AI is evolving from science fiction to a powerful business tool. It can now undertake tasks that previously required human intervention such as driving vehicles and production line work. AI tools can also surpass human abilities by sifting through vast data to find correlations and make predictions. The future of AI looks bright as cloud computing lowers costs and more electronic data becomes available for analysis. For organizations to fully realize AI's power, efficient connectivity between systems and data is critical via application networks.

1. How AI is evolving from science
fiction into a powerful business
tool

2. • Once the subject of seemingly far-fetched science fiction movies,
artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming an important tool within
corporate and government IT infrastructures.
• Built from sophisticated software algorithms, the technology can
undertake tasks that previously have required human intervention.
Driving vehicles, controlling production lines and recognising faces in
a crowd are all well within its capabilities now.

3. • In some areas, AI tools can even surpass the abilities of humans. The tools are
able to sift through vast quantities of data and uncover correlations that
previously would have gone unnoticed. Some tools are able to use data to make
sophisticated decisions and predictions about the likelihood of events such as
stock market crashes and national elections.
• The pace of development in the AI space is being driven by the increasing
availability of large amounts of compute power. Where the cost of the
infrastructure required to run these tools had previously put them out of reach
for all but the largest of organisations, now cloud platforms are levelling the
playing field. Both large and small organisations can have access to vast amounts
of compute power at price points that continue to decline. With the cost of
compute cycles continuing to drop, the future for AI is looking very bright.
• The technology is also benefiting from the large amount of data readily available
for analysis. Many processes that were once paper based are now conducted
electronically, thus providing more data for analysis. The more data an AI tool is
fed, the more effective it will become

4. • The role of application networks
• For the growing power of AI to be fully realised by organisations,
efficient and effective connectivity between systems and data stores
is critical. The value of insights gained can only be as good as the data
on which those insights are based. This means access to the data is
essential.
• Gaining such access can be a challenge for many organisations, where
data is held in multiple systems. There is likely customer data in a
CRM system, financial information in an ERP system and other
databases scattered across departments and locations.
• Connecting these systems is the role of the application network.
Rather than having multiple point-to-point links between systems, the
application network seamlessly connects applications, data and
devices via APIs to make them pluggable.

5. • By following an API-led connectivity approach, an organisation will be well
positioned to harness AI and use it to deliver new capabilities more quickly. For
example, new AI tools can be introduced without requiring significant changes to
the underlying infrastructure and without the need to rewrite existing
applications. As a result, the AI tools become part of the organisation’s
application network.
• An AI-powered future
• There are already examples of how AI technology is being put to work. For
example, mining companies are linking systems at mine sites and operation
monitoring centres and using AI tools to control them. The AI tools can operate
machinery and vehicles as well as control production flows.
• Another interesting example is fast food companies that are planning to use AI
tools to automate retail outlets. The technology can produce food much faster
than a team of humans and ensure a more consistent level of output quality.
• Within the tertiary education market, Deakin University has deployed AI to
support its online hub, DeakinSync, which provides students with a real-time,
personalised digital experience. Integrating university systems such as health
services, library resources and class and exam timetables, DeakinSync is enabling
students to seamlessly manage their educations and share useful information
with each other.

6. • As the tools grow in capability, it appears that AI will play an
increasingly important role within every organisation. The technology
will allow the automation of manual, repetitive tasks and free up
people to focus on more value-add activities. AI will eventually add
value through its ability to control everything from mines and factory
production lines to vehicles and even entire office buildings.
• AI’s ability to analyse data from a range of different sources will
continue to deliver significant value. It will provide fresh insights and
support the overall business decision-making processes, helping to
change the operational clock speed of the organisation.
• Built on the foundation of an application network, AI will continue to
rapidly transform both the world of business and the lives of those
who rely on it.