As recently as 2001, with the Steven Spielberg film “AI,” artificial intelligence was largely seen as “left field” science: interesting and not without potential, but futuristic. This is no longer the case. AI is no longer abstract and abstruse. It is here and now, and its impact is being felt in organizations from Hong Kong to Houston.
The current process in business — driven by people, aided by machines — is undergoing a definite shift. “Project yourself 10 years into the future,” said Nicolas Chapados, Chief Science Officer at Element AI, “and most organizations will run on AI helped by humans.”
Chapados’ forecast has deeper implications, and even today it is not too difficult to imagine machines not just predicting but actually creating, with all the flair of a human being. Certainly in the short term, within the next decade, the growth of AI in business may lead to such things as:
- Better speech, voice, image, and video recognition;
- More and more systems running autonomously; and
- Personal assistants becoming more personal and more aware of context
Regardless of where you stand when it comes to such assertions as Elon Musk’s that there will be no steering wheel in cars 20 years from now, AI is here and it is going to be disruptor in the business world. The challenge for leaders is not to let such potentially game-changing technological advances surprise them and, through lagging and dithering, put their company in a catch-up position.
On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, ITWC in cooperation with the City of Toronto will sponsor Technicity: Connecting AI Innovation to Opportunity, a one-day conference that will explore the impact of the revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) on business and government, with some focus on the Greater Toronto Area.
Event attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the AI efforts of organizations like General Motors, RBC, and Kinark Child and Family Services. There will also be a look at City of Toronto’s AI efforts in the areas of transportation, and licensing and fire services.
Panel discussions featuring city officials and business leaders will focus on how embracing AI and Deep Learning leads to enhanced services, increased efficiency and improved citizen engagement.
Some of the other topics to be discussed include:
- Health of the startup community in Toronto around AI;
- Ways companies can do business with the City of Toronto;
- State of AI as a business application, and why Toronto maintains a leading position;
- Tech trends and will debunk the myth that technology kills jobs; and
- Case studies and best practices for companies seeking to employ AI and M2M learning.
This event is designed for senior level executives and closed to IT vendor companies, other than sponsors.
Register today for “Connecting AI Innovation to Opportunity” or view the agenda.
