AI is not a new technology—it’s been gaining momentum for decades. But now, AI technologies are transforming business processes, with even the Australian Government set to invest $53.8 million to establish a National AI Centre within the CSIRO.
To put this into perspective, AI and Robotics are found in many areas of our regular daily lives—from self-driving cars to smart assistants like Siri and Alexa. At work, they help us with complex tasks such as diagnosing diseases, detecting credit card fraud or completing repetitive, menial tasks.
Some people feel threatened by AI and robotics because they think they might take away their jobs. In reality, the technologies offer great opportunities for organizations and individuals alike to move away from those menial tasks to customer-centric ones, allowing for healthier businesses and improved employee well-being.
Everywhere you look, media headlines proclaim the latest, greatest breakthroughs. But how much of this is hype? Let's take a closer look at what AI and robotics are actually doing right now—and where they can really make an impact in your business.
AI is already making a difference in many industries: customer service agents use chatbots to answer customer questions, financial services use AI-driven algorithms to assess creditworthiness for loans, grassroots groups are using it to transform slow manual tasks, and autonomous vehicles are becoming commercially viable (though still undergoing safety development).
New technologies will change our lives forever.
AI and robotics are transforming modern business processes, and changing the way we communicate with one another, work and live. They are also creating new opportunities for us to think differently about how we interact with technology.
AI is not about robots working on their own, but rather, a technology that helps machines learn from experience and improve over time through machine learning or deep learning techniques—human-like cognitive capabilities such as perception, speech recognition and decision making based on experiences acquired from data input into the system by humans or other computers.
When it comes to AI and robotics, it's worth remembering that we've been here before and need more insight on potential uses, business models and impacts. AI has been around for decades (the term was coined in 1956), and its applications have been used in many industries including agriculture, construction, energy production, financial services, healthcare and transport.
AI is more than a fad, so it’s time to embrace it as a reality of life. The next step for companies is to consider how AI can be applied to their operations or products in order to gain scale and competitive advantage.
Despite the long history, it’s only recently that we’ve really started to see AI’s influence on the world around us. Technology is changing how we live and interact with others, from online shopping to social media. But what does this mean for humans? Will robots replace human jobs? While we still don’t know exactly what the future holds, we do know that working with AI and robotics is the way of the future. Allowing yourself and your business to adapt with technology and be open to change will position you for success.
If you would like to find out more about AI and robotics, you can download our "AI & RPA in Fund Servicing: The Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Fund Operations" whitepaper.
