Artificial Intelligence and Big Business

Last week, we looked at some examples of the ways in which the government is investing in artificial intelligence as a means of streamlining processes and improving public services (among other things). This week we’re going to turn our eye towards the private sector – how are companies utilizing AI to better their businesses and human lives?  The giants of the tech sector are investing in AI more than ever before across a spectrum of industries – some of them potentially surprising.

Take health care, for instance. In last week’s blog we illustrated the way The Department of Veteran Affairs is employing AI to analyze a database of veterans’ medical records in order to anticipate potential medical issues before they become problematic.  Private companies are investing in the union of AI and healthcare as well – Microsoft recently announced a strategic partnership with Nuance Communications, Inc. to provide “ambient clinical intelligence” (ACI) to hospitals and doctors’ offices in an effort to curtail the amount of administrative work health care professionals are burdened with.  ACI represents all the handwriting and typing that typically occurs during a doctor’s visit – sensors and microphones in the examination area pick up and record your conversations with your doctor, at which point AI-based software transcribes those conversations and synthesizes the information into digestible information for your digital medical files. Doctors will be able to access and review your medical records using voice commands (a la digital assistants like Alexa), no keyboard required. The two companies believe implementing AI in the healthcare system in this way will take the focus of medical appointments off of paperwork and bureaucracy and back onto patients.

Not to suggest that the private sector is investing in AI solely for the benefit of humanity – they’re keeping an eye on their bottom line too.  Back in April, Google announced a range of AI-based products and services for large and small businesses at Google Next ’19, the company’s annual showcase.  As in the case of Microsoft and healthcare, Google’s primary aim is to streamline some of the more mundane aspects of the corporate world so employees can focus on their ultimate goals. By organizing, analyzing and even creating documentation through AI software, companies can automate processes that have typically required untold man hours to perform.  If you run a retail-oriented business, Google can use AI to help make recommendations to potential customers based on sales data collected over the lifetime of your business and a specific customer’s previous purchases.  AI can even process images taken by a customer – like a set of curtains, for instance – and match them to similar products your business offers through a visual search function.  (All of Google’s AI-based product and services announcements are available here.)

Even Apple, a brand typically associated with hardware like the iPhone and the Apple Watch is increasing its investment into AI and machine learning. Back in February, Apple cut or reassigned hundreds of workers in its automated vehicle division so it could invest more resources into AI.  While Apple did get to the digital-assistant market first with Siri, industry experts agree Google and Amazon have overtaken them on that front with Google Assistant and Alexa, respectively. Apple’s inherent disadvantage in the AI game is in the sheer amount of data it collects – while Apple knows everything about your purchase history with the company (and likely your musical tastes), it can’t hope to accumulate the massive amount of data a search engine-based company like Google does. Still, Apple isn’t letting the uphill climb dissuade them from making the journey – the company knows that AI is going to be at the center of technological innovation for years to come.

Be it in the public or private sectors, AI is fueling the future of innovation.When 2001: A Space Odyssey made its big screen debut in 1968, the idea of a computer running a spacecraft and having conversational dialogue with human beings was truly science fiction – now it’s almost a reality. Where AI goes from here will is up in the air (you might even say in space), but it will come down to earth sooner or later. We’ll come back to the investments the tech sector is making in AI in future blogs.