The use of artificial intelligence is going to be essential to a business’s success by 2020, according to a new report.
Tata Consultancy Services, have found that 84% see AI as something that will be ‘essential’ in order for businesses to succeed in the coming years. The survey study polled 835 executives across 13 global industry sectors in four regions of the world.
The global trend study ‘Getting Smarter by the Day: How AI is Elevating the Performance of Global Companies’ also found that 50% of those surveyed believe that AI will have a ‘transformative’ effect on their business.
AI has been most commonly adopted by IT departments, 67% use some form of artificial intelligence in their security and automation systems.
K Ananth Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer of TCS, said: “As companies begin to gain a better understanding of AI’s application for business, they will realise the significant impact of this transformative force. This is reflected in our Global Trend Study, which shows that forward-thinking companies are beginning to make major AI investments.”
“Given the increasing digital disruption across every industry and the public sector, AI should become a key and integrated component of an organisation’s strategy.”
The biggest investors in AI technology so far have been North American companies. Currently, the average per-company spend is estimated to $80 million, Europe was in second place with $73 million, and Pacific Asia in third with $55 million.
Investment in AI technology is also estimated to increase in the coming years, as 7% invested over $250 million in 2016, and 2% intend to invest more than a billion by 2020.
Although AI is used for predominantly IT functions, 70% of those surveyed believe that by 2020 AI the scope of AI will greatly expand and the technology will find uses in Marketing, Customer Service, Finance, and HR. Companies expect that AI related roles will have increased three fold by 2020.
