2023 Is Artificial Intelligence's Big Year: Industry Pros Tell Us What To Expect

Artificial intelligence enthusiasts and sceptics got treated to the wonders of machine learning in 2022. At the surface level, having a dedicated tool that performs complex tasks - be it writing a thesis on the dangers of late-stage capitalism, to curating evocative images of how cities might appear in the aftermath of unfettered climate changes - AI delivered on various fronts that the general public can understand.

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Within industries, AI helped streamline automation and make labour-intensive tasks quicker and more accurate. With the right data sets, artificial intelligence can clear a lot of backlog in virtually any industry - manufacturing, healthcare, and more.

While 2022's AI journey seems to have ended, we wanted to understand what lies ahead for artificial intelligence - in the year 2023. So, we caught up with a few industry leaders to shed light on what the near-future looks like.

AI supremacy in AI

Wondering what areas are expected to grow tremendously in the coming year? Here's what industry's brightest minds have to say.

"Speedy progress in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, democratisation of AI, novel applications of existing models, the adoption of AI governance and ethics frameworks and reporting, including many more other developments are making AI an intrinsic part that brings success to an enterprise. There are several areas where AI is expected to see significant advancements; for instance, a large language model, generative AI, and the development of knowledge graphs will significantly uplift what humans can do using AI in the coming years," noted Hasit Trivedi, CTO Digital Technologies & Global Head ¨C AI, Tech Mahindra.

Hasit Trivedi, CTO Digital Technologies & Global Head ¨C AI, Tech Mahindra

Also read: Industry Pioneers Explain How AI Improved Their Efficiency And Accuracy In 2022

"In AI, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and virtual agents will also continue to scale beyond in 2023, especially with ChatGPT and others like DALL-E coming into the picture. Transformers as a technology has been immensely pivotal and practically everything today is based on a transformer-driven model. Reinforcement Learning is again an area which has shown a lot of promise, with ChatGPT being a prime example. Knowledge graphs and Digital Twins are also becoming much more interesting, with the latter showing a lot of promise in the manufacturing sector," said Anurag Sahay, Managing Director and Head of AI and Data Science, Nagarro.

Anurag Sahay, Managing Director and Head of AI and Data Science, Nagarro

"A shift towards using software and computer-based enhancements rather than relying solely on data science and research to improve AI models is expected to significantly grow in 2023," said Piyush Jha, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Technology APAC, GlobalLogic.

Is automation scary for creative professionals?

"Avatar 2 movie has harnessed the power of AI to deliver an unparalleled cinematic experience. Utilising special algorithms, the movie immerses audiences in a fully realised world unlike anything seen before. But it's important to note that these cutting-edge technologies have not replaced the vision and creativity of director James Cameron or any other member of the movie's talented team," said Piyush Jha from GlobalLogic.

Piyush Jha, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Technology APAC, GlobalLogic

"Contrary to some concerns, the creative industries should not fear AI automation. While it's true that AI can automate certain tasks, it's not a replacement for human ingenuity and innovation. In fact, AI has the potential to enhance and augment the work of creative professionals by freeing up time and resources that can be devoted to higher-level, more imaginative projects," Jha added.

Also read: Metaverse, AI, And Robots: 5 Tech Trends That Defined The Year 2022

What could people in creative industries do? "It is essential for people in the creative industries to be mindful of the potential impacts of AI and automation, and they should be proactive in upskilling themselves and staying on trend with technological advancements. It may also be necessary for businesses in the creative industries to adapt and find new ways of working to stay competitive in the face of AI and automation," urged Hasit Trivedi from Tech Mahindra.

Nagarro's Anurag Sahay said that "[AI] indeed is lowering the baseline or threshold of what it takes to build art, but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will come up with a good art story. The top line of good creative quality is also getting pushed higher. Thus, one shouldn¡¯t be afraid and adapt to these new tools, bringing in more human-augmented perspectives to improve the outcomes."

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Eradicating bias from AI

As much as we try to escape it, bias is an unfortunate reality of contemporary human societies. Many critics of AI and machine learning have suggested how artificial intelligence may reproduce human biases based on the data models provided to them. What are companies doing to alleviate this?

Tech Mahindra's Hasit Trivedi said that "[they] have adopted a comprehensive approach to address biases in AI by carefully selecting and cleaning data, testing systems for biases, and implementing processes to mitigate any identified biases."

Also read: Disney's New AI Can Change Actors' Age Through 'Re-Ageing' Process

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Inculcating a diverse team spirit might be helpful. "The best way to eradicate inherent bias is to focus on the diversity of the teams that work on AI software and also to be aware of the nature/type of diversity that sneaks in... we also frequently cross pollinate these teams to have them appreciate each other more and get a real feel of cultural differences. We also try to maintain diversity across the roles and hierarchies of developers and reviewers," said GlobalLogic's Piyush Jha.

Another factor that is important in eradicating bias is catching it before it proliferates. "When we work with AI models for our customers, we make sure that our data design strategy is very explicit and understood. We also make sure that our business contexts are very clear, and that we understand the personas and the kinds of decisions they are making," said Nagarro's Anurag Sahay.

What will artificial intelligence in 2023 look like?

Let's get one thing straight - predicting the pace of technology isn't easy. Remember when we were using Nokia brick phones in 2003 and never thought a mini computer could comfortably fit in our pockets. "It is really hard to predict what will happen next year because of the pace at which things are changing every month," said Nagarros' Anurag Sahay.

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Even then, multiple industries could see benefits of AI in 2023. "In healthcare, AI-powered tools and techniques can be used to improve diagnosis and treatment, patient care, reduce costs, and increase efficiency in decision-making. In finance, AI can be used to analyse market trends, predict stock prices, and identify fraudulent activity. In transportation, AI can be used to improve traffic flow, optimise delivery routes, and develop autonomous vehicles. In manufacturing, AI can be used to improve quality control, optimise production processes, and reduce waste. In agriculture, AI may be used to optimise crop yields and improve the efficiency of farming operations," said Hasit Trivedi from Mahindra Tech.

Also read: AI Tool Shows How Earth's 20 Major Cities Would Look After Climate Changes

GlobalLogic's Piyush Jha noted how "the world already has more than 8 billion devices globally that use AI in one form or other." "The healthcare industry will see improved accuracy and speed in disease diagnosis, as well as personalised treatment plans based on data analysis, thanks to the robust adoption of AI. In the entertainment and creative sectors, AI will enable the creation of art that blurs the lines between reality and fiction," Jha said.

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"Additionally, AI-based personalized learning experiences will become more prevalent. The manufacturing and industrial sectors will also benefit from AI through optimised processes, enhanced quality control, and cost savings," he added. "There will be growth in open-source AI tools and platforms that are freely available for anyone to use. As AI technology continues to advance, it is likely that we will see an increasing number of AI tools and applications becoming available to the public."

Tech Mahindra's Hasit Trivedi warned against viewing AI in just terms of its efficiency, claiming that "we should consider AI not only from an efficiency standpoint, but also from the possibility of using AI to solve problems that are currently unsolvable or to create new opportunities for business and the human race. Limiting AI to efficiency will not be fair to what this powerful technology has to offer."

What do you think about the future of artificial intelligence? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.