According to SAS experts, AI will not take all the work away from humans. On the other hand, it will help proactive businesses make better decisions.
In recent years, almost everyone in and out of the tech world has been talking about artificial intelligence and making predictions, both positive and negative. Some say that AI technology will take all the jobs away from humans, others that it will spell the end of human civilization. The myths and speculations are more of a smokescreen than an explanation of what AI technology is. SAS, the world’s number one company in artificial intelligence and analytics, asked its experts what the trends in artificial intelligence might be in 2024 and asked them to predict the developments in this field. Here are 12 realistic predictions made by AI and analytics experts…
The role of productive AI will increase
“Productive AI technology can do many things, but it can’t do everything. In 2024, organizations will move to view generative AI not as a standalone technology, but as a complement to their industry-specific AI strategy. In banking, simulated data for stress testing and scenario analysis will help predict risks and prevent losses. In healthcare, individualized treatment plans will start to be created. In manufacturing, simulation applications will be used to determine efficiency levels in areas such as quality, reliability and energy efficiency.”
- Bryan Harris, CTO, SAS
Artificial intelligence will create jobs
“In 2023 there was a lot of concern and speculation about the jobs that AI could eliminate. In 2024, there will instead be more talk about the jobs AI will create. For example, there is huge potential in rapid engineering, which links the potential of a manufacturing model to its real-world applications. AI will help workers at all skill levels to be more effective and efficient. In 2024 and beyond, while it may cause some short-term challenges in the labor market, it will help drive economic growth and open up many new jobs and career opportunities.”
- Udo Sglavo, Vice President of Advanced Analytics, SAS
Artificial intelligence will improve responsible marketing
“Marketers should always consciously adopt responsible marketing techniques. To do so, they must be aware that AI can be wrong and biased. While AI promises improved marketing and advertising practices, we know that biased data and models lead to biased results. That’s why at SAS Marketing, we develop model cards for AI, like a bill of materials. Whether you develop or use AI, you are responsible for its impact and results. Any marketer, regardless of their level of technical knowledge, can review these model cards, verify that their algorithms are effective and fair, and make adjustments as needed.”
- Jennifer Chase, CMO, SAS
Financial firms will look to artificial intelligence to navigate the Dark Age of Fraud
“Unfortunately, prolific AI and deepfake technologies are also helping fraudsters hone their skills. Phishing messages are now very realistic. Imitation websites look surprisingly authentic. Fraudsters can clone a voice with a few seconds of audio. We are entering the Dark Age of Fraud, where banks and regulators have to work hard to make up for lost time in AI adoption. What’s more, new regulations are forcing financial companies to take more responsibility in the face of rising APP fraud (instant payment fraud) and other forms of fraud.”
- Stu Bradley, Senior Vice President of Risk, Fraud and Compliance Solutions, SAS
Shadow AI will challenge computing center managers
“For years, IT center managers in organizations have dealt with ‘shadow IT’ – solutions used or developed within the organization without formal sanction or oversight from the IT team – and now they will deal with ‘shadow AI’ applications. While well-intentioned employees will continue to use productive AI tools to improve efficiency, the focus will be on how far these productive AI tools should be adopted and what boundaries should be drawn to protect their organizations from risk.”
- Jay Upchurch, CIO, SAS
Multimodal artificial intelligence will be increasingly discussed
“The integration of text, image, and sound represents the next stage of generative artificial intelligence. Known as multimodal artificial intelligence, this method can lead to the development of more sensitive applications for effective decision-making by processing various inputs simultaneously. The production of three-dimensional objects, environments, and spatial data can be cited as an example. We will see this method implemented in simulations of complex physical systems such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and digital twins.”
- Marinela Profi, Artificial Intelligence/Generative Artificial Intelligence Strategy Consultant, SAS
Adaptation to digital twins will gain momentum
“Technologies such as artificial intelligence and the analytics of the Internet of Things (IoT) are widely used in key sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, energy, and public sectors. These technologies are utilized for turning large volumes of data into better and faster decisions. In 2024, with the more comprehensive use of digital twin technologies that analyze real-time sensor and operational data, creating replicas of complex systems such as factories, smart cities, and energy networks, the adaptation to artificial intelligence and IoT analytics will accelerate. Organizations can optimize their operations, improve product quality, increase safety and reliability, and reduce emissions with digital twins.”
- Jason Mann, Vice President in Charge of IoT, SAS
Insurers will confront climate risk with the help of artificial intelligence
“Climate change has moved from being a speculative threat to a reality. Insured losses from natural disasters globally exceeded $130 billion in 2022. Insurers are feeling the pressure in this area. For example, in the U.S., insurers are under scrutiny for raising premiums and pulling out of risky states like California and Florida, leaving tens of millions of consumers in difficulty. Insurers will increasingly adopt artificial intelligence to escape this situation, support liquidity flows, and remain competitive by leveraging the potential of their vast data repositories. Artificial intelligence will assist beyond dynamic premium pricing and risk assessment, aiding in claim processing, fraud detection, customer service, and the automation of operations.”
- Troy Haines, Senior Vice President in Charge of Risk Research and Quantitative Solutions, SAS”
The importance of artificial intelligence in the public sector will increase
“The impacts of artificial intelligence on the workforce will also begin to be felt in public institutions. Public organizations struggle to retain artificial intelligence experts due to their high salaries. However, they will have to aggressively hire experts in this field to support regulatory applications. Like private sector companies, public organizations will also increasingly turn to artificial intelligence and analytics to improve productivity, automate certain tasks, and reduce the shortage of skilled personnel.”
- Reggie Townsend, Vice President of Data Ethics Practice, SAS
Generative artificial intelligence will support patient care
“In 2024, organizations will develop generative AI-powered tools for personalized medicine applications such as creating patient-specific avatars and treatment plans for use in clinical trials, to advance in the healthcare field and improve the experiences of patients and application users. Additionally, we will see the emergence of generative AI-based systems for clinical decision support services that provide real-time guidance to application subscribers, service providers, and pharmaceutical companies.”
- Steve Kearney, Global Medical Director, SAS
The use of artificial intelligence will determine the fate of insurers
“In 2024, one of the top 100 insurance companies will cease operations as a result of rapidly deploying generative artificial intelligence. Insurers are currently introducing autonomous systems extremely quickly without any adaptation to their business models. They hope that using artificial intelligence to solve problems quickly will compensate for the poor performance of the last few years. However, following layoffs in the industry in 2023, the remaining staff are severely inadequate to provide the necessary oversight for the ethical and widespread implementation of artificial intelligence. The myth that artificial intelligence is a cure-all could lead to tens of thousands of erroneous business decisions; this could cause corporate collapse, irreparably damaging consumer trust and regulatory bodies.”
- Franklin Manchester, Global Insurance Strategic Consultant, SAS
Public health services will receive artificial intelligence support from the academic community
“Public health services are undergoing technological modernization at an unprecedented pace. It is very important to use data to predict interventions required in any type of health problem in the field of public health. While prediction and modeling are rapidly becoming the cornerstone of public health studies, governments need help in this regard. We will see an increase in the number of academic researchers conducting artificial intelligence-focused modeling and prediction studies on behalf of governments. It was clearly seen with Covid-19 that protecting public health required extraordinary technologies and collaborative efforts.”
- Dr. Meghan Schaeffer, National Public Health Advisor and Epidemiologist, SAS
You can discover the latest developments in artificial intelligence and analytics at the SAS Innovate event to be held in Las Vegas from April 16-19, 2024.”
