Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2021. Read them in this 13th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
The Future of Business AI and What to Expect in 2021
By Justin Silver, PhD, Manager of Data Science &
AI Strategist, PROS
As digitization in our world
accelerates dramatically, organizations are
moving faster than ever before to rework business processes. A growing priority for business
leaders is determining how to best utilize AI to increase the efficiency
of those processes and drive maximal value for their
organizations. However, it's important to note that implementing AI is not just
a matter of tacking on another solution to existing business processes.
Instead, business leaders need to work on identifying the most strategic ways
to implement AI and make sure buy-in is felt across all members of the organization. Here are some advancements in
business-focused AI we can look forward to in 2021.
Beyond
automating, AI will improve how we work
We expect to see more
organizations implement automated pipelines built on AI platforms. The tasks
that keep data scientists busy day-to-day, such as data preparation, feature
engineering, and modeling, are being further augmented by tools that help
automate these steps. We expect to see more systematic implementations of
business AI solutions to make ad-hoc analyses more efficiently repeatable.
Increased need
for transparency in "black box" AI models
As AI continues to gain
traction in the business world, there has been significant attention given to
model interpretability in order to support change management and organizational
adoption of AI. Say that I am a sales rep, and
I am using an AI system that recommends sales opportunities for me to pursue.
Even if I don't know all the details of the underlying model that is producing
these opportunity recommendations, i.e. it is a "black box" to me, I will
certainly want to know why the system thinks that opportunity will be fruitful
for me to spend time on. Model
interpretability enables this understanding and will continue to be a major
trend in AI in 2021.
Accelerated digital transformation supported by AI
As businesses leverage AI to make business processes
smarter, I expect to see an accelerated move to digitize operations. Retailers have been utilizing online sales channels for
many years now, and we are already seeing B2B companies make that same
transition. As COVID-19 continues to revolutionize how people buy and
sell, we will continue to see a shift to digital
commerce in industries where human interaction and negotiation still drive a
significant portion of sales transactions.
Beyond improved revenue, customer conversion rates, and
other visible benefits of AI for a business,
there are some less tangible
benefits and costs that can come with implementing an
AI system. Having a people-focused company culture can go a long way in driving
the success of an AI system. Retention of employees who have the skillset and
experience working with AI systems can yield positive returns, though in the
shorter term that could manifest as an unexpected additional cost taken on by the business. The business analyst whose
time has been freed from doing the more mundane tasks, which are now being done
by the AI system, will likely be glad to be able to spend their time doing more
cerebral analysis.
The benefits and costs of
implementing an AI system may evolve over the longer term as the solution is
re-tuned or adapts based on automated feedback. Businesses that adopt AI
systems which learn from continuous feedback, driven by real user and customer
interactions, will be better able to deliver on the buying, selling, and
operational experiences their customers and employees are increasingly
expecting. In turn, these businesses will be better positioned to see ROI from
their AI solutions.
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About the Author
Justin Silver, PhD, Manager of Data Science & AI
Strategist, PROS
Justin Silver, Ph.D. is a senior data scientist at PROS.
He specializes in the development and implementation of machine learning
systems and processes that enable businesses to achieve pricing and sales
excellence. His innovative contributions to the PROS solutions suite have
helped customers to achieve substantial
ROI improvement through a scientific approach to commerce. Dr. Silver has a
Ph.D. from Rice University.