AI Appreciation Day: Experts weigh the benefits and risks of AI

On AI Appreciation Day, which falls on July 16, experts say there are endless opportunities within sectors such as healthcare, finance, agriculture, education, and manufacturing where intelligent AI can collaborate seamlessly with humans to solve complex problems.

When we see the profound ways in which AI is transforming how we do business, transact, work and live, it’s no wonder ‘AI Appreciation Day’ is starting to make waves across news and social channels. But as much as there are exciting opportunities, there are also challenges with the new ‘Age of AI’. 

Daniel Keys, Head of AI & Innovation, xAmplify

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed the world we live in. In today’s dynamic operating environment, harnessing the potential of AI has enabled us to revolutionise the way we think, work and operate.

AI has allowed organisations to experience a multitude of benefits from streamlining operations, enhancing productivity and delivering innovation at scale.

In our digital world, AI is empowering organisations to analyse vast volumes of data quickly and accurately, extracting actionable insights that drive informed, responsive decision making. Whether it’s understanding customer preferences, offering intuitive interfaces to digital services or optimising supply chains, AI enables organisations to stay ahead of the curve by basing decisions on real-time data-driven insights.

As we increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making, it is crucial that we can interpret and understand the reasoning behind these choices. The opacity of some AI frameworks and rapidly evolving technologies poses a significant challenge, making it difficult to discern how models are trained, what data they use, and the subsequent impact on decision-making. This lack of explainability can have far-reaching consequences, potentially leading to biased outcomes, perpetuating existing social inequalities, and undermining trust in AI systems. Moreover, the inability to understand AI-driven decisions can result in unforeseen risks to businesses and governments, damaging reputation, and compromising compliance with regulatory requirements. It is essential that we prioritise explainability in all AI products and services, ensuring that decision-making processes are transparent, accountable, and trustworthy.

AI’s uses are limitless. The technology has already helped many industries to significantly improve efficiency through automation, reduce errors and redirect their focus and efforts to high-value tasks. By building AI capabilities and embracing new technological advancements, businesses can gain a competitive edge, better adapt to market disruptions and respond effectively to regulatory changes.”

Gavin Jones, Area Vice President (ANZ)

“AI has become integral to our daily lives, from simplifying routine tasks to tackling global challenges. One noteworthy application is Search AI, which combines the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to revolutionise how organisations manage and utilise their data, providing faster, smarter, and more efficient access to relevant information.

In healthcare, AI facilitates quick access to critical patient data and research, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and patient care. In business settings, AI enables the extraction of actionable insights from vast data sets, improving decision-making, customer service, and operational efficiency. It also aids IT and security teams by identifying threats in real time and enhancing targeted customer support efforts.

While we celebrate AI’s achievements, it’s crucial to prioritise ethical considerations in its development and deployment. At Elastic, we are dedicated to ensuring AI is applied ethically, emphasising transparency, accountability, and fairness. Our vision is to harness the power of Search AI while preventing biases and ensuring equitable benefits for everyone.”

Andrew Gunnis, Co-Founder of GPTStrategic

Celebrating AI Appreciation Day is important for several reasons:

· Awareness and education: It provides a platform to increase public understanding of AI, its capabilities, and its potential impact on society

· Bridging the knowledge gap: The day can help demystify AI technology, making it more accessible to those who may feel intimidated or left behind by the pace of technological change

· Encouraging participation: We can inspire more people to engage with and contribute to AI development and applications by highlighting AI’s positive contributions

· Addressing concerns: It offers an opportunity to discuss and address ethical considerations and societal implications of AI constructively

· Celebrating achievements: The day allows us to celebrate the progress made in AI and acknowledge the hard work of researchers, developers, and innovators in the field

Importantly, AI Appreciation Day can stimulate conversations about the future of work, education, and society in an AI-enhanced world, helping to shape a positive and inclusive vision for the future

Billy Loizou Area VP APAC, Amperity

AI Appreciation Day serves as a meaningful educational tool and a catalyst for how it is applied in the future. On the educational front, it offers a focused opportunity to demystify AI by showcasing real-world use cases, to help people understand AI’s current capabilities and limitations. Additionally,  it provides an ideal platform to address the ethical considerations surrounding AI, fostering critical thinking about its development and use.

AI Appreciation Day encourages discussions about AI’s potential impact on various industries, helping individuals and brands to better anticipate and prepare for upcoming changes – especially when you consider how fast Gen AI is evolving. However, the most important aspect of the day is that it encourages a mindset of continuous learning and adaptability, which will be crucial as AI continues to evolve and reshape various aspects of life and work. 

Jonathan Reeve, Vice President APAC, Eagle Eye

Given all the hype and headlines about the impact of AI, AI Appreciation Day gives us the chance to step back and reflect in a meaningful way about how AI can help us as individuals and help the organisations we work in.  

We see a lot of businesses struggling to see a positive business impact from AI, either because they lack the internal capabilities to capitalise or because the benefits from introducing AI were not as high as predicted. 

Our experience is that it is best to start by using AI to improve an existing repeatable process, as this is the most straightforward opportunity, and it’s likely that third-party vendors may have already developed a solution. For example, we have implemented a third-party tool called Glean to help us improve how we search for information on our internal systems.

Victor Hidalgo, BASES Australia & New Zealand Lead, NielsenIQ (NIQ)

AI has already profoundly disrupted several high-profile industries – such as marketing – and will likely start transforming almost all of them soon. I believe the guiding principles of AI should be the 3Ps: Positive, Practical and Purposeful.

Being positive relates to actively engaging in exploration and iteration to identify areas where generative AI can operate independently and those that require human oversight or involvement.  

Being practical is about assessing the benefits and limitations of the technology on a case-by-case basis to maximise usability and minimise risk.

The purpose part of the equation is a call to action for the industry to be value-driven, not hype-driven.

If everyone sticks to those principles, AI Appreciation Day could soon become one of the year’s most celebrated days!  

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