Where is AI Already Having an Impact on Business?

By David Wirt, VP, ASEAN & Greater China, Pure Storage

David Wirt, VP, ASEAN & Greater China, Pure Storage

The benefits AI could deliver for Hong Kong businesses and the economy are tremendous. Not only can it deliver business efficiency and eliminate many mundane tasks, but it can result in incredible leaps forward in everything from scientific research to space travel.

The recent MIT Technology Review Survey found that 78 percent of business and IT leaders in Hong Kong believe AI will have a positive impact on their industry. AI has the power to completely transform industries, but the data challenge that they face can be daunting. 86 percent of Hong Kong leaders agree that it is critical that they analyse data as much as possible to gain competitive advantage given they have so much data now. That’s where the criticality of having the right systems, capacity and processes becomes clear. To do this, organizations of all types need to know how to put data to work. Having this capacity to collate access and analyse data, helps organizations to not only benefit from AI, but also identify any potential for its possible misuse.

All industries, without exception, are going to drive value and efficiency from AI, though how and why isn’t entirely predictable. What we do know is that 90 percent of the world’s data has been created in the last two years.

Gartner also predicts that AI will be built into nearly every new software update to hit the market by 2020. Organizations are under pressure to make the shift earlier rather than later to ensure competitive advantage.

One of the primary befits AI can deliver is around automation. This means that just about anywhere we currently use humans to complete repetitive tasks, AI can help.

Healthcare is perhaps the industry that is seeing the biggest impact from AI. For example, Paige.AI is an organisation focused on revolutionizing clinical diagnosis and treatment in oncology through the use of AI. Pathology is the cornerstone of most cancer diagnoses. Yet most pathologic diagnoses rely on manual, subjective processes developed more than a century ago. By leveraging the potential of AI, Paige.AI aims to transform the pathology and diagnostics industry from highly qualitative to a more rigorous, quantitative discipline.

The insurance industry is also benefiting greatly: a picture of damaged property can be run in near real-time against the company's database of damage photos to give an instant estimate for a claim pay-out. Other examples include using AI to recognise and process customer behaviours in retail environments, ultimately enhancing customer service; or using AI-enabled video processing during a job interview, to make the process of identifying a candidate’s intangibles more scientific.

The more the data, the more challenging it is to collect, archive and analyse; this is where we think our customers have got it right. From our perspective at Pure Storage, we help by enabling our customers to have the speed, intelligence and agility they need to leverage the data they have.

How can we raise awareness of the benefits of AI?

Industry leaders must continue to highlight and share the potential for innovation that AI enables. Like any game changing technology, with power comes responsibility. Everyone from developers and legislators to security and technology companies must of course work together to continually ensure a bright future for AI. They can do this by supporting global initiatives around AI, discussing its benefits at conferences and on panels, and openly addressing questions around AI usage.