Artificial intelligence trailblazers and academics alike are placing a rather large emphasis on the decade ahead. The opinion – first publicly asserted a few years ago by Russian president Vladimir Putin – that whoever leads AI in 2030 will rule the world until 2100, has gained hardcore support, with China, the USA and Europe all competing for the technological crown.

For most of us, thinking in terms of global dominance 70 years from today seems far detached from everyday business in 2020. But, Hollywood-style drama aside, it’s entirely true that a seismic change is upon us. As said by the director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, “this is a moment of choice and opportunity. It could be the best 10 years ahead of us that we have ever had”.

In short, it’s time to grab the bull by the horns when it comes to AI. To make the most of the opportunities for stable and long-term success, we must understand what AI technologies mean for people and business, how they’re different from what has come before and what trends to prepare for during the next decade. These are our top 5 predictions for the 10-year future of AI:

1. AI moves from planning into production

2020 and beyond is about finalising all of those exciting plans and bringing AI technologies into the fold in a very tangible, operationally significant way. It will soon become normal to have AI at the heart of operational capability and focus will shift to results, rather than ideas.

2. Experts will become necessary, not preferred

It will become increasingly difficult to find an effective workaround to hiring an AI expert. Companies who have dabbled with consultants will be likely to draft in fully-fledged employees, and former AI novices will seriously enhance their in-house intelligent technologies skillset.

3. Man and machine will converge

This isn’t as dystopian as it initially sounds, trust us! In the areas of customer service, AI technology such as chatbots will mature and integrate in a much more balanced and authentic fashion. However, one study suggests that even by the end of 2020, conversational AI will still power less than 20% of successful customer service interactions.

4. “Hyperautomation” will join your vocabulary

Although much is made about AI replacing humans – especially in sectors such as manufacturing – it’s not all doom and gloom if managed intelligently. Hyperautomation will see advanced versions of AI and Machine Learning work alongside humans, tools and equipment to a sophisticated level. This will spread the share of labour more equally to where human and machine can add most value.

5. Standardisation will set in

At present, a lot of AI is built on custom architecture. According to ABI research, 2020 and the years to follow will be marked by AI frameworks becoming more “multimodal”. This means that the computing resources required to operate these frameworks will likely become heterogeneous, opening up the world of AI to a wider variety of businesses.

Do you need help phasing out end-of-life or old equipment to make way for new, intelligent technologies? Or do you need to get your IT platform ready for AI? Speak to Sentis today to book a no-obligation IT audit – just call us on 0345 862 2930 or click here to ask a question