As Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances, it increasingly impacts the business world. Every industry now uses some form of AI in their day-to-day operations, allowing for greater efficiency and reducing labour costs where jobs can be automated.

While many sectors suffered as a result of Covid, technological developments in the AI space have been accelerated by the pandemic, with lockdown resulting in the need for more AI applications in a range of business, health and education settings, with AI even playing a role in the development of vaccines.

According to a recent Forbes article, PwC predicts that by the mid-2030s, up to 30% of jobs could be automated, and CBS News reports machines could replace 40% of the world’s workers within 15 to 25 years.

Here we explore some of the emerging AI trends which could directly affect business for the rest of 2022 and beyond:

1. Chatbots – Popular with businesses and consumers alike, chatbots are AI systems that enable customer engagement via messaging, text, or speech. Although the AI required to understand and interpret conversations with users can be complex, several platforms are now available to help with sophisticated chatbot building. With this ease of creating chatbots, coupled with consumers’ demand for 24hr services and the normalcy of using messaging apps, the automation of online chat forums will likely increase. Chatbots don’t just provide advantages to customers; businesses can enjoy reduced operating costs in areas of customer service, marketing, payments and processing. It is predicted that by 2024, consumer retail spending via chatbots worldwide will reach $142 billion – up from just $2.8 billion in 2019, according to a recent report by Insider.
2. Fully Automated Driving – The technology needed for autonomous driving, i.e. driving without the need for any human interaction within the car or remotely, continues to develop, with heavy investment in the testing and refining of driverless cars by leading companies such as ARGO AI who, spent the last month of 2021 focussing on details such as how to ensure that autonomous vehicles can recognise cyclists. The applications of driverless vehicles are immense, including; deliveries, public transport and even military use. The advantages could be far-reaching, too, with autonomous cars having the potential to be safer and reduce congestion which in turn also reduces emissions.
3. Security & Surveillance – AI is increasingly being used in several forms of biometric authentication (link to McGregor Boyall biometrics blog from 14 Jan) for security and surveillance. This includes face recognition, voice identification, and video analysis. This technology reduces the need for human input, with AI being able to better distinguish between authentic and fake biometric information in real-time, helping businesses with everything from monitoring storage in retail or manufacturing to validating customers for online banking. More advanced ‘anti-spoofing’ technology is also currently in development, allowing companies even greater flexibility and accuracy for increased security.
4. Real-time video processing – This refers to instances when there is a need to process streamed video content in real-time. It is mainly associated with virtual conferencing such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Unsurprisingly, there has been a massive demand for effective software for real-time video editing, e.g. blurring and background removal or replacement. AI algorithms are constantly being designed and updated to provide solutions that can identify objects at fast processing speeds without compromising accuracy while ensuring that security and privacy are retained where needed.
5. Visual Inspection – Used across a range of industries, automated visual inspection has recently seen a surge in popularity as the technology has seen rapid improvements in accuracy and performance. Applications of AI inspection include:

• Monitoring quality control and compliance in manufacturing
• Detecting product defects on an assembly line
• Identifying faults of mechanical and car body parts
• Baggage screening and aircraft maintenance
• Inspections of nuclear power stations
• Temperature screening and anomaly detection in test results for healthcare

6. Low-Code & No-Code Platforms – One of the greatest barriers to employing AI technology for many companies is the cost, time and expertise needed to develop AI models from scratch. With new ‘No-code’ and ‘Low-Code’ solutions becoming more readily available, smaller organisations can now look to compete in the AI arena. No-code platforms are designed to have drag-and-drop functionality for ease of use and without the need for any coding, while Low-code platforms are suitable for more technical users and provide easy access to the code when needed to allow for more personalisation. Both of these out-of-the-box solutions help businesses to implement AI models quickly and at low cost without the need for a large team of highly qualified data scientists and therefore have the potential to accelerate the use of AI at an exponential rate.
7. Hybrid Tech Teams – As an alternative to No-code and Low-code options, companies who want to speed up the implementation of AI but don’t want to rely on out-of-the-box solutions may be considering hybrid recruitment, or Statement of Work (SoW) as it is sometimes known, which can supply businesses with tech solutions that allow them to hire a ready-made team of the best tech talent on a project basis. This ‘best of both worlds option can provide the highly qualified software developers and data scientists needed to build and implement a new bespoke AI system tailored to a company’s specific requirements, but at a lower cost and faster timescale than employing permanent tech professionals or training up existing staff. Once a new AI platform has been built, the tech can then be managed by existing staff at the company without the need to retain highly salaried software professionals.

If you are looking for a team of tech, cyber security, risk, compliance or IT professionals for anything from a small short-term project to a large-scale, long-term managed contract, get in touch with Dukebridge today and find out how our hybrid consulting services can quickly and effectively fulfil your staffing needs.

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We equip our clients to overcome the challenges of meeting business, operational and technology objectives by helping them build, scale and deploy skilled teams quickly and cost-effectively.

We achieve this by providing highly responsive programme/project resources skilled in analysis, project management and execution, whose effectiveness is sustained by our Service Delivery Function. This includes a centralised PMO function that helps achieve project/engagement success by embedding accountability and governance from day one.