From AI to Cloud Computing. Business isn’t the same

AI in Business.
Where we’re going, and just how we plan on getting there

Present-day, we’re looking at some real radical changes that most of us had little to no idea could even take place, but this is all a thing of the past.

From our food habits to the clothes we wear, it seems that the current generation hinges on the principle of dynamic change. We almost welcome and revel in change it’s the norm. We expect it, and if we’re left for far too long on the same page, we almost get jittery and on edge – looking out at the horizon for the next big change. We’re almost scared to familiarize ourselves with concepts out of fear of constant change. In other words – Welcome to 2019.

But like we said earlier, present changes are a thing of the past, we’re here to look at where we’re going, and just how we plan on getting there.

Regardless of the industry, you’re in, change is inevitable, but perhaps the propensity at which the tech industry changes and how it almost thrives on this dynamic feature has had it set the bar and pace for all other industries to follow or just play catch up.

Future Friendly and AI Ready

The future of the world is in AI & cloud computing. It’s no secret, some experts call it the ultimate benefactor in our society.

What exactly is AI? Let’s get elementary.

Amrith Kumaar a tenth grader who was on TEDxYouth does a pretty good job at defining AI. It’s your textbook advertising definition. Keep it simple silly; trust a tenth grader to do something on the lines of simplicity and genius.

Kumaar says, “Artificial intelligence is the recreation of human behavior but in machines. Some common examples of the same are ideas like facial recognition which grants a machine the ability to identify human faces and other objects in picture and video.”

What most experts use as an apt example when it comes to AI is NLP, also known as natural language processing.

This is the kind of tech that’s in your personal assistants. It’s in the likes of Alexa, Siri, and your Google assistant, and if any of us have been in contact with any of these assistants, we’ve essentially been in touch with an artificially intelligent being.

However, today we’re looking to outline how artificial intelligence is more often than not accompanied by our special friend, Cloud Computing.

AI & Cloud Computing. What’s on offer?

What does cloud computing offer, you ask?
Well, it’s a developer’s fantasy come true – it provides them with storage, servers, applications, and programs that are available for them on an on-demand basis via the internet. This is that piece de resistance that sets it apart from everything else.

“What’s with the on-demand basis”, asks George, for those of you’ll who don’t follow our blogs, here’s a link to the rest of them, https://blog.interface.ai/ – if you’re pressed for time and can just get through with this one; you should know that George is our friendly in-house SEO specialist.

The Watson to my Sherlock, or is that the other way around? You get the point.
Georges’ habit of throwing rudimentary questions my way has me understand complex concepts in a simpler manner, which makes for better writing and overall, a much more holistic understanding of the topics I research and look into.

To break down the concept of on-demand basis in regard to artificial intelligence developers, and these could be AI developers for a retail brand, AI in e-commerce or AI in banking even, but it’s always the same principle.

I went back to Kumaar with the double A’s to help, George to better understand the concept. Apparently a 15-year-old was doing a better job, and so I absorbed, broke it down, and put it across in a manner that would have, George, understand what I’m saying with a minimal chance of ambiguity or noise.

Kumaar compares AI-developers availing the resources they need on an on-demand basis similarily to that of a power grid.

Now, none of us have our own power grids in our own backyards. It’s too expansive, requires too much time and attention, and we’d just end up spending more time generating electricity than using it. So what’s the alternative?

Well, there are state-run and there’s also privatized power grid projects. Based on our requirement, we utilize power from a centralized power grid and use the amount of electricity we need on an on-demand basis.

Similarly, developers use the resources they need on a pay as you go, on-demand basis.

Why AI is more than Buzzwords and Bitcoins

It’s important to understand that AI’s claim to fame for most people who had nothing to do with the technology and knew little to nothing about it was put onto the buzz word with the advent of the bitcoin, and while AI and cloud computing are both associated with things like bitcoin and super-smart robots, it’s a whole lot more.

We’ve previously talked about the use of AI in e-commerce and how it helps a brand sell more, sell better, sell faster and meet customer demands at speeds that were close to impossible as little as a year back. We’re talking hyper-personalized services when we throw AI into the mix in the e-commerce industry.

The same is true for AI in banking. Digital assistants powered by AI helps banks to address customer queries at a faster pace, better product discovery and happier customers = increased customer delight. AI-powered digital assistants are here to stay.

But let us go back to how AI and cloud computing is more than bots and bits.

While AI empowers a business as no other auxiliary or tertiary service has in the past, it’s efforts and uses in humanitarian efforts is as, if not, a lot more important and pressing at the moment.

Simple Economics, AI & Bigger Ideas

It’s pretty simple, we all depend on businesses, both big and small for the products that are available and consumed and the jobs that are further created, this essentially equals to money earned.

Humanitarian efforts are equally important, some would argue a lot more – but that’s just the sentiment talking. You can’t create jobs for the underprivileged if as an economy you’ve failed to create jobs for those who are qualified and credible for the jobs to begin with.

The genius of AI is its ability to scale a business faster than perceived. If you’ve had a business idea in the past but the ability to accomplish your goals and get your business on the ground just wasn’t feasible because it was too expensive, impractical and just took up way too much of your time.

Here’s where AI and cloud computing saves the day. It offers you solutions for all the above problems. Take a business-like Airbnb; they’re one of the world’s largest hotelling services, yet they don’t have their names against a single piece of property.

They’re able to accomplish exactly this with the use of state-of-the-art applications that uses the power of cloud computing that links all their customers with various hosts that have put their spaces up for sharing and stay. It’s a classic example of how artificial intelligence has transformed one of the oldest industries in the world i.e hospitality.

Airbnb went from two people in an apartment who wanted a couple of extra bucks. Airbnb as of 2017 has a revenue of $2.6 billion and lets not Brian Chesky – the founder and CEO whos worth a calm and cool $3.8 billion. Today, Airbnb competes with some of the largest and oldest hotel services in the world, and all of this was made possible with the power of artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

We’ve got Snapchat that functions on the same business model. Thy social media giant gets all of its data and storage from the cloud. Giving some of the biggest social media giants a run for their money without owning a single data center.

Artificial intelligence – From there to here

Present-day, we’re looking at some real radical changes that most of us had little to no idea could even take place, but this is all a thing of the past.

Cloud computing and AI in business, that’s a thing of the future.

About interface

Currently engaged with several enterprises in the Americas, Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific region, interface’s Intelligent Virtual Assistants or IVAs make every digital channel of an enterprise intelligent. With rich IVAs, an enterprise can leapfrog customer & employee experience to voice-first natural language interface. For more information, check out interface.ai

Read our blog on: Should a Small Business Invest in AI and Machine Learning Software?