Humankind has been fascinated with the concept of helpfully intelligent machines making life easier for many years. While we may still be many years away from the likes of Josie from The Jetsons or J.A.R.V.I.S. and F.R.I.D.A.Y., Iron Man’s digital super-assistants, artificial intelligence is a very real thing, with real benefits for businesses even today.
Understanding A.I. and Its Importance
As one might imagine, there is a massive amount of data in the world for machines and people alike to leverage. In the future, this will help to someday replace the human workforce with artificially intelligent, tireless machines. Nowadays, A.I. is leveraged as a means of boosting the technology that we rely on already, improving the solutions and applications that shape our world.
Those at the forefront of technology today have evangelized in support of using artificial intelligence to benefit humanity. What’s stopping them? Simple: humanity itself.
Looking at the economics of artificial intelligence in business, it only makes sense that a business would sooner turn to an automated machine than a human worker. The machine doesn’t need to take any time off, it doesn’t need a 401k and health benefits, it doesn’t even need to be paid. Therefore, despite the ill will that the public feels against businesses that replace human employees with machines, it just makes more sense from a business standpoint to minimize long-term expenses and boost profitability by replacing a staff with a server room if possible.
Studies have estimated that it is possible that, by 2033, 47 percent of jobs could be foreseeably automated – a mere 15 years from now. In 2016, another report found that nine percent of workers were superfluous, and another estimated that more than 800 of the world’s largest businesses will be substituting A.I. for anywhere between four and seven percent of their employees.
A.I. Isn’t All Doom and Gloom
Despite these grim statistics, A.I. is also already improving lives and simply making things more convenient. When did you last Google something? That was a time that you benefited from A.I., just like the last time your email’s spam folder caught something before you could click on it. Even small businesses are now able to leverage basic applications of artificial intelligence to improve their business standing. For instance:
- Customer Service – Customer service is no easy job, which is why it is so easy for an employee with these kinds of responsibilities to burn out and leave you in a worse place with your customers. By relieving an employee of many of the rote tasks that customer service requires, A.I. and automation can improve customer experience and retention.
- Marketing – A small business needs its marketing to be cost-efficient and highly targeted in order to be successful. A marketing platform that leverages A.I. can provide the insights to optimize the business’ marketing strategy.
- Operations – Automation can also cut down on redundancies, and by integrating it with an enterprise resource planning or customer relationship management platform, your business can become even more efficient.
What have you done to adopt A.I. into your business? How do you see yourself leveraging it in the future? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back here for more technology topics and in-depth discussion.