01/2018
By Ricardo Amorim
If you think artificial intelligence (A.I.) is something futuristic, still an embryo or to be found only in science fiction, it is time to think again. It is already a reality, much more present in our lives than what you probably realize. The 4th industrial revolution is already here. And it has come to redefine our way of thinking, doing, communicating and living.
A decade ago we lived the era of intelligent telephones – the smartphones – and their apps. Waze, WhatsApp, Uber, social networks, and apps related to newspapers, magazines, banks and so many others became part of our daily life. There is a new technologic revolution under way, which will put the previous one to shame.
According to a research by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, systems equipped with A.I. will mean USD 70 billion in the next four years, beginning with the banking sector itself, entailing cost reduction, efficiency gains, process automation and anti-fraud capabilities. By 2025, 75% of developer teams will include artificial intelligence in one or more services, and the cognitive computing market shall amount to more than USD 2 trillion.
According to a recent survey by IBM involving 525 marketing leaders and 389 sales leaders of global companies, 64% of executives believe their companies will use A.I. in the next three years and 91% believe cognitive computing will help their organizations. Ginni Rometty, IBM global CEO, stated that Watson, the company’s cognitive solution platform, is already used by about 1 billion people. Yes…one billion people!
Whether or not you know it, you must have been served by, or talked to, a computing system which simulates a human being – such as ChatBots, Siris or Google Assistant – but artificial intelligence is much more than that. It has come to revolutionize our lives and businesses. Bradesco, for instance, already uses the IBM Watson in its call centre and in all of its 5.650 branches in the country to help attendants and managers to answer over 200 thousand questions on the bank’s products and services.
Another reality already among us are companies, organizations and brands investing in personalized communication with their clients. It is possible, today, to answer to specific needs of people or small groups, and not just generically to the great masses. Nexo, a cognitive solution consulting firm which is an IBM partner in the country, already does that for firms such as Whirlpool, Vertiv, Smiles and even the São Paulo Court of Justice, for example. In a recent event to launch the first Volkswagen electric truck, Nexo implemented an A.I. solution to enable the public to “talk” to the assembler’s new model. Yes, quite that: “talk” to the truck!
What about you and your business? Are you ready for the revolution?
*Originally published in aaa.academy
Ricardo Amorim is the author of the best-seller After the Storm, a host of Manhattan Connection at Globonews, the most influential economist in Brazil according to Forbes Magazine, the most influential Brazilian on LinkedIn, the only Brazilian among the best world lecturers at Speakers Corner and the winner of the “Most Admired in the Economy, Business and Finance Press”.
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Translation: Simone Montgomery Troula
