We are entering a new era, ruled by data. What was once the realm of science fiction is fast becoming reality.
So says Vino Govender, Acting Chief Strategy Officer at Dark Fibre Africa, who will be presenting at the 'Meeting of Minds: ITWeb Artificial Intelligence 2018' conference, to be held on 1 and 2 August, at The Forum in Bryanston.
Govender will speak about the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning technologies on South African businesses that are going through a 'digital transformation journey'.
The IDC 2018 Digital Transformation Predictions report revealed that spending on digital transformation will increase by 42% between 2017 and 2019 to reach $1.7 trillion globally, Govender points out.
"At the forefront of this digital transformation are technologies such as AI, the Internet of Things (IOT) and blockchain, which are growing exponentially and forcing executives to re-examine the core of their business models."
He says AI, which attracted investment of $12 billion in 2017, will likely be the star of this new technology paradigm. "In its simplest definition, AI comprises different technologies that can be combined in various ways to sense, comprehend, act, and learn."
For businesses, this means greater efficiencies and economic growth.
"These days, organisations can use machine algorithms to identify trends and insights in vast sets of data, and make quicker decisions that could position them to be competitive in real-time. AI is making everything simpler and smarter."
He says gaining value from AI demands recognition and action from leadership. To create an AI roadmap focused on growing the business, leaders need a proper grasp of the technology.
"Businesses have to create an open AI culture, and to do this, corporate culture must adapt to the presence of its new AI 'employees'. This demands trust, openness, and transparency. It must address not only interactions, but employees' concerns over the effect of AI on job security, wages, and privacy."
Share