AI is making a massive impact already and adoption is growing at a staggering rate. The AI market is forecast to grow from $150 billion in 2023 to $1.3 trillion by 2030 with an annual growth rate of nearly 37%. During that period, AI is expected to add a net 21% increase in GDP in the U.S. — worth about $3.2 trillion in economic output.
Nearly half (48%) of businesses are using some form of AI in 2023 and 83% of companies claim AI is a top priority in their future plans.
Every day, we’re reading about breakthroughs and new product launches powered by AI. Artificial intelligence provides an amazing opportunity to rethink business models and processes, but there are also concerns and risks.
AI and the Future of Business
This year, the folks at Intuitive Data Analytics pulled together industry leaders to talk about AI and the future of business. About 75 industry execs have attended these Executive Roundtable sessions, sharing insights in Toronto and Irvine, CA. Another session is set for October 26th at the Westin Downtown in San Diego (by invitation) and focuses on demystifying the hype on AI and how to leverage its power to improve data, analytics, and performance.
Quick aside: IDA is a no-code Business Intelligence (BI) tool that leverages AI for data exploration and collaboration. It would have been easy — and expected — that attending these sessions would turn into a sales pitch. So many companies push webinars and meetups as educational when they’re really just talking through a slide deck about how great their products are. So, it’s nice to see when companies go the opposite way and provide valuable information to help others instead of always trying to sell. That’s what IDA did here.
Companies like McKesson, Essex Power, HikVision, Evolus, and others in the U.S. and Canada have taken part in these high-level conversions about how AI is changing the way businesses operate and what needs to happen moving forward. A big part of the discussion focused on Human-Driven AI, which recognizes that AI tools are only as valuable as the human inputs.
Yes, there’s some discussion about how IDA can help, but these sessions are really focused on sharing and learning.
AI Decision-Making
Discussions like these are incredibly important as AI becomes more integrated into the way we work. We need continued discussion and input from key stakeholders, policymakers, engineers, and ethicists to create a thoughtful approach to AI. While businesses currently employ targeted — and controlled — uses for AI, that’s likely to change as adoption and comfort levels increase. This can create a ripple effect that has broad societal impacts, both intentional and unintentional.
For example:
- Job elimination and job creation
- Bias and discrimination from historical data
- Privacy and copyright concerns
- Misinformation and inaccurate data
- Economic inequality
At the same time, the business impact will be significant. Every organization should be discussing how they can leverage AI for better data analytics and insights for a competitive advantage.
Stay Tuned
How AI shapes the business environment, and society in general, is still evolving. You can expect some breathtaking breakthroughs and uses and a few missteps along the way. It’s going to be an amazing ride.
Disclosure: I help the folks at IDA with some of their marketing materials, so I admit a bias toward their BI products. However, I’m truly impressed that they’ve taken such a leadership position in the industry to help drive these important discussions. We all have a stake in the future of AI and it’s important to have thoughtful conversations about where we’re headed.
If you’re interested in attending the next session in San Diego, you can learn more about it here. As I understand, spaces are limited.