AI, machine learning, computational intelligence – whatever the synonym, artificial intelligence has been dominating the headlines, with every click you won’t be far from the latest trends, predictions and buzzwords about AI, making it one of the most exciting technology trends in the last 10 years. The  AI market is currently valued at over $196 billion, and with 83% of companies claiming that AI is a top priority in their business plans are we really in an AI state of mind? 

Let’s go back to where it began… 

The term ‘artificial intelligence’ was coined and came into popular use in 1950 when Alan Turing published his work “Computer Machinery and Intelligence” which eventually became The Turing Test, which experts used to measure computer intelligence. Over the years AI and its uses have flourished to a point where computers could store more information and became faster, cheaper and more accessible. 

Over the last couple of years, AI has repeatedly been the special guest at every dinner event, joined by common questions including “Do you think AI is a fad or the future”, “How will it affect my business”, “What do you think is next for AI?”. 

We have already seen how AI is beginning to manipulate the human element of the workplace, from self-serve devices which have changed the face of ‘traditional banking’ forever, chatbot options to increase the efficiency of e-commerce customer service and an increasing lack of ‘physical presence’ by redefining ‘traditional roles’. Over the last 12 months, AI has gone one step further with a big focus on generative AI and its influence on content creation. By businesses leveraging this technology, are we on the way to streamlining processes and automating tasks, and how easily can it be implemented? It may feel like we are approaching an 80:20 ratio with machine to human, as one thing we know is that AI relies on some human capabilities. 

Where we are up to now? 

Generative AI began last year with users rushing to enjoy and experiment, using it to design with a simple command and the ability to create what we wanted. The phenomenon of ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 by OpenAI which went viral as quickly as the answers it creates – and look how quickly that has evolved! ChatGPT has quickly become a household name with now an average of over 180 million monthly users. Its latest update, GPT-4 is OpenAI’s most advanced system, producing safer and more useful responses and unlike earlier models, GPT-4 has the ability to interpret images. 

What does all this mean for businesses? 

In practice, AI evolution is great news for businesses and the ones who will be impacted the most will be the employees and users. Our biggest observation is we all want to utilise AI, but do we truly understand what it means to ‘use AI’? We are only just scratching the surface, but I believe from speaking with colleagues at Godel the true potential that AI has – and more than just ticking a technology box. 

The overall aim is to automate processes and create a better, streamlined service, but how a business benefits will vary from industry to industry. There is a potential for it to eventually reach every industry corner, but I don’t think we’re there yet. There are still a lot of legal hoops businesses need to jump through with how they utilise AI, not to mention the tech team to have the knowledge and expertise to grow an AI presence internally. 

Businesses rely on partners like Godel to fill the blanks, who have the growing AI Community to bring in the expertise. At Godel, our team are constantly evolving our knowledge of AI, developing exciting projects such as the Godel AI Chat Bot, and we hope to be able to share this knowledge with our clients. 

What is the end goal? 

Let’s face it, a business’s goal the majority of the time is to generate a profit, and the focus will begin to shift to how we do this with AI – but surely it is about more than just reducing overhead? 

The government estimates around 7% of existing UK jobs could be displaced over the next five years, rising to around 18% after 10 years and nearly 30% after 20 years – equivalent to around 2.2 million jobs, but from my conversations with tech leaders, there are a lot more plans for AI that just replacing the human element of some roles. 

In the short term – AI can help existing roles thrive, make services more responsive and provide quicker access to information for customers. Long term – we will need to decide where we draw the line in how much we use AI, and it will be interesting to see how the challenges we are having now about AI ethics, GDPR, and ownership will become resolved the more AI becomes our next ‘colleague’. 

Our customers are talking about it, and Godel is actioning it – It’s time to address if the topic is just noise or if are we ready for the real impacts, and if so, do those not yet leveraging the initial benefits risk falling behind the competition?

If you would like to find out more about how Godel is leveraging new technology, get in touch with one of our team today.