The Problem

Is Artificial Intelligence just another shiny object, or can it positively impact your business? Every other job posting seems to be for an AI developer. For  certification factories it’s a bonanza. However, AI developers are long on demand and short on supply. The cynical part of me looks forward to when AI can develop itself without human oversight and the certification factories and developers du jour are looking for new opportunities. Six fingered photos and plagiarism arguments aside, are there opportunities to put this to revenue producing or cost saving use? I for one believe there are, and that  it’s never as simple as a LinkedIn video would have you believe. Knowing there is a dearth of development talent, do you buy, build or partner to catch the market window before your competition?

Years ago, a friend selling communications equipment told me a story of his pitch to his customer, a business owner. He told him they could reduce headcount and cost with this new solution. Specifically, operators and secretaries, as the automated attendants, and voice mail, on this new PBX would replace them. It was a family business. The operator was his mother, and the secretaries were his extended family. He lost the sale but learned a lesson. Technology has long promised, but has it delivered those efficient tools that give employees more free time, or more time to do their real jobs? Arguably, it has led to more demands on their time based on assumptions about the efficiency. Reduced staffing has meant more stress among the remaining employees. The current generations have rejected the ‘rat race’ lifestyles of their parents and grandparents. Is it possible to strike a balance and generate that win-win?

The Solution

 I will leave the hierarchical types and numbers of  AI models to other authors. However, the automation of repetitive tasks is a valid and common use case. In its simplest form, AI can help achieve that. We have all interacted with chatbots or auto attendants and have varying opinions on the experience. Like anything, you get what you pay for. If you invest in the development and training of the bot, your customers will have a more valuable experience. When a client has to say ’representative’ ten times to get a live person because your selections, logic, and training failed to resolve your customer’s problem, you have wasted your money possibly at the expense of your customer. Lesson one is to pick the right application, and make sure you properly invest in the project.

Voice assistants are another powerful too, that did not begin as an AI application but are being powerfully enhanced by it. I use one every day, and for me, as it’s on a separate dedicated device that doesn’t take up my real estate on my screen and doesn’t require me to press or open anything, I enjoy using it. It often fails on more complex questions; however, the new AI version will be shortly released that promises to rectify that shortcoming. So, it has replaced my typing in a browser hoping for a good return and scrolling past the sponsored items that I didn’t ask for to get to my answer. It enhances my experience, and I can continue to multitask with two free hands.

How do we add the value of repetitive task replacement with the enhancement of task? By consuming and presenting large volumes and varieties of data so that a user can synthesize it in their daily roles.

Consider a trader with screens full of changing charts, TV audio playing, internal and external hoots and shoutdowns being broadcast, calls coming in and going out to specific traders and firms are being made and logged and you can’t access it. Social media, news and market information are constantly changing, memos and emails are constantly coming in, voice recorders are transcribing events that you had no idea were even taking place let alone having access to. And there they are in the middle of that cacophony as the human information processor responsible for synthesizing everything into a transaction that will make your firm a great deal of money.  Now imagine you are that same trader, and AI was synthesizing all of that for you and presenting it into one easy to consume, visual user experience.

Using that same technology in Command and Control (c2) applications, information may be sent on social media long before the first emergency services call is ever made to  public safety officials, especially where the geography is remote or that hour is late. A report of some natural catastrophic event may begin as a post to a group. Hey, did you feel/hear/see that? By aggregating all of those same feeds and social media, can a disaster preparedness center get a jump on the response to an event in the same way the trader could and thus saves lives?

Conclusion

Systems Integrators, who supply mission critical solutions such as XOP Networks, are building AI into their core applications such as their Universal Service Node that provides financial industry and C2 critical communications systems.  Whether it is for their own customer service application, or for traders and first responders to visualize, synthesize and respond to massive amounts of data, XOP is focusing on enhancement use cases. The technologies mentioned above are available and in commercial use today. None of this is a vaporware or futures discussion. While your specific applications and integrations may require development or SDK/API work, these tools will assist with the dissemination of vast amounts of data to help humans make better, faster, and more informed decisions that can impact financial success and public safety.

Anecdotal Chat GPT use cases may be getting all of the press, but business applications will drive the success of AI and determine whether it is a flash int the pan or has longevity beyond the next shiny object. As with anything, how solutions providers architect and market the value will make the difference. So, learn the lesson of pitching the staff reduction aspect of the business  owners family with automation,  and instead focus on the value of the result. Visualizing and enhancing voice communication has always been a challenge, and XOP Networks is helping enterprises realize the value of the data they have access to and are turning that potential into voice with vision.

Bill Wagner is a financial industry technology consultant with over 30 years’ experience as an industry executive in hardware, software, engineering, operations, R&D, product development and introduction, and strategic development.