What is Artificial Intelligence? A simple perspective from a non-tech person.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) offers all domains of business from healthcare to FCMG an impressive breadth of new opportunities. The first time I heard of AI was in the winter of 2013. I was in the Sackville Street Building in the North Manchester campus, where all the clever engineers hang out. Some business lectures were held there. As I was walking through the long, chilly corridor with highly technical posters attached on the wall, I overheard two engineers discuss the future of AI and how it could change society. 

Needless to say, I didn’t understand a single word. At least I still had my imagination with me. In the best possible scenario, I thought of robots tidying up my room and taking care of my laundry. The other side of the coin would be me changing their oil and cleaning their surfaces. I was only 19 then. Young and naive. As somebody from a non-tech background, it was fairly common to associate AI with robots.

A quick Google search from 2010 to 2015 could have easily distorted our opinions about AI.

Well, it is easy for me to say now, as I am writing this in 2020. The key question, however, is:

What will the world look like next year, in 2025, in 2030 as a result of AI?

I don’t think we are going to live in a dystopian society. Instead, I am arguing that a human-machine collaboration will enable SMEs and MNCs to achieve their business goals with more efficiency and less waste.

Throughout human history, there have been key events that have reshaped the world. The First Industrial Revolution transformed our approach from an agrarian economy to one dominated by manufacturing. The Second Industrial Revolution quickly followed with its mass production. Most recently, we’ve witnessed the Third Industrial Revolution with the introduction of computers.

So, where are we right now? We’re on the edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“It’s time for the technology leaders across the board in every industry to discuss how AI can be used to improve quality, speed, functionality, and even drive top-line revenue growth.” - Paul Sallomi

The implementation of AI in goods or services to provide the end-user benefits is just the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Netflix’s recommendation engine and the use of computer vision to improve car safety are just a few examples of many.

All leaders in all industries have to start thinking about how they should be investing in AI technologies to improve their current processes so that their businesses will improve, and their customers can enjoy a better product or service.

A Deloitte study concluded that AI applications fall into three broad groups:

1. Product applications embed AI in a product or service to provide customer benefits.
2. Process applications include AI into an organisation’s workflow to automate processes or improve them by increasing employees productivity.
3. Insight applications harness advanced analytical capabilities such as Machine Learning (ML) to uncover insights that can inform operational and strategic decisions across an organisation.

“We are at the beginning of a revolution that is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and relate to one another.” - Professor Klaus Schwab

As consumers, we use AI in our daily routines without even realising it at times. When you ask Siri to search for an Italian restaurant, go on Spotify and it knows your music preferences because it is using AI, Big Data and ML algorithms to generate a playlist. It learns your taste in music through your history and how many times you listened to a song to personalise your experience when you are using the app.

We are interacting with AI. However, we’ve only just scratched the surface of its magnitude. AI is going to be an even greater part of our daily lives with the Internet of Things (IoT).

IoT facilitates objects to be connected with computers that can communicate data back to the companies that created them. For example, imagine a smart refrigerator that can alert you when some food is about to expire and can order new groceries for you once you run out.

While I understand the argument of not liking the idea of being tracked by a company, but on average we waste 6.6 million tonnes of food per year in the UK (based on 2018 data), of which we could have eaten 4.5 million tonnes. Some ‘food’ for thought.

Fun facts:

The 4.5 million tonnes of food we waste would fill:

• 8 Wembley Stadiums (London, UK)
• 90 Royal Albert Halls
• 38 million wheelie bins (based on a standard 240l)
• 3,600 Olympic sized swimming pools
• 490,000 bin lorries/dustcarts

Concluding thoughts:

It would be fair to say that AI is growing at an unprecedented pace and its potential is enormous. So, some key questions are:

• In what ways is AI disrupting your industry?
• How can your business use AI to stay relevant and gain a competitive edge?
• Do you like IoT in this case? Will you waste less food because you are more aware when food is about to expire?
• How can we remain relevant in the workforce?

I'm figuring out the answers to these questions myself, so feel free to drop me a message if you would like to discuss.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is fundamentally different from the previous ones as it will challenge our ideas about what it means to be human. - Professor Klaus Schwab

Sources:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) goes mainstream
• Artificial Intelligence Goes Mainstream
• Cognitive technologies: The real opportunities for business
• Food surplus and waste in the UK – key facts
• How AI helps Spotify win in the music streaming world
• How Spotify know a lot about you using machine learning and AI.
• Industrial Revolution
• IoT in action
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution, by Klaus Schwab

I’d provide more sources and in-depth analyses, but I don’t have access to academic databases. So, I'll do my best with what I have.

Please feel free to criticise and provide me with feedback. I love learning new things and hearing new perspectives. Thank you so much for reading.