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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
