Why AI is Trending Now
Artificial intelligence (AI) is technology that is now trending and being implemented by innovative companies. However, the concept of AI has been around for centuries. The polymathic Ramon Llull, a Majorcan philosopher, mathematician, logician, writer, theologian and poet, pioneered the concept of producing logical deductions by mechanism rather than human thought in Ars generalis ultima ( Ars Magna), published in 1305.
The term “artificial intelligence” originated in 1955 in the publication of “ A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence “ by J. McCarthy (Dartmouth College), M. L. Minsky (Harvard University), N. Rochester (I.B.M. Corporation) and C.E. Shannon (Bell Telephone Laboratories). In 1956 the first AI research project was launched at Dartmouth and is generally considered the birth of artificial intelligence.
So why is AI on the rise now, over sixty years later? The convergence of several technology trends have enabled AI researchers to achieve breakthroughs and become commercially available. These trends include the increase in computing processing power, the rise of big data and the adoption of cloud-based computing.
Venture capital companies are investing heavily in AI start-ups. According to CB Insights, since 2011, almost 140 AI start-ups have been acquired. $5 billion was invested in 550 AI start-ups in 2016, setting a global record with 61.7 percent of the AI global deal share in the United States. Fortune 500 behemoths like Apple, Google, GE, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and Amazon are fueling the AI acquisition boom in order to gain a foothold in the wide-open AI market opportunity.
Where is AI being deployed today? To provide a perspective of the growing ubiquity of artificial intelligence, below is partial list of the innovative companies using AI technology to service customers.
- Personal assistants — Apple Siri, Google Now, Microsoft Cortana, Amazon Alexa
- Email filtering — Google
- Search — Pinterest, Google
- Personalization — Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, Expedia, Under Armour, Netflix, Comcast, Twitter
- Fraud Prevention- Paypal, eBay, MasterCard
- Engineering — Jaguar Land Rover
- Marketing models — Cisco
- Digital distribution — NBC Universal
- Voice recognition — Amazon
- Facial recognition — Facebook, Nest, Microsoft, Apple
- Content classification — Yelp
- Natural language — Amazon
- Video production — USA Today
- News Generation — Fox News, Associated Press, Yahoo!
- Player and Game-Play Analytics — NFL
- Predictive Customer Service — USAA
- Financial reporting — T. Rowe Price, USAA, Credit Suisse
- Marketing campaign optimization — BMW, General Mills, Ace Hardware
- Energy cost management — McDonald’s
- Pricing and Inventory — eBay
- Enterprise Applications — Salesforce, General Electric, Microsoft, IBM, SAP, Oracle
Currently AI is being used across multiple industries for mostly point solutions to address specific problems. Within the decade, expect AI to spread across more domains within a company, such as manufacturing, human resources, finance, legal, administration, order management, business intelligence and procurement in addition to marketing, sales, security, customer relationship management, business analytics and service. Artificial intelligence is an old concept that is fast becoming the new norm.
Copyright © 2017 Cami Rosso All rights reserved.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on February 22, 2017.
