Machines have been aiding humans carry out mundane practices for decades, but do they have the capabilities to think like a human with the same complex thoughts, feelings and always-changing behavior? After much skepticism, bewilderment and resistance, artificial intelligence (AI) is being taken out of the realm of science fiction and into our everyday lives. Whether it’s smart home systems, self-driving cars or virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, the use of machines programmed to think and act in accordance to humans provides immense benefits, especially for corporations. With help from cognitive computing – or the simulation of human thought processes – businesses are able to mimic the way the human brain works and monitor the large volumes of unstructured data.
But what exactly can businesses do with cognitive solutions? For starters, enterprises can make better operational decisions, understand customer wants and needs, communicate in real time, and optimize business processes. Cognitive systems have the power to understand, reason and learn, and help your organization reach its digital transformation goals faster.
However, Canadian organizations are struggling to ready their infrastructure to match current and future requirements and aren’t ready to take on cognitive computing projects. A recent report from IDC states that Canadians have tinkered with cognitive computing in 2016, but will avoid mainstream adoption until 2020. The cognitive computing market is forecast to be a $2 trillion market, so why are Canadians slow to climb aboard that success? Canadian organizations must ready their infrastructures to meet the rapid growth of AI, Big Data, machine learning and be willing to experiment with their information technology if they want to stay ahead.
The cognitive sciences will drive society forward, and businesses are starting to get a glimpse of the future. IBM is helping Canadian organizations realize the potential of machine learning and high performance infrastructure so they can take advantage of today’s opportunities. IBM Research Labs around the globe envision and develop next-generation systems that work side-by side with humans, accelerating our ability to create, learn, make decisions and think.
IBM Research is shaping the future of AI. Download this IDC Technology Spotlight for an overview of cognitive computing in Canada, and why cognitive computing platforms are right for you.
