CAN WE SAVE THE PLANET? My 3 Take-Aways from Davos 2020 (pt. 2 of 3)
#2 AI is becoming really real
In part 1 you could read that climate change is now established as a C-suite issue – moving the subject from an off-priority to a here-and-now risk - that demands action from the top leadership.
Yet there was another hot subject along vivid discussions.
“AI is one of the most profound things we’re working on as humanity. It’s more profound than fire or electricity” - Google CEO Sundar Pichai
Though maybe a bit exaggerated, there is no doubt about the weight of AI technology – impacting nations, governments, companies and people. $52 billion global spend on AI is predicted in the next three years and will drive 2x the GDP growth rates of major economies in the next 15 years (Accenture).
Cases of AI at scale are happening in practice today, even at large corporates (see healthcare/cancer research, far increased productivity of factories/workplaces and far smarter energy consumption for instance).
And AI is moving on.
2018: It would have been great to have 1 single proof of concept.
2020: Today we have 1,000 use cases for deploying AI.
2025: “500 million apps will be developed between 2020-2025, because tech is becoming so much easier to use. That allows developers to create many more applications” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The next wave: 5G is supposed to kick off a new wave of innovation – particularly in Industry 4.0. However we question again: Do enterprises have a clear technology agenda to build new businesses along these technology developments?
With the brilliant Will.i.am, World Economic Forum Global AI Council
On the whole you could notice more #LIKE AI than #DISLIKE AI (excitement about positive outcomes by applying AI overtrumping doubts about AI’s impact).
Some fear about the scenario that the technology could spin out of control due to rapid growth was still present - as well as the identified pain of scaling up, along executives: “I have more pilots than an airline – how to shift from pilot to capturing full value at-scale from technology?”
>> BOTTOM LINE - it was memorable that instead of everyone simply asking questions, the AI debates advanced - and turned to practical solutions and how to best manage the new technology in our real world.