Growing use of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Business

The purpose of artificial intelligence (AI) is to make machines such as robots do what human beings do. In other words, artificial intelligence is the intelligent behavior behind the machine.  Rather than the natural intelligence (NI) of humans and other animals, AI is the algorithmic intelligence of the machine. With AI and the development of advanced robotics, we now have machines that are starting to imitate humans and able to perform various tasks that once humans could only do.

AI development is growing at a staggering pace. Google predicts that robots might attain a level like human intelligence by the year 2029. Gartner, an IT Research firm, estimates that robots, intelligent machines, and software will replace one-third of existing jobs by 2025. There might not be any cause for alarm because some experts predict that AI will mostly present new job opportunities and augment existing jobs rather than replacing current positions. Regardless of perspective, the future has a potentially bright outlook.  AI and robots are improving productivity in manufacturing, handling complex and dangerous tasks and in the next few decades, will continue to play an increasing role in both business and consumers lives.

Below is an overview of some industries that have been significantly been impacted by AI:

Healthcare1.Healthcare: One of the largest industries feeling the impact of AI is the healthcare industry. Major medical and pharmaceutical firms are already harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence and getting significant results. For example, the Johnson and Johnson’s Sedasys system has been approved by FDA to deliver anesthesia for standard procedures such as colonoscopies automatically. One of the advantages of this machine is that it reduces cost since a doctor supervises several machines at the same time, reducing the cost of employing a dedicated human anesthesiologist. Furthermore, there are several AI systems at different stages of testing and diagnosing of diseases. There are some cases, like with the IBM’s Watson, where the intelligent machines have a higher rate of accuracy for diagnosis than most human doctors.

2. Manufacturing: The manufacturing industry was one of the first industries to harness the potential of AI by employing robots to assemble products and package them for delivery. However, with the advancement of robotic development, things have now moved to a whole new level. In the automotive industry, for example, robots do most of the complicated and dangerous tasks, such as moving heavy parts down the assembly line, welding, painting, fixing components in difficult to access areas. There are more exciting expectations for the future that AI-powered robotics move to a whole different level by being able to assemble more complex items, such as entire cars, electronics, as well as residential homes and buildings. Even though many production lines driven by robots will still rely on human support and supervision, there is no doubt that the future of manufacturing will be robot powered.

Transportation3. Transportation: The transportation industry is one of the largest and has also experienced the impact of AI and robotics. We now are seeing the emergence of self-driving car technology with a large target being public transportation. With these driverless automobiles, the goal is to reduce accidents, reduced traffic congestion, lower the cost of energy consumption and optimize travel times. There are test models of self-driving cars by companies such as Tesla, Google, and Uber and much other major technology and automotive leaders. Personal self-driving cars are expected to hit the market in the near future in limited quantities and locations and their commercial applications are not far away either. According to Morgan Stanley, it is estimated that self-driving cars will save the U.S. $1.3 trillion, and a global annual saving of $5.6 trillion through productivity and efficiency gains.

4. Customer Service: With the developments in personalization and human interaction, AI is quickly becoming a part of the customer service process. There are now chatbots that use natural language processing and machine learning that mimics human speech patterns to provide services that are quick and easy for consumers. These friendly chatbots are inexpensive first steps before reaching a live human.

Chatbots support is becoming excellent for customized, interactive communication similar to what human customer support agents can offer. It doesn’t mean that chatbots are beginning to replace service agents but allowing robots to take over the menial tasks so that organizations can evolve their approach to self-service support. Customer support agents won’t be bothered with low-leveled tasks, such as password resets. Instead, they can focus more on bigger and more complex tasks.

Artificial intelligence also provides a multichannel support owing to their capability to direct the customer journey and refer customers to different support channels when necessary. Customer service AI can identify a common issue, which can best be resolved via a particular channel and guide customers towards it.

Chatbot support can help speed up ticket resolution times. Apart from providing automated quick answers to most inquiries, it can also make support agent more readily available to handle complex issues that the robots can’t.

5. Finance: with the swift increase in the amount of financial data, lots of financial services firms are turning to AI to keep up with the demand. With the help of AI, robots can use predictive systems and market data to manage finances and forecast stocks often faster than humans. There are now “robo-advisors” that are automating financial advice, which automatically offer advice and suggestions to financial customers, particularly those with simple financial problems. By using a variety of algorithms, robots can provide recommendations that best meet the customers’ savings, investments habits, and spending.

6.  Supplier Management:  Supplier data is massive. Regardless of your industry, you need a lot of suppliers to run your business. While a manual process may have worked for you in your startup days, it will probably not work out now. As your company grows, the amount of contracts that you have also grows. Take this headache off of your hands by integrating a supplier management software into your business operations. This software will optimize your supplier management processes and point out any inefficiency. Users also have the option to automate the entire lifecycle and use contract templates to reduce the time needed for onboarding

One of the great aspects of using AI and robots in business processes is the versatility it presents regarding efficiency, productivity, and cost savings. Consumers will benefit from gains in these industries and workers will need to continue to adjust to the shifting changes in the work environment.