So, as 2020 comes to an end, we are hopeful that 2021 will be the year of great innovations that will help our economy revive rapidly. As we adapt to the “new normal”, it becomes even more obvious that technology will play a key role in both our business and private lives.
Certainly, AI innovations will play a big role in 2021, as well as AI-based technologies such as computer vision, new uses of machine learning such as ML forecasting methods, and more. Let’s cut to the chase and analyze the most promising AI innovations of 2021!
AI-powered chips
If some of you have never heard of AI-powered chips, in 2021 for sure you will. AI chips offer a much higher processing speed than commonly used CPUs (Central Processing Unit).
This AI solution offers plenty of benefits like:
- completing straightforward tasks within a few seconds,
- simplifying more complex tasks,
- performing more calculations per unit of energy consumed than a CPU could ever do,
- performing advanced calculations for AI algorithms and predictive analytics.
Moreover, artificial intelligence chips will have a huge impact on the development of autonomous robots. By introducing AI-based chips into your business, you can gain a significant competitive advantage and new growth prospects in the future.
AI-driven prediction and decision making
Given the economic situation that has changed so rapidly in the world as a result of the pandemic, entrepreneurs will be even more interested in AI-based forecasts and decision-making.
It is safe to expect that the main areas that will particularly benefit from AI-driven business forecasting are sales departments, medical diagnostic applications, inventory optimization, and demand and workforce planning.
With AI-driven tools, businesses can make effective decisions based on accurate, data-driven information. Entrepreneurs can better identify business opportunities and understand customer needs and behavioral patterns.
Ethical AI
Ethical AI will become an important topic for managers looking to get the most out of what AI solutions are offering while keeping their customers happy. Both consumers and employees are now more aware of the ethical dilemmas associated with AI technology and expect companies to act responsibly. Firms should focus on adopting data handling practices that respect the ethical values desired by customers.
Among the commonly recognized threats related to the implementation of AI solutions are:
- ambiguity about who takes responsibility for any errors made by AI software,
- taking work away from employees,
- ethical concerns about how AI technologies will evolve in the future. How will they coexist with people?
AI-powered chatbots
Chatbots are already a technologically advanced solution that most of us use or at least notice every day. Conversational AI (in other words, AI-based chatbots) will take the next step in 2021.
What are the main advantages of AI chatbots? In short:
- personalized customer experience,
- better range,
- increased responsiveness,
- significant improvement in the automation of customer service.
Conversational AI uses machine learning and NLP (Natural Language Processing) to:
- Understand what we (humans) are saying.
- Give us the support we need to communicate on a human-level that feels almost natural.
The year 2021 will bring us closer than ever to being able to communicate with computers on the same level as with our colleagues.
Trusted data for AI
Nowadays, companies are struggling with increasing pressure from customers to provide a data lineage for artificial intelligence. At the moment, we can divide user data into:
- Synthetic data – allows users to create the datasets necessary to conduct AI training.
- Fake data – makes it impossible to train data as it deliberately throws off AI.
In the upcoming year, companies need to focus on supporting data provenance, integrity, and usage. Only with trusted and ethical data, will businesses be able to gain more from AI solutions than ever before.
That may include:
- personalized manufacturing,
- intelligent edge experiences,
- online meeting transformed into holographic meetings,
- more accurate simulation,
and many more…
Intelligent Process Automation
A new emerging trend that will be a game-changer in 2021 is IPA (Intelligent Process Automation). What is this?
IPA is a technology for automating business processes that enables the automation of individual tasks using artificial intelligence. This solution is a similar, more advanced version of RPA (Robotic Process Automation).
Essentially, IPA will enable us to use more machine learning algorithms to sort data and implement AI technology to recognize valuable information. So IPA is a topic that we will hear more about in the upcoming year.
Data Highways
As data continues to grow, companies must constantly invest time and efforts in advanced data analytics. Only by using dynamic business models can enterprises increase their competitive advantage.
Cybersecurity
As companies are becoming more advanced in data analysis and AI technologies, so do hackers. Therefore, cybersecurity will remain a key topic in discussions of AI innovation.
Artificial intelligence solutions can effectively prevent cyberattacks from being committed against your company. AI software can observe digital activity in real-time, identify unusual transactions, and raise an alert before an attack is successful. It is already a widely used AI application that will grow and gain popularity in the coming years.
AI-based monitoring of processes
Another emerging trend in 2021 – the collaboration of hyper-automation and cognitive automation. It allows companies to integrate AI tools to improve the efficiency of real-time business processes.
AI-based processes with content intelligence solutions will support digital workers with imperative skills, necessary to automate natural language, establishing context, evaluate properly, and gain insight from data.
AI innovations in 2021 – summary
As you can see, this year there will be many exciting new AI trends that will affect our lives. AI-powered chips, intelligent chatbots, improved decision making and a boost in ethical AI are some of them.
Hopefully, these AI consulting and solutions will not only help companies get back on their feet after the 2020 crisis but also help to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
