Application of AI in Business
By Todd Price, ICDS Corporate Relations Director for Research, Penn State University
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a more common term in both business and consumer life as this technology rapidly moves in new directions to become a catalyst that can transform entire industries.
While the technology is becoming easier to recognize and may even be quicker to implement, as one Penn State researcher has said, “These days, anyone who can spell AI says that they are an Artificial Intelligence researcher.”
Knowing that any new technology has its share of snake oil, this article helps to show the following areas:
- How AI is transforming today’s business landscape.
- Both positive and negative impacts of this new technology.
AI has been dubbed ‘The 4th industrial revolution,’ and while this ability to have machines and software helps humans in the workforce, it is important to realize that AI will not be a replacement for labor, but instead an addition to our current labor setups. Just as during the first industrial revolution, humans found a way to work with animals (horses pulled plow shears instead of humans), this technology is still the same. However, certain items need to be answered before this technology can be fully leveraged.
AI and ML skills are no longer optional approaches or add-on techniques; they are absolute necessities.
- How can foundational advances in artificial intelligence and their applications work across disciplines and industries?
- How can the industry invest in AI-related research while also helping to steer their company (and industry vertical) forward?
- How can companies promote and advance education, and outreach in socially responsible artificial intelligence, as this new technology has the potential to transform all aspects of our daily lives and society at large.
- How can companies use AI foundations and the techniques to deploy them efficiently towards applications focused on newly engineered systems?
- How can companies initiate and create programs that bring together their employees and industry to solve problems using artificial intelligence–based solutions.
Throughout Penn State’s colleges and campuses, scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate their work, discover new insights, and expand the impact of their business research. Penn State’s AI Hub is designed to bring together researchers and facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations, deepening connections among research thrusts. By broadening awareness of AI research at Penn State, the initiative seeks to increase the competitiveness of Penn State across AI research, whether using machine learning, deep learning, or other AI-related tools or instruments.
How AI is transforming today’s business landscape
In many industries, the pace of innovation is outstripping the power of normal computational methods to tackle complex challenges. AI and ML skills are no longer optional approaches or add-on techniques; they are absolute necessities. The chemical and materials industries are two examples that demonstrate this need to leverage AI for business tasks. For example, at Penn State, scientists are working with chemical engineers to study how teams can use machine learning — a form of artificial intelligence — and data science to design more effective catalysts for chemical processing. Creating a more sustainable economy and a cleaner environment, likewise, will rest on the shoulders of AI algorithms. Penn State researchers are working to create inexpensive hydrogen production using advanced machine learning algorithms. If successful, a scalable way to produce hydrogen could be a game-changer in creating a cleaner hydrogen-based economy.
Both positive and negative impacts of this new technology.
Like any technology, AI can be used as a tool – or a weapon. Penn State researchers are at the forefront of creating AI that works for most people, while working to mitigate possible problems, such as misuses and unintentionally negative consequences of these advanced algorithms. For example, Penn State researchers are revealing potential biases in AI algorithms and understanding the interactions between humans and AI to create trustworthy computer helpers.
As we can see, no one can put the AI genie back in the bottle. This technology is already here, and companies can choose whether to use it or not. As we have seen from the last industrial revolution, Sears and Blockbuster chose not to embrace new technologies and paid the price. During the pandemic, companies that did not pivot to using current technologies were either shuttered or had to move quickly to catch up with their competitors that had already adopted these technologies.
How this gets adapted by your industry is not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’.