We have seen the capability and power of AI rapidly advance in the past few months, and with it a heightened global concern with regards to its use and potential application. Akin to the industrial and digital revolution, many are now citing the dawn of the AI revolution, leading to significant opportunities as well as opening a door to many unchartered risks. Whilst discussions are escalating across government and industry to address the need for appropriate regulation and guard rails – this article looks at those businesses who are positively using AI across industry to drive growth.
National Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly influencing how businesses of all sizes and across all industries operate.
Many are already applying AI within their organisations to improve and personalise the customer experience, optimise operational and supply chain efficiencies, reduce risk and drive growth – while also supporting a more sustainable approach. Many more are starting to think about how to apply these technologies most effectively.
We’ve spoken to two businesses at the cutting-edge of AI and machine learning about some of the opportunities, risks and inherent challenges associated with using these technologies. You can read their stories and insights on these pages, but here is a quick summary of their key takeaways to help businesses successfully adopt AI.
Invest in the right people
Many businesses are, understandably, concerned about AI’s potential to replace people. However, its strength lies in its ability to augment and empower people, helping them to interpret complex data to make more informed choices and better decisions.
Successfully adopting AI also requires the right blend of skills and teamwork, for example enabling data scientists and domain experts to work together to guide algorithm development.
Focus on your data
An AI system is only as good as the data it uses, so a rich source of high-quality data is a key success factor (although not necessarily essential from the outset). It’s also crucial to invest in the right data platform – these technology foundations are critical.
Understand the risks
Of course, it’s important to consider the potential risks alongside the benefits of AI, particularly in terms of data privacy, security, malicious use and potential bias.
Adopt an incremental approach
An incremental and iterative AI implementation approach is generally recommended. This should better enable your team to overcome implementation challenges.
Consider which external parties you need to engage with early, for example Barclays Payment Solutions could assist with AI to support payments and cashflow.
Organisations that plan carefully from the outset and engage with all stakeholders are more likely to succeed.
Never stop learning
Continually reviewing the impact of what you build will help you understand where you need to invest further to refine and improve your processes – and demonstrate return on investment.
There is little doubt that AI and machine learning are going to play a pivotal role across all industries in the future, from real estate and financial services through to healthcare and farming.
Whilst the advent of the AI revolution brings many unknowns and concerns, there are clear opportunities across industries in driving growth and competitive advantage. With appropriate application, these technologies are likely to play an increasingly important role ‘behind the scenes’ in the physical world, which will be optimised on our behalf without requiring our input. For example, they could be used to manage and operate complex systems such as train networks, energy grids and factories.
AI is also going to continue to alter the relationships between companies and consumers, take the recent launch of ChatGPT for example. These changes can help businesses to better target, engage and communicate with customers – while giving consumers better choices and more personalised experiences, as well as making things cheaper, more accessible and more user friendly.
If you’d like to learn more about how Barclays can support your AI journey, then speak to your Relationship Director or contact one of our advisers.
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