The world is about to cross the inflection point in the progress of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Breakthroughs in deep learning have dramatically improved computer vision, natural language processing (NLP) and robotic motion systems, and AI will become a core part of the economy and society sooner than we can imagine.
Frost & Sullivan’s flagship Growth, Innovation and Leadership event – GIL 2016: Europe – held in London on 30th June and titled “The Cognitive Era – Transforming the Future Global Economy,” concluded that IoT, AI and Blockchain are all transformative in their own right.
The Internet of Things (IoT) cannot reach its potential without artificial intelligence, and artificial intelligence can only become a reality by accessing the data generated from the Internet of Things.
Frost & Sullivan’s Senior Partner and Managing Director Sarwant Singh commented: “Since industrialisation, we have seen the driving forces shift from steam power to electricity to the communications realm which segued into the world of Internet. The Internet is currently the utility that is empowering businesses globally.”
“As we shift to the Internet of Things, data is emerging as the new oil, creating more context than ever before on how our surroundings behave. This, I believe, is setting the stage for the utility of the 21st century: cognitive intelligence which will accelerate innovation for years to come.”
Frost & Sullivan’s event presented experts’ views on how cognitive intelligence could manifest itself in future products, solutions and markets; in fact, most distinguished speakers suggested that it would be a key differentiator.
Cognitive computing will make our work environment more flexible and productive. Machines should be intuitive enough to improve productivity at work by reducing time spent on mechanical tasks and shifting the focus to core jobs.
This will improve total time and energy spent on business and, consequently, the success of customers. “Collaboration is making teams more efficient and impactful; intuitive apps are driving this change,” said Nina Bjornstad, Country Manager of Google for Work (UK & Ireland).
See: Managers Prepared to Embrace Cognitive Computing in the Workplace: Accenture Research
In the financial world, cognitive computing is driving a major transformation. We are already seeing this with payments; payment could be so intuitive in the future that it becomes invisible, said Huy Nguyen Trieu, Author, Disruptive Finance.
The Digital Transformation which started in the mid-1980s has enabled many improvements in the manufacturing and product development processes. In manufacturing factories, great improvements in Safety, Quality and Productivity have been achieved.
This transformation has enabled products to be developed and launched faster, and factories to be changed over in record times of 24 days as opposed to three months previously (reference to Ford’s new factory for their flagship motor, the aluminium-bodied F-150),said John Fleming, Former Executive Vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labour Affairs, Ford Motor Company.
“Technology platforms are proliferating, bringing creative developers together with enabling software and infrastructure from a multitude of suppliers. Inspirational design must focus on the Internet of People as well as Things. Cognitive capabilities are the key – the ability of computers to interact in natural language, to understand the infinite complexity of the visual world, and to automate tasks in a fraction of the time that humans need. Only then the ‘next industrial revolution’ will truly achieve its revolutionary potential,” concluded Senior Partner Sarwant Singh.
Also read: Will the Coming Age of Robotics Spell the End of Many Job Roles?
Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
