Top 6 Predictions for AI Advancements and Trends in 2024

By 2024, nascent cultural fascination with nascent AI will yield tangible business results. This technology, which includes the ability to process and create text, voice, and video content, is revolutionizing the way businesses improve productivity, foster innovation, and stimulate creativity. According to McKinsey & Company, these AI applications have the potential to contribute between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy across a variety of business scenarios.

Using insights gained from our extensive collaboration with customers and partners in more than 25 countries, we are excited to share our accurate forecasts and emerging trends for 2024. This global perspective has allowed us to observe how different industries influence and are influenced by evolving technologies. sight. Here’s a glimpse of what the future holds.

1. Enterprise AI customization

Enterprise AI customization is on the rise as companies embrace custom-generated AI applications. These applications are designed to integrate proprietary data to meet specific business requirements and ensure more accurate and relevant responses. This trend signals a shift toward more efficient and personalized AI-based business solutions. For example, a global retail chain could adopt region-specific AI models trained based on data such as customer preferences and cultural differences. This approach allows for highly personalized customer interactions.

In Japan, AI prioritizes efficiency and accuracy, while in Brazil it emphasizes warmth and engagement, reflecting the cultural values ​​of each market. This trend is expected to extend across a variety of industries, transforming AI from a common tool to a critical strategic asset. Enterprises are increasingly relying on AI for customer engagement, operational efficiency, and market competitiveness, leading to a dynamic business environment where AI drives innovation and addresses specific market and operational challenges.

2. Open source AI model

By 2024, open source pre-trained AI models will gain significant traction, helping businesses accelerate growth by combining these models with private or real-time data. These synergies improve productivity and cost efficiency. IBM is actively contributing to open source AI models through collaboration with NASA.

Notable contributions include the largest-of-its-kind geospatial AI-based model on the Hugging Face platform and a pioneering open-source AI-based model created in partnership with NASA. This model expands access to NASA’s Earth science data, especially for advancing geospatial information and climate-related research. This model, derived from NASA satellite data, demonstrates IBM’s commitment to using open source technology in critical areas such as climate change.

IBM and NASA aim to democratize access and encourage their application to climate and Earth science innovations by making these models available on Hugging Face, a renowned repository of transformer models. The model showed impressive results, achieving a 15% improvement over the state-of-the-art using only half of the labeled data, making it a powerful tool for tasks such as tracking deforestation, predicting crop yields, and detecting and monitoring greenhouse gases.

3. API-based AI and microservices

The proliferation of application programming interfaces (APIs) simplifies the creation of complex AI-based applications, improving productivity across a variety of sectors. IBM has developed a suite of custom AI microservices for retailers that can be accessed via APIs. These services included customer behavior analytics, inventory management, and customized marketing tools.

A key feature is the integration of IBM’s AI-based intelligent assistant into the retailer’s customer service system. Assistants who were able to handle numerous customer inquiries in real time provided customized answers based on individual customer data. Additionally, IBM’s AI-powered summary tool enabled the retailer to efficiently analyze customer feedback and sales data to make fast, informed decisions. The impact was significant. Customer service efficiency has improved, marketing strategies have become more data-driven, and inventory management has been optimized. The flexibility and scalability of these API-based solutions allowed retailers to quickly adapt to market changes.

4. Make AI a national priority

Recognizing the enormous potential of AI, countries around the world are expected to prioritize AI development in a way reminiscent of a new space race. This heightened focus will result in significant advances in research, science, and economic growth, firmly positioning AI as a strategic global asset.

In 2023, the European Union has demonstrated its commitment to elevate AI as a national priority as it moves towards finalization of the EU AI Act. This historic legislation represents the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for artificial intelligence, classifying AI systems into different risk levels (unacceptable risk, high risk and limited risk) and imposing obligations accordingly.

EU AI law legislation ranges from high-risk scenarios such as the use of AI in sensitive systems such as welfare, employment, education, and transportation to low-risk applications such as chatbots. EU AI law also bans certain AI applications deemed to pose unacceptable risks, such as the use of emotion recognition in the workplace and social scoring based on social behavior or personal characteristics.

5. Multi-mode creation AI

As we transition from text-based generative AI to multimodal language, the integration of text, voice, and images promises contextual responses and drives innovation across a variety of sectors. For example, during a customer service call, AI can analyze a customer’s voice requests, interpret financial documents, and evaluate facial expressions in a video consultation. AI can aggregate these data points (voice, text, and visual clues) to provide more personalized financial advice and improve credit rating accuracy.

6. AI Safety and Ethics

As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, concerns about AI safety and ethics are intensifying. Leading AI organizations are collaborating to develop robust AI systems with standardized safety protocols and best practices to ensure ethical use of AI. IBM and Meta launched the AI ​​Safety Alliance to address AI challenges with industry leaders such as Intel, Oracle, AMD, Dell, and the Linux® Foundation. The alliance’s goals are to help create alternatives to closed AI systems, promote responsible AI innovation, and ensure scientific rigor, trust, safety, security, diversity, and economic competitiveness. It also supports AI hardware growth, advances open AI technology development, and establishes global benchmarks, resources, and standards for responsible AI development. This initiative reflects IBM’s commitment to AI safety and ethics and promotes open innovation in AI development.

Embracing the Future: A Call to Action for an AI-Driven World in 2024

These trends and predictions are not just technical predictions. It serves as a roadmap for innovation, growth and social progress. As AI advances, we must rethink not only our business practices but also our interactions with the world. The potential of AI is vast and its impact is just beginning. By staying informed, adaptable, and proactive, you can harness the power of AI to build a more efficient, innovative, and inclusive future.

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