CHENNAI: The amelioration of technology has Stephen Hawking issuing a warning of an apocalypse. Bill Gates, too. In the mid-1980s, it was the personal computer, followed by the world wide web in the mid-1990s and then, in the mid-2000s, it was the smartphone. But, what’s worrying technologists today?
It’s Artificial Intelligence or AI— the simulation of human intelligence by machines. “AI would be the ultimate version of Google. The ultimate search engine would understand exactly what you wanted, and it would give you the right thing,” — as Larry Page, co-founder of Google, best describes it.
Today, knowingly and unknowingly, we embrace AI daily. From Apple’s assistant Siri to self-driving cars, we are ready and willing to find ways to replace the governance of our most tedious tasks with AI.
For all the hype about killer bots, 2017 laid the foundation with some notable strides for faster and smarter AI in 2018. This year, experts will be bending their brains to solve things that AI still can’t do or understand. For instance, bots need to be educated more to clamber over the barrier of words. Google has been already tinkering with software that tries to learn metaphors, while other researchers are working on teaching bots to distinguish between right and wrong to ensure they make fair decisions when put to work in industries such as finance or healthcare.
American tech major Accenture, in its latest findings, pointed out that artificial intelligence (AI) could infuse $957 billion to the Indian economy when the domestic economy is slated to touch the $10 trillion-mark by many estimates.Indian enterprises are also betting big on AI to revamp their traditional solutions, innovate and build new solutions to offer better customer services. The first wave of artificial intelligence was introduced in early 2016 in the form of chatbots and the banking sector is patently taking the lead in using artificial intelligence-powered chatbots in India.
Consider the case of Yes Bank, which said in November that its Facebook Messenger bot that approves loans within a minute has serviced 20,000 customers per month. “We expect that our AI-powered bots will reach about 0.25 million customers by this fiscal,” said Rajan Pental, Group Head Retail Lending, YES Bank back then. The bank also expects to cut their processing time by 30 per cent through AI-backed bots.Yes Bank is not alone. Haptik data reveals that over 40,000 chatbots currently exist across multiple platforms, 80 per cent of the firms would introduce their own chatbot and they would save $8 billion annually from chatbot use.
The latest entrant in this space is State Bank of India. Developed by Payjo, SBI had launched its chat assistant a month and a half ago to help customers with everyday banking needs within the shortest possible time. According to the bank, the SBI Intelligent Assistant or SIA can handle nearly 10,000 enquiries per second or 864 million in a day!
Not just banking but artificial intelligence are catching up in the healthcare space too. Tony Mira, Founder & CEO, MiraMed Ajuba Solutions says that “Bots have the capability to analyse, predict and capture the real intended data. A mastery of it would allow healthcare to start delivering commendable results in the form of proper treatments and medical procedures.”
The reasons for increasing support are varied. “Bots are poised to be virtual assistants that will handle key work processes— answer customer queries via apps, websites and messaging platforms across devices and lately on WhatsApp,” explained Aakrit Vaish, founder and CEO of Haptik, a leading end to end chatbot platform. Haptik, for instance, aims to solve specific queries such as booking a flight ticket, getting live PNR status of trains, help set reminders for tasks that are easier to forget.
Meanwhile, even though the popular perception is that AI is going to be a job killer, reports say that AI will start adding more jobs than it would take away. “AI will create 2.3 million new jobs while eliminating only 1.8 million jobs in 2020,” according research firm Gartner, Inc.
Pointing out the challenges in India, Shyamala Jayaraman, CEO – ERP Business, Ramco Systems said with the kind of technology brewing in the industry it is very difficult to sell in India. “Firstly, because of the sheer diversity. Secondly, because of the umpteen new business models that are coming about and the sheer challenge to keep pace with the requirements and thirdly, because of the brand consciousness amongst enterprises. The sheer competition that is prevalent in the country compounded with the bureaucracy around the business itself is also a concern.”
However, India is still a laggard as its AI capabilities are far inferior when compared to those of G20 countries. In India, the mapping of its existing AI capabilities has just begun. The government has set up an internal committee and also drawn up a seven-point strategy for a tactical plan to use AI. The strategy includes developing methods for human-machine interactions; ensuring safety and security of AI systems; creating a competent workforce in line with AI and R&D needs, understanding and addressing the ethical, legal and societal implications of AI, measuring and evaluating AI technologies through standards and benchmarks, among others.
“What’s needed is a clear, long-term vision, and a multi-stakeholder action plan that balances growth with the ethical questions posed by AI,” said Rekha Menon, senior CMD for Accenture India.