replacing many of today's job responsibilities. Consequently, many researchers and policy makers are concerned about the future of work in both developed and developing economies.

Wassily Leontief, winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Economics, noted in 1952,

“Labor will become less and less important. . . More workers will be replaced by machines. I do not see that new industries can employ everybody who wants a job.”

Optimists suggest that technology may substitute for some types of labor but that efficiency gains from technological augmentation outweigh transition costs, and, in many cases, technology increases employment for workers who are in not direct competition with it, although recent follow-up work suggests these are temporary gains.

Furthermore, the skill requirements of each job title are not static and actually evolve over time to reflect evolving labor needs. For example, workers may require more social skills because those skills remain difficult to automate.

Even if technology depresses employment for some types of labor, it can create new needs and new opportunities through “creative destruction”. For instance, the replacement of equestrian travel with automobiles spurred demand for new roadside amenities, such as motels, gas stations, and fast food.

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Key Takeaways

Artificial intelligence has always been an enigma. It has been used in our society for more than three decades. Intelligent assistants are becoming more capable and the services they offer are expanding. Intelligent assistants can handle many routine chores, such as answering emails and data entry. Smart homes will also reduce energy usage and provide better security. Marketing will be more targeted and we’ll get better health care.

AI can be used for both good and heinous purposes, so there is a need to be vigilant. We are just beginning to understand how AI can be applied to meaningful problems. As our use of AI matures, we will find it to be an exact usefulness in our lives.

AI intelligence is an immense opportunity of our lifetime to boost and broaden human creativity and dexterity. The main apprehensions that the fear-mongers raise are around AI leading to jobs going belly up in the society and AI going rogue and taking control of the human race. I believe that both these matters lifted by critics are moot or solvable.

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