Artificial intelligence, or AI, as it’s fondly referred to, is a progressive development that has taken the technology world by storm. Simply put, AI is intelligence shown by machines or computers using machine learning to understand and generate results. From Google search finishing our sentences to Netflix making near-perfect movie recommendations, AI applications have transformed the way we think, function and live. Needless to say, it has impacted the way businesses function too.
AI’s application in business is limitless. Businesses are embracing the power of AI for various uses, from making better hiring decisions to streamlining their operations and helping in automating mundane tasks. From automated garage management software to keep track of car servicing bookings to personalised companions to relieve loneliness, a whole new digital era has ushered in with the advent of AI. However, along with the immense praise for its amazing capabilities, it has received equal amounts of scepticism and bad press.
AI is touted as the ultimate ‘job killer’ with its capabilities to eliminate mundane and redundant jobs. Its ‘rising intelligence’ also leaves people with a growing sense of insecurity and uncertainty. Moreover, like any new technology, it has the scope to be misused. From violating privacy to a deep fake menace, the use of AI comes with a warning label.
But is AI really as dangerous as it seems? Or is it misunderstood?
While it may not lead to an armageddon-esque reality where the bots take over the humans on earth, holding them as prisoners, AI is clearly still in the experimental stage. You don’t know which way it may turn. Yet businesses are not afraid to tap into the power of AI for their growth and success.
In this article, we discuss how various businesses are embracing AI and whether it’s poised to be their new BFF or arch-nemesis.
1. School and Education
Many believe AI in the education sector is here to stay. Interestingly, the UK’s education system has already embraced AI in more ways than one. Schools are making the most of AI while riding the wave of digital innovation. It has reduced the unwanted and ever-increasing burden of administrative tasks. This significant workload is taken over by AI software, allowing the school management to focus their efforts on more important tasks like improving the curriculum.
AI software can help in reducing teachers’ workloads by assisting students with their learning. Teachers no longer have to spend extra time drafting lesson plans and periodic classroom quizzes for their students when AI software can generate them for them. Plus, AI tools can help students have their very own virtual tutor to hand-hold them through their schoolwork.
However, the growing use of AI by students has also led to a rise in plagiarised and unoriginal work in school assignments and projects. Instances of cheating are not new with online tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. Additionally, AI’s involvement in school matters does bring the fear and scepticism of bots replacing teachers. However, this is far from the reality. AI can never replace teachers and their relationship and bonding with the students, nor can it substitute a teacher’s personal judgement when it comes to a pupil’s growth.
This also holds true for management when leaning towards AI systems to seek HR advice for schools. When you want to think of expanding your school into a MAT, you may use an algorithm to check the financials and technicals in an audit. However, when it comes to the final decisions, you’d prefer the expertise and knowledge of a human expert instead of a chatbot.
2. Automotive Industry
AI in the automotive industry draws up pictures of self-driving cars, however, this is only one of the multiple applications of AI in this sector. With large-scale AI experiments being conducted by automakers worldwide, it has even more potential to completely transform the concept of human transportation.
AI can help the automotive industry across its value chain. From manufacturing to transportation and service, AI’s influence in this sector is growing and is here to stay. It helps automotive designers come up with better vehicle designs with a renewed focus on safety testing. Not to mention AI robots helping in building car models in a more optimal and streamlined manner.
Artificial intelligence is also making strides in the last part of the value chain as well – the automotive repair, maintenance, and servicing sector. It’s helping garages, workshops and service stations to check for predictive maintenance and service checks, automating service appointments, and streamlining operations.
For instance, a garage offering MOT in Northampton can push reminders to its clients to get their MOT renewed through an AI-based garage management system. It can also seamlessly allow them to schedule appointments at their convenience, reducing the need for manual intervention.
On the flip side, artificial intelligence in the automotive sector is still not fully evolved. Take driverless or autonomous cars, for instance, that are drawing flak for their ‘inhuman’ approach, especially in terms of moral or ethical judgements. Autonomous cars still lack the human ability to weigh judgements that a human would choose. Its linear thinking may come in the way of making a clear decision between saving a pedestrian or a passenger.
With developments still underway, there’s hope for better AI involvement in this sector.
3. Banking and Finance
Quick to implement and adopt, the global banking sector is a huge beneficiary of the AI wave. From interacting with AI chatbots doubling up as customer service executives to taking incremental steps to prevent banking frauds, the impact of automation and AI is quite prominent. According to a McKinsey report, generative AI is poised to add between 2.8 to 4.7 percent of total industry revenues across the global banking sector.
Non-banking financial institutions are not one to miss out, as they’re also quick to implement new technological trends much like their banking counterparts. Take the disbursal of short loans as an example. AI can help assess a person’s creditworthiness by making credit checks quicker and more accurate. A process that would otherwise take days can be completed in a matter of hours or minutes.
Getting AI on board can definitely add tremendous value to improving banking and financial systems. However, make one wrong move, and you can potentially invite complications into your interconnected system. Global regulatory bodies are still trying to keep pace with the changes AI brings to the table. Banking and financial regulators are yet to fully grasp the risk and compliance functions and understand what it takes to maintain an environment of control. Additionally, AI also brings in the risks of generating false or incoherent information, infringing intellectual property, security concerns, and bias.
4. Legal Services
Introducing Gen AI into legal systems has been fairly organic after its successful adoption by banking and financial services. The rapid developments in AI bring significant implications for the legal profession and the world of law itself. From analysing legal documents for case preparation to assessing clinical negligence, generative AI can help lawyers effectively summarise points.
It also has the potential to help in areas of contract intelligence, document delivery and promote public legal education. For example, when you apply for power of attorney online, lawyers don’t need to sit and draft the complete POA document. AI can create the document according to your inputs and case, and lawyers will give it quick proofing before pushing it for processing. Soon, you’ll be able to see advanced AI models offering legal advisor support and predicting case outcomes.
Just as they’re pros, the cons too weigh in the whole process. Introducing AI in legal processes is certainly a boon for lawyers, saving time and effort from lengthy paperwork. It may, however, become a liability when it comes to case judgement. Whether AI can replace human judgement, particularly in criminal law, is perhaps the most lingering question.
Currently, it’s a far-fetched idea for a machine-learning and heuristics algorithm to successfully judge a human being in matters of law and order. The limited AI knowledge and training data can amount to bias in the face of an objective decision that determines life or death.
5. Pharmaceutical Industry
AI is completely reshaping the way companies in the pharma sector operate and function. This technology can boost productivity to accelerate drug discovery, generate more efficient trials, get regulatory approvals quicker, and build targeted marketing materials in-house. Incorporating AI into pharmaceutical development and production can unlock billions of dollars in revenue, says a McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report.
Pharmaceutical production processes need regular production equipment cleaning and sanitising, known as cleaning-in-place (CIP). This process is a non-negotiable and necessary step to avoid cross-contamination of drugs and products. However, traditional CIP requires the complete dismantling of equipment, which is time-consuming and labour-intensive, putting a strain on the production process.
Now, automated mobile CIP machines or clean-in-place systems use sensors and software to regulate the complete process optimally. From releasing the cleaning solution into the equipment to running it for a preset amount of time, automation and AI can help production equipment cleaning systems be more self-operational.
The excitement of the amazing potential of AI is palpable, however, attempting too many changes too soon can be potentially problematic. In the pharmaceutical industry, artificial intelligence is mostly used in the drug discovery process to find and generate novel compounds, evaluate their viability, and put them through clinical trials. However, as per an article in Nature magazine, a whopping 85% of
AI-designed drugs between 2000 and 2015 did not meet their designated success as anticipated. It goes to show there is still much to know and learn about the potential and demerits of AI.
6. Recruitment, Talent Sourcing, and Training
AI has already made a significant impact on the recruitment and hiring process. It’s helping recruiters source talent, screen applicants, write better job descriptions, improve the candidate experience, eliminate bias in recruiting, and automate tedious administrative tasks. There are numerous AI tools to help find the right talent, from using applicant tracking software for sifting from thousands of applications to crafting the right interview questions. These tools have been a game-changer for multinational companies hiring and training employees in large numbers as well as for start-ups with a remote workforce. Artificial intelligence is a great help for recruitment agencies in boosting efficiency and productivity, finding better matches, and making faster hiring decisions.
Despite all its advantages, AI is still an evolving technology that has its fair share of limitations. Although it is meant to reduce human bias in recruiting, ATS systems have been accused of discriminating against candidates based on age, race and disabilities.
Moreover, HR training of new and existing employees needs a human touch. Interactions with an AI-generated response often come across as impersonal and cold, which may displease candidates and employees. Employers lacking the right training resources can hire local HR agencies offering bespoke training programmes like management training.
Recruiters are not the only ones using AI. Candidates too use AI tools to tweak their applications to make them align with the job role and description, even when it doesn’t reflect their actual experiences and skills. This can lead to more false matches and may require more recruiter involvement.
Although AI has made the recruitment process more streamlined and convenient, it does not forgo the need for HR involvement to check the work of AI. Ultimately, it’s only the HR who will play the important role of vetting candidates.
7. Entertainment and Media
The media and entertainment industry is not far from the growing influence of artificial intelligence. Even in a creatively dominated industry, AI has changed the
way content is created and consumed. From YouTube auto-suggesting the next videos to watch to Netflix making movie recommendations based on your preferences, personalisation of entertaining content is here to stay. This helps entertainment companies design their products better, be more interactive and deliver a more satisfactory experience.
AI has the potential to churn out content by the minute from its machine learning and heuristics algorithm. This feature can threaten the authority and ingenuity of original content creators across social media channels and print media outlets. AI cloning music and voices, which are the original trademarks of artists, brings us to an ethical AI dilemma in the content generation sphere.
In Conclusion
Whether you like it or not, or are still on the fence, artificial intelligence is here to stay. AI can be your business’ BFF or Nemesis, depending on how you use it. It’s a tool to make a business more productive, efficient and streamlined. However, it also raises concerns such as increased technology dependence and a potential threat to the existing workforce.
Artificial intelligence can be a double-edged sword for businesses looking to adapt it. It must be used carefully with the right intention and prior judgement.