By Phani Nagarjuna, Chief Analytics Officer at Sutherland

Artificial Intelligence Will Unlock New Applications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proven itself as far more than just a buzzword in 2019, making significant waves across every industry imaginable. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. As we approach the start of a new decade, AI will only become more intertwined in our daily lives, both at home and at work. We explore six key trends in AI that will take place in 2020, and set the pace for businesses.

1. Artificial intelligence will be omnipresent

With all the massive buzz around AI, it may feel to many like it is waning. Yet we are still only at the early dawn of the age of AI. In 2020, AI will take center stage among industry decision makers, with acceptability growing exponentially and many more implementations and real-life use cases and applications coming to life across a wide range of industries.

2. Intent-based artificial intelligence overhauls the service desk

It is without a doubt that bots have become commonplace. In 2019, we saw pervasive analytics and intent-based AI take this a massive leap further. And in the coming year, we will begin to see the impact of AI-infused specialized service desks that streamline support management, allow for instant delivery of information and enable intuitive, intelligent customer experiences.

3. Growing acceptance of artificial intelligence as the first line of customer experience

Consumers will become more accepting of conversational AI platforms as the first line of customer experience, and brands will continue to adopt them in an effort to create an ultra-personalized and channel-less experience.

4. Artificial intelligence will create real-time, human-centric user experiences

As AI continues to advance, 2020 will see devices and apps offer even more personalized services.  This will be made possible through an increased understanding of user behavior and search patterns, allowing organizations to have a more in-depth view of user preferences and therefore deliver more human-centric experiences in real-time.

5. Closer interactions between man and machine

As people have become more aware of the benefits of AI in solving complex issues and creating efficiencies across industries, in 2020, we will see AI will transcend boundaries, becoming far more consumer-facing through applications in areas like education and medical services that will simplify the daily lives of everyone.

6. Ethical challenges will drive many artificial intelligence conversations

As we head into 2020, we are seeing a debate emerge around the ethics and morality of AI that will grow into a highly contested topic in the coming year. This comes at a time when organizations seek new ways to remove bias in AI and establish ethical protocols in AI-driven decision-making.

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About the Author

Phani is a successful silicon-valley entrepreneur and a visionary executive with 20+ years of global leadership experience in the Technology industry. In 2016 Sutherland acquired Nuevora, one of the top 10 Big Data Analytics/AI companies founded and run by Phani as its CEO.

At Sutherland, Phani is the Chief Analytics Officer and is instrumental in positioning Sutherland as a leading-edge cognitive transformation partner for a number of Fortune 500 companies while enabling its non-linear growth strategy.

Phani's diverse expertise extends across entrepreneurship, business strategy, sales & marketing, and product management. A proven innovator and product visionary, Phani has successfully launched market-leading software products and led companies through accelerated turnarounds, industry accolades, and significant top-line growth. At each venture, Phani has demonstrated committed, people-centric leadership and achieved exceptional results.