There is a growing need to stay on top of the latest trends and research. This is why most countries have taken a dive into the pool of artificial intelligence and are doing their part to build this system from the bottom. AI is predicted to boom and be incorporated into a multitude of domains and across several types of businesses. Read on to know more about the nuances of artificial intelligence and its place in a global context. We routinely invest in companies that incorporate AI in one fashion or another. Most VCs do!

Index

1. Introduction
2. What is AI?
3. The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence
4. Landmark Developments in AI
5. Insights into Artificial Intelligence
6. The Role of AI in different industries
7. Closing Thoughts

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not as uncommon a word as it used to be merely 5 years ago.

The nuanced aspects of AI involve a lot more than the eye can see, and therefore, limiting it to one particular definition may not do it enough justice. The world, on a global scale, is affected by artificial intelligence.

From Siri and Alexa to high-end robotics in a gene lab, AI has started making its mark in almost every sector in today’s world. People are now looking at convenience and are actively searching for ways to make their jobs easier. This can only be possible with the help of devices that have a ‘brain’ of their own. Well, a programmed one at least!

The use of AI will not only make life and work easier, but it will also bring about a level of efficiency very close to accuracy. And this is the ultimate goal for many sectors and people across the world.

What is AI?

It all started when Alan Turing asked the question “can machines think?”. The advent and commencement of the idea of machines being closely linked to the capacity of a human brain came into the picture slowly.

Very simply put, AI combines major aspects of computer science and robust datasets to engage in efficient problem-solving. Naturally, it is not as simple as this, as we see a lot of sub-fields around machine learning that are working in tandem with artificial intelligence.

A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into the development of AI-related equipment that comprises algorithms that work towards seeking data that would eventually help in creating systems. These expert systems are what will keep the data upgraded.

How?

They help predict outcomes with accuracy and make classifications based on the input data to improve the structures and functioning of the equipment to make them perform better.

The development of the world of artificial intelligence is only predicted to grow and boom. Statista states that the revenue to be generated from AI, particularly in the software market globally, is predicted to reach around $126 billion around 2025. There is a 54% year-on-year growth that is expected.

The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence

A light-hearted comment around the commencement of AI revolves around how the early-day scientists took inspiration from the Tin-Man in the Wizard of Oz and worked around the idea of a robot.

In the 1950s, several scientists and mathematicians pondered over the plausibility of artificial intelligence and began devising plans and ideas to make it possible. Alan Turing was one of the leading people to have explored the mathematical possibility of intelligent machines. Before 1949, computers could execute commands and not store them. In other words, they could not remember the actions that they had performed.

1957-1974 became the years of maximum development of AI as computers and machines became more accessible, cheaper, and faster. The protocols involved in machine learning became much better and the algorithms improved. These projects, all over the globe, began receiving government support and funding.

The 1980s saw another boost to artificial inteIligence and its allied fields as the deep learning techniques were looked into and popularized. Expert systems wherein computers could mimic the decision-making process of a human were also installed and introduced. Almost $400 million were invested from 1982 to 1990 to revolutionize and change the game of computer processing, logical programming, and artificial intelligence.

With the development of Windows and speech recognition software programs, it seemed like the day that AI would equal its maker in terms of capabilities did not seem far-fetched. Robot games, recognition of emotions, each arena was being explored and prodded for more development and scope for growth. As per Gartner statistics, AI has been implemented in more than 37% of organizations all across the globe, and the percentage of overall business enterprises employing AI and AI systems has grown approximately 270% in the past couple of years.

Landmark Developments in AI

Today, AI is bigger than it has ever been. Some systems are also capable of performing superhuman tasks and there have been instances where computers and machines are known to perform and demonstrate creativity like never before.

Here are some of the major landmarks and milestones that the ecosystem of artificial intelligence has witnessed throughout the years that have made it possible to reach where it is today.

• 2009 – Google – The self-driving Toyota Prius that completes 10 journeys each around 100 miles which gave the world a new option of vehicles completely driven by automated systems reducing human effort.
• 2011 – IBM Watson – A computer system that won the quiz show in the USA called ‘Jeopardy’ used natural language processing and analyses that were collected, based on the large depositories of data that it had stored and processed, making it capable of answering questions posed by a human within a fraction of a second.
• 2012 – AlexNet – Made a major breakthrough to tackle a vast multitude of tasks that were originally thought to be too complicated to be resolved by any machine. The error rate was almost halved as this software scaled through the visual recognition challenge against its rivals in a contest. The breakthrough was in terms of a moment of realization that computer learning systems can also be based on neural networks.

The year 2020 saw some monumental changes in the aspect of artificial intelligence and how it can improve the overall efficiency and lives of people.

• OpenAI came up with a language model – GPT-3 that was able to predict certain texts based on priming. The technology was smart enough to be able to generate responses to questions. Not limited to this, it is capable of writing creative essays and also producing a functioning code for computers. Microsoft, tempted to obtain an exclusive license to these products, has closed on a deal with the company.
• In the gaming and science sector, DeepMind’s AlphaFold was able to solve a 50-year-old grand challenge that consisted of protein folding. It is also expected to come up with plausible solutions to solving issues and speeding up the growth of advanced biological research and catalyzing the process of drug discoveries.
• DeepMind’s venture, MuZero, is an AI program that has gained dominance over domains like chess, Atari, Shogi, and more games like these. The primary appeal of this technology is that it can master these games even before knowing the rules. This was seen as a huge step forward that helped in advancing toward general-purpose AI.

According to a Mckinsey report, artificial intelligence may deliver an additional economic output of nearly $13 trillion by 2030. A few more examples of artificial intelligence are –

• Facial detection and recognition – used for surveillance and security purposes
• Chatbots – used to augment customer service
• Social media – uses AI to monitor content and suggest recommendations
• Search and recommendation algorithms – used to analyze your preferences and showcase them when you search for something to buy or maybe places to spend your vacation!
• ePayments – simplifies payment processes and eliminates the need to physically visit banks and/or shops

Many competitive industries are now an active part of the AI journey and more are expected to join the trend. Patents and portfolios revolving around AI are now first in line for consideration proving the importance of this sector.

Insights into Artificial Intelligence

Globally, AI has made several advancements in the development models of artificial intelligence. It is now prevailing in most industries ranging from eCommerce to Agriculture, to Data Science. Complex business challenges are being solved by the deep learning methods of AI and it is being used in B2B, B2C, and even C2C channels.

Some interesting statistics about AI point out that:
● The global AI market value is expected to reach $267 billion by 2027.
● Nine out of ten leading businesses have investments in AI technologies, but less than 15% deploy AI capabilities in their work, though This is slowly changing.
● AI is said to create a whopping 85 million jobs and create 97 million new ones by 2025, such is the massive growth that is expected.
● More than 3 billion voice assistants are now in use, and 8 billion will be by 2023. Voice assistants are now accepted across every industry especially service industries and also within organizations.
● It is estimated that the AI industry will be collectively earning $126 billion a year by 2025.

Future of AI 

As expected, AI has got a bright, promising, and lucrative future globally, it is being backed and supported by the governments as it promises to bring in more opportunities too. Also, AI is predicted to provide a large incremental value to different sectors like retail, energy, healthcare, education, agriculture, etc. If this happens, it would also mean the possibility of more jobs in this sector.

 The Role of AI in different industries- A  global perspective

1. Health Care

The need of the hour globally is a robust system of good health care and hospital administration. It is often impossible for adequate health-related facilities to reach the nooks and corners of each part of the world.

Additionally, the lack of infrastructure and trained personnel make it even more challenging. The arrival of AI provides a ray of hope in this sector and with efficient use of data and algorithms, fighting not only against the administrative and logistic inefficiency but also against diseases and the development and provision of adequate medication will be possible.

For example: In developing nations like India, Tech giants like Microsoft are joining hands with AI-based systems like 3Nethra that have been involved in checking and detecting eye-related issues.

2. Education

The education sector is viewed differently now than it was a decade ago. Globally, education and the future of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering in association with different companies like Microsoft, Intel, Google, etc. aim to create more efficient and thorough systems of AI programming.

Top-notch universities and education governing bodies are now involved in specialized training and have recently included AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and Machine Learning (ML) in course curriculums. This clearly points to the compelling uses & need for educating the future generations in AI.

3. Smart Infrastructure

An increasing number of people have now been migrating toward larger cities and this is posing to be a challenge worldwide. The cities do not have proper management and civic systems to offer quality infrastructure in terms of land and even roadways.

AI could be a huge step forward in terms of using the data of the urban areas to reduce congestion, set up systems for senior citizens, maintain the upkeep and repair damages timely, and therefore, improve the overall quality of life.

4. Finance

Statistics, as already mentioned earlier, have shown the amount of money AI is expected to make in the future. Apart from contributing to the financial growth of the country, AI-driven systems can also be used in the world of finance.

Using machines and their systems of analyses, to predict different aspects related to the world of money would be more accurate than human predictions. This is because computers would be able to provide data after scanning through millions of different possibilities, permutations, and combinations.

5. Cybersecurity

Artificial Intelligence has received a lot of backing from venture capitalists in the cybersecurity space. The risk of cyber crimes and hacking has posed a threat to everyone alike which is causing loss of data and money. Cybersecurity, therefore, has moved to the top of the priority list of every company’s top management.

Closing Thoughts

It is not long before artificial intelligence will be the face of the world and a part of every country’s nook and corner. Enterprises are getting smarter by re-orienting their businesses with greater scope for AI-driven technologies. The market is growing exponentially and to cater to such a market, the only way forward is – with the help of AI. AI has great scope and is one of the common technologies we invest in. Most VCs look at AI-powered technologies as having an edge; tap into the power of AI effectively and you’ll have a winning business in this new age!