The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various business applications is fast gaining a foothold, but the exact usage potential is unclear. That is why a study was recently undertaken by the McKinsey Global Institute to understand this. Five broad areas have been identified where the greatest impact would take place. These five are- natural language, virtual assistants, advanced machine learning, computer vision and robotic proves automation. The study quantifies that about 1.2% of global GDP in 2030 could originate from AI, with a total contribution of US$ 13 trillion more than the present figures. This is an impact comparable to that of steam in 1800s or IT in the 2000s. Corporate profits, the labour market dynamics and AI’s spread across the economy are all factors that’ll pose an impact on the GDP. One of the key impacts of this AI adoption is the possibility of high-quality data warehousing, allowing for more impactful analysis. Another is a much faster pace of technology adoption than was earlier the norm. This is leading to a race between the various firms that can be divided into the categories of front-runners, followers and laggards. The names of course are self-explanatory. Such divide can lead to a sort of a creative destruction, so a reallocation of resources is necessary.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/10/how-competition-is-driving-ais-rapid-adoption?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_medium=social

Uploaded Date:27 October 2018

In the open spaces, direction-finding is no longer such a big challenge thanks to mobile apps such as Waze and Google Maps. This has nearly rendered standalone GPS devices or paper maps as redundant. However, such systems do not yet operate on any large scale within closed premises. It has been tried using sensors and beacons, but such technologies quickly get obsolete, and fail to scale up. One property that is trying to change this perception is Walt Disney’s World Swan and Dolphin (S&D). They have partnered with Turnout Now and Mist Systems to this end. They are together working on a wayfinding mission using Wi-Fi, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technologies. This resort in Florida was originally built in Florida to leverage the theme parks of Disney in the vicinity. The two partners to this venture- Mist Systems and Turnout Now- are supposed to glean through enormous amounts of data available of customer use trends, perform a business analytics function on this data and develop easy to use solutions. The idea is that transfer within a hotel must be seamless straight from the airport lounge. Staff requirements can also be lessened through this initiative. Turnout Now says that its predictive analytics is so strong, that its Prescriptive Recommendation Engine (PRE) is a better tool to IBM’s Watson.

Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2018/09/21/can-artificial-intelligence-and-networking-transform-the-hospitality-industry/#493bbdd63218

Uploaded Date:27 September 2018

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are making a massive impact to the competition for the best of talent recruitment. Research firm Gartner asserts that by the year 2020, a humungous twenty million job seekers will seek the advice of such software to improve their rankings in job-matching algorithms. The same year will also see more than half the recruiters in Europe and North America include inclusion and diversity among their recruitment goals. Due to the ongoing digital business transformation, about 80% of the present organizational skills will need to be reprioritized. The average tenure of employees at most software companies is about 19 months, but in Silicon Valley it reduces to a mere 14 months due to the intense competition among the various players. To render any recruiter unique, the company will need to unlearn the older concepts and help train their employees towards the new skills. Engaging the workforce has become more crucial than ever before.

Source:https://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/132053/how-ai-machine-learning-are-redefining-the-war-for-talent/

Uploaded Date:27 September 2018

The ongoing digital age has thrown up several buzzwords, but few can challenge the buzz behind AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet-of-Things). But these are more than merely buzzwords. Rather, they denote the rise of the access economy. Companies in the access economy, are taking advantage of their enormous data warehousing capabilities to monetize, rather than simply relying on their products to be sold. This is enabling companies to reduce their risks by opting for subscription models. It is also allowing personalized services to be offered to customers. This access economy is not restricted to heavy industry or manufacturing alone. Instead, Netflix, Spotify and Zuora re key proponents of this sea change.

Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/insights-intelai/2018/09/21/welcome-from-forbes-to-a-special-exploration-of-ai-issue-2/

Uploaded Date:27 September 2018

There is a lot of talk on AI implementation but few companies are actually executing all this discussion. A study anchored by Forbes Insights reveals that 90% of company executives have stated their intents in AI adoption, but a mere 25% have actually put AI into use. A reason for this gap between strategy and actual implementation is the naysayers present at each level who claim that AI is all hype and little substance. To put the AI strategies at work, companies need to build a talent pipeline fitted with the right people executing it. Data warehousing is another key task, as most legacy companies are left with a lot of obsolete data management systems. This includes data governance, data cleaning and the alignment between different systems. The last problem typically crops up at times of mergers or acquisitions. A lot of companies are outsourcing their AI strategy to external agencies. This is good in the short to medium term as costs get reduced, and one gets expert analysis. Yet, in the long run, companies must develop their internal capabilities by streaming their talent recruitment efforts in that direction. AI and data experts need to be hired. It can be done now, as it is never too late.

Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/insights-intelai/2018/09/21/closing-the-corporate-gap-on-ai/

Uploaded Date:27 September 2018

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has long existed, but only now is it entering into mainstream business away from nerdy jargon. Four major ways have been identified how it is being used in business. To understand these ways, AI users have been categorized into Pioneers, Experimenters and Investigators on the basis of level of usage from high to low. Pioneers are at present further increasing their AI footprint with 88% of those surveyed in a joint study by MIT and BCG, claiming using more so than last year. They also wish to see AI being used across business functions as a key differentiator within their organizations. For that the corporate strategy will need to be clear about the role of AI in it. Instead of cost-saving, they prioritize revenue generating applications. While truly, AI is creating hopes among the people, it is also creating its fair share of fear among the workers.

Source:https://sloanreview.mit.edu/projects/artificial-intelligence-in-business-gets-real/

Uploaded Date:26 September 2018

About fifteen years after Major League Baseball saw a massive disruption through Moneyball tactics, the world of talent recruitment at corporates is using a similar technique. Pymetrics is one such five-year old startup that has already used business analytics to help design tests and puzzles towards this task. It counts the likes of Unilever and Burger King among its many clients. Pymetrics is not alone in this space. Research from CB Insights suggests that the category of HR-Tech startups will receive funding of about US$ 2.9 trillion this year, which is a 138% rise from last. This is because there have been calls against the traditional arbitrary nature of scanning CVs. While the final selection is often thoughtful, a lot of candidates get rejected at the screening stage after their resumes are scanned for a bare six seconds. Inherent human biases play a crucial part in this. Now with unemployment stats at an 18-year low in the US, each job offer is no longer bringing the best of talent. Thanks to enterprise tools such as Workday and Slack, huge reams of data is now available for employers to use. Just as Billy Beane did back in the day with the Oakland Athletics baseball team. Pymetrics Founder Frida Polli has used neuroscience with machine learning to make this possible. Now even IBM is planning to use it in the Watson Career Coach to help retrain its 366,000 plus employees worldwide.

Source:https://www.fastcompany.com/90205539/moneyball-for-business-how-ai-is-changing-talent-management?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Uploaded Date:26 September 2018

The usual belief is that automation is mainly going to affect blue-collared semi-skilled or unskilled jobs and not those involving creativity. However, this precinct is being challenged by a latest turn of events at Indian e-commerce firm Myntra. Here, robots are being used to set patterns on clothing depending on customer tastes. If such intrusion by robots is possible in the design space, the jobs of merchandize planners and buyers will be most affected. Via an enormous data warehousing operation, robots can deduce what designs were snapped up previous month, so which are likely to over the next few. Algorithms have already been designed to this end. The professional in charge of business analytics at M&M though declares that none of this is to replace humans, but simply to improve supply-chain decision-making. Asset management too would hire increasing number of financial advisers even though the art of investing itself is getting automated.

Source:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/07/business/economy/algorithm-fashion-jobs.html

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018

One industry where robots are increasingly playing a key role is the food and restaurant one. In fact, a report submitted by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) puts this industry as the fourth most automatable. No wonder, it has most thrived in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, not all are happy. Marketing research conducted by Open Table has confirmed that a staggering seventy percent of respondents are not happy with the use of robots in the restaurant industry. Those aged below 34 were bit more kind but still had a disapproval rate of 54%. One sub-area within this industry though where the satisfaction levels is food delivery. The Berkeley Robot for example developed by Kiwi Campus is already in it, having partnered with Door Dash to maximize its reach.

Source:https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2018/08/13/robots-restaurant-dining-sf-eatsa-doordash-cafe-x.html

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018

McKinsey has developed a data visualization tool to understand the true impact as well as overall potential for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and business analytics. This has made use of four-hundred use cases across nine functional areas and nineteen industries. Due to the cross-functional nature of this framework developed, an analyst can also study the findings from one sector could be applied in another. Some of the industries used in this are- retail, travel, logistics, automotive, insurance, banking, healthcare, high-tech, chemicals media, telecom, agriculture, oil and aerospace. McKinsey has a rich trove of data warehousing through its own research as well as third party analysis, which it has made use of in developing this. Some of the business functions that can be assessed here are- customer acquisition, customer service, pricing, sales and predictive analytics.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/artificial-intelligence/visualizing-the-uses-and-potential-impact-of-ai-and-other-analytics?cid=other-soc-twi-mgi-mgi-oth-1807

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018

Tesla built a factory in California which was dubbed as the first ever which was to be completely devoid of humans. However, once production began, it was soon realized that the numbers fell well short of that which was desired. So, the management then took the decision to reintroduce people. In this there is a lesson, that even in the most advanced AI-driven businesses, there is no substitute for genuine people power. Just as the internet brought in newer jobs such as SEO engineer or web designer, the age of digitization too is ushering in new roles. Tesla itself has advertised for or already hired professionals dubbed as deep learning scientists, robot engineers, prediction engineers and battery-algorithm engineers. The talent recruitment systems of companies will need to be devised in such a way now to get people with these specific skill sets. Companies will also need to invest heavily on corporate training to reskill or retrain existing staff. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla has now admitted how excess automation was a mistake. Errors have now been reduced substantially since people got added to the mix.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/08/why-even-ai-powered-factories-will-have-jobs-for-humans?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_medium=social

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018