Rise of Artificial Intelligence (published as part of the book „23 Innovations in Digital Communication“)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has attracted a large amount of buzz, however most individuals and organizations do not have a clear idea of what technology and capabilities AI entails. AI not a singular invention, but a future-oriented discipline within information technology that deals with the automation and intelligence enabled by machine learning. AI generally falls into two categories, strong and weak AI.  Also known as artificial general intelligence, strong AI is able to perform tasks that require complex thought patterns, such as intuitive leaps, which is not yet possible given current technology. As of 2019, only weak AI exists. Also known as narrow AI, weak AI is artificial intelligence that is focused on one specific task. Organizations and individuals access AI through productized weak AI.

Here are some examples of how AI can be productized:

  • AI-powered chatbots are enabled by natural language processing, speech recognition and the mass adoption of messaging. Chatbots are often used in customer service as both an interface and data collection agent, capturing data on customer queries and other information.
  • Decision support and business intelligence both have their roots in research done in the 1970s and before. However, with new innovations in data generation, big data management and construction of algorithms, organizations can create internal business intelligence functions to enhance their decision making.
  • Process mining and robotic automated processes are often rule, logic or pattern recognition-based. Organizations use automated decision making and processes to cut costs and allow for more.

Productized artificial intelligence can usually be categorized as either horizonal products or vertical products. Horizontal products are technology-driven and include platforms that enable the creation of artificial intelligence. In 2019, horizontal products include platforms such as H20.ai, a machine learning and AI platform for data scientists, and TensorFlow, an open-source machine learning library. Vertical products are customer-centric, focusing on creating a new business model, process or capability for a specific customer segment. Most products are vertical and often incorporate what I call shallow innovations, which I define as “[creating and executing] a use case for proven technology in a way that is sustainably profitable and/or beneficial to society.”[1]

[1] Press, E. (2018). Are you a shallow innovator? That’s ok, if you can execute. [Blog] D3M Labs. Available at: https://www.d3mlabs.de/?p=514  / (Accessed: January 23, 2019)


My insight and more can be found in „23 Innovations in Digital Communication,“ Published by BISPublishers, Summer 2019. Authors: Paul Ketelaar, Jan Aarts, Sanne Demir 

Paperback with flaps

340 pages

25 x 20 cm

ISBN 978 90 6369 518 7


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