AI Solutions Need Initial Big Investments and Innovation to be Successful

Adoption of modern technology like Artificial Intelligence by businesses is low. However, it is anybody’s guess that such state-of-the-art technology would only make businesses more user-friendly, simpler and automated.

Operational efficiency would improve and business processes would be streamlined. In fact, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is optimizing system-operating models and transforming business processes for enterprises and organizations across the globe. However, according to a recent survey, the number of business units and MSMEs utilizing such modern tech tools, particularly in India, is quite low.

Globally, there is rapid expansion in Artificial Intelligence tools. For example, IBM has unveiled a supercomputer Watson that can crunch data at the speed of 67 million pages per second, transforming them into actionable insights. The data tsunami is coming from millions of interconnected devices as part of the Industrial Internet of Things. The innovation is aimed at establishing a question and answer dialogue between it and humans—Watson will analyze huge amount of data and respond verbally and in real time.

According to Research firm Markets and Markets’ report “Artificial Intelligence Market by Technology” predicts the AI market would cross USD 16.06 billion by 2022, growing at a healthy CAGR of 62.9% from 2016 to 2022.

Challenges facing adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In a blog, Chris Olah, who is a computer scientist with Google Research and a contributor to a research paper on AI, titled “Concrete Problems in AI Safety” says:

'The authors believe that AI technologies are likely to be overwhelmingly beneficial for humanity, but we also believe that it is worth giving serious thought to the potential challenges and risks,” adding: 'We strongly support work on privacy, security, fairness, economics, and policy.

Artificial Intelligence faces quite a few roadblocks in India. This is true. One of the reasons for the complexity arising out of AI solutions is that they take several factors into consideration including engineering and production specifics such as material requirements, capacity planning, infrastructure requirements and costs, along with product design.

AI solutions need innovation and creative approach to be successful
Companies aren’t able to execute AI tools in business processes because this technology needs detailed research, innovation, and creative and critical thinking. Additionally, it requires big upfront investments before AI products become commercially viable.

Earlier, sophisticated AI functionalities were exclusive and expensive due to under-developed tools. Construction and implementation of AI models and algorithms required skilled workforce, generally not available with small software companies. Moreover, CPU-intensive computing and huge amounts of data storage were required for pattern recognition for complex algorithms in Artificial Intelligence.

“Additionally and surprisingly, the chunk of the cutting-edge AI technology won’t be related to robots, but contemporary technologies that will power business processes and operations and resolve industry disputes,” said Shashank Dixit, CEO, Deskera, a global provider of cloud technology.

Though a number of Indian tech startups as well as established players have started providing AI tools and solutions, they are not of high quality.

The technology is taking baby steps backed by investors’ willingness to see it through. With the world galloping ahead, enterprises need to reap the benefits of AI tools and systems. Governments all over the world should be proactive to overcome initial hiccups and help AI adoption.