Introduction
In recent years, people have been witnessing the fast growth of technologies that are expected to improve performance in various areas, increase effectiveness, and replace individuals in some spheres because of the need for higher accuracy, speed of calculations, and decision-making. Today, the broad use of devices and software is one of the trends of contemporary society. For instance, artificial intelligence (AI) is a specific innovative technology that possesses the unique qualities providing users with an opportunity to create new approaches or make decisions utilizing available data, processing it, and making forecasts about the development of a particular issue.
The high speed combined with performance levels and the absence of mistakes in calculations contribute to the growing popularity of this technology and its employment by actors working in various spheres. However, the spread of AI can also introduce some ethical issues as there are fears that many employees will lose their jobs because of their inability to compete with this innovative approach.
Trends of AI
As it comes from the term, AI is an attempt to follow the way people think and make it more effective. It can be determined as the simulation of human intelligence processes by computers or systems with the primary goal to perform some complex functions (Haenlein & Kaplan, 2019). It includes learning, data collection, reasoning, forecasting, and self-correction (Haenlein & Kaplan, 2019). Because of the combination of these factors, AI is now being implemented in different spheres to achieve new levels of excellence. It also stipulates the appearance of certain trends in this field that can be observed today.
The first one is the integration of AI and blockchain technology, which can be determined as a system of data records about transactions in cryptocurrency managed by a set of computers not owned by a single entity (Bullock, 2019). It can help to eliminate some gaps in security, create a decentralized data marketplace, and increase the level of trustworthiness to both these technologies (Bullock, 2019). Another important trend is the creation of neural networks that are determined as a combination of algorithms with an ability to recognize relationships in various data sets by using the processes similar to human thinking (Bullock, 2019).
They offer a limitless number of opportunities for improved data input, learning, and analysis in various fields, which is critical regarding the continuous appearance of new information. Finally, AI is nowadays being integrated with the business sphere to generate a competitive advantage for companies that use this technology and help them to work effectively if to compare with previous approaches (Haenlein & Kaplan, 2019). These trends impact the evolution of AI and options for its implementation.
Definitions and Examples of AI for Business
Because of its unique significance for the modern world, business is one of the spheres that benefit from the broad use of AI. Its definition for this sector remains the same, as it is a software that imitates human thinking processes with an attempt to perform complex tasks with a high level of effectiveness and performance (Bullock, 2019). Due to the fierce rivalry, the creation of high-tech platforms for various firms or companies working in finance, retail, healthcare, media, and e-commerce industries to generate a competitive advantage and become a leader is one of the modern trends (Wirth, 2018).
For instance, one of the giants of e-commerce, Amazon, now uses a specific transactional AI platform that helps to provide clients with recommendations they might enjoy (Wirth, 2018). The system analyses their past preferences, choices, and all data available about customers and generates the content that might be attractive for them (Wirth, 2018). Another example is the use of AI in online banking to make transactions safer and provide people with the guarantees that their money will be protected, which proves that business is one of the fields that benefit from the use of this technology.
Global Demands for AI
Because of the existence of multiple opportunities provided by AI and its ability to increase the effectiveness of various processes, the global demand for this technology continues to rise. In accordance with the statistics, it becomes one of the most fast-growing innovations that is being broadly used in various spheres such as retail, healthcare, and multiple business environments (Wirth, 2018). One of the critical factors preconditioning the existence of new requests for the integration of AI is its ability for self-learning and data-processing. The majority of industries or sectors today have to cope with huge flows of information, which might be a complex task (Huang & Rust, 2018).
It preconditions the rise of the AI market, which is today valued at about $23.94 billion and expected to reach $208.49 by 2025 (“Artificial intelligence market 2019 share,” 2019). The numbers prove the existence of a stable and continuously growing demand for software of this sort. Reports show that in 2018, only 15% of all enterprises benefit from AI; however, by the end of 2019, this number is expected to double and constitute about 31% of all companies (“Artificial intelligence market 2019 share,” 2019). With the rise of the global demand for AI, the growth of companies focused on the development and support of this software can also be observed. In such a way, applications of this sort will become a serious segment in the international market in the future.
Development of Tech Companies Globally
Advances in the sphere of AI and its employment by multiple actors also precondition the emergence and growth of many tech companies globally. The fact is that any demand generates supply; in other words, further rise and in the sphere of technologies lays the ground for the fast evolution of firms that benefit from this tendency. Regions characterized by the high speed of business and technologies’ development also engage in the process and respond by the appearance of brands that create the appropriate software. For instance, Google, as a traditional leader in the sphere of technologies and software, promotes the rise of AI and its wide use for various purposes (Wirth, 2018).
One of the central areas is the improvement of its search engine that will benefit from the implementation of such AI’s features as learning and the ability to make decisions by processing some personal data about clients’ preferences. The plans of the corporation presuppose the creation of a neural net with unique opportunities to combine all Google’s products and provide people with enhanced user experience (Kennedy, 2018). Another project, Duplex, is described by the company as a technology supporting real-life conversation and providing people with answers and information they need (Kennedy, 2018).
Being considered as an alternative to Siri, this AI software is taken as one of the possible options for Google evolution as it shows the potential for the introduction of new trends in search engines (Kennedy, 2018). Additionally, there are other firms such as Eleks, Apple, Dockyard, that are considered tech companies that work on the creation of new ways to use AI (Wirth, 2018). This tendency shapes global business relations and the attitude to the discussed technology.
The Context
The offered case revolves around Evie, an AI program that was designed by Jin Hian and his team with the primary goal to save time when organizing meetings and creating schedules. He found this activity time-consuming and demotivating, so Evie emerged as a program to save time and help workers to devote their attention to other vital tasks. The given software grew from the startup phase to the working and popular project that was used by multiple actors.
Business Problem
Because of the fast evolution of this business, there are several problems at the moment. These include understaffing, as the team was not big enough to introduce new features to the application, the need to consider cultural peculiarities of users, and unpreparedness of various sectors for Evie’s integration. A set of these issues might significantly deteriorate the future development of this AI technology and precondition its failure. For this reason, it is critical to introduce to investigate them to understand the core reasons.
Problem Analysis and Challenges for Evie.ai
Analyzing the problems mentioned above, there are several essential factors should be considered. The core reason for the appearance of these challenges is the high speed of the software’s development. Jin Hian states that it was designed by a team consisting of a small number of specialists, which was enough at the early stages. However, with the appearance of multiple clients, the need for new improvements and changes became evident, and trained employees are required to be ready to implement all needed alterations. Another critical reason for the occurrence of some problems is the unpreparedness of companies, especially working in the banking sector, for the implementation of this very software and working with it.
In such a way, it is possible to predict future challenges, such as the need for the design of a friendlier design that would be able to recognize various speech patterns, regardless of culture or a speaker. Finally, some actors take Evie as a real person, forgetting about its being an AI program, or, on the contrary, have fears that using this application, they might seem detached. For this reason, these ethical challenges can become potential threats to the future evolution of this software.
Conclusion
Altogether, AI can be considered one of the vital technologies of the modern world. Its creation and the fast growth preconditioned the appearance of numerous changes in various spheres of human activity, including the business sector. One of the core reasons for the popularity of AI is its ability to learn and make decisions imitating people’s intelligence processes (Kumar, 2018). This trait provides the software with an opportunity to work with many data sets, process them, make calculations, and offer results characterized by high accuracy (Patel, 2019). For this reason, the global demand for AI continues to grow, and there are multiple companies that benefit from the employment of this approach and its integration into their functioning.
Summary of Future Work Design and Jobs
One should also realize the fact that the future rise of AI means critical changes in work design. The case of Evie shows that this technology can become a useful assistant that helps to save time, improve planning, and devote attention to really important issues. At the same time, AI can also be used for more complex tasks such as analysis of clients’ preferences, content generation, investigation of statistical sets, and many other ones (Jones, 2019). It means that in the future, employees might rely on software that will make all calculations and analyze the existing trends to formulate possible solutions and predict the development of certain situations (Johnson, 2019). It will also shift priorities towards the broader use of technologies and their becoming an integral part of any process.
Ethical Use of AI
However, extensive employment of this sort of technology gives rise to ethical issues as many workers face the high risk of being replaced by AI, which can guarantee better results, fewer mistakes, and increased effectiveness. For this reason, there are vigorous debates about the ethical aspects of such programs and their further use (Shaw, 2019). One of the fundamental factors is the creation of new workplaces or training for workers who might lose their jobs because of AI. In such a way, re-skilling and overtraining are two aspects of the ethical use of AI that might guarantee its growth and use in various sectors (Shaw, 2019).
The Future of Evie.ai
As for Evie, it is possible to predict the fast growth of this application because of its ability to increase effectiveness, reduce time devoted to some activities that are not so important, and enhance planning. The introduction of new features as it is planned by the creators will make this program even more attractive to users. It is critical to eliminate the cultural barrier and ensure that all sectors are ready for the broad use of AI to achieve better results.
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