Running head: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

Course Title (course code)

Evie.ai: The rise of Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of Work

Student’s Name (student number)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

Table of contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Trends in Artificial Intelligence.......................................................................................................3

Definitions and Examples of Artificial Intelligence for Business...................................................4

Global Demands for Artificial Intelligence.....................................................................................5

Development of Tech Companies Globally....................................................................................6

The Context (Evie.ai).......................................................................................................................7

Business Problem.............................................................................................................................8

Problem Analysis and challenges for Evie.ai..................................................................................8

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9

Summary of Future work Design and Jobs....................................................................................10

Ethical Use of AI...........................................................................................................................10

The Future of Evie.ai.....................................................................................................................10

References......................................................................................................................................12

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

Introduction

Over recent years, technology has changed dynamically giving rise to artificial

intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a process in which machines try to simulate human

intelligence or behave in a manner that imitates human behaviour. In this case, the machines can

learn, reason and conduct self-correction. This advancement in technology has given rise to

expert systems, machine vision and the ability to recognise speeches. In other words, it is a

scenario in which software can mimic cognitive functions. Most organisations are now shifting

to artificial intelligence. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, businesses will face a

tremendous rise in their income, that is over $15.7 trillion impacts by 2030 because of artificial

intelligence (Schoettle, 2019). This shift involves the use of smart tools to add value to their

organisations including acquiring the necessary information from the companies’ customer

management systems which can help the company to make informed decisions and understand

the customer trends. AI will help the employees in organisations to reduce the work on

memorising details and focus on productivity (Smilansky, 2019). Generally, artificial

intelligence is there to stay, and it is already shaping how businesses are conducted. This paper

discusses the trends, examples, demands of artificial intelligence and the development of

technology companies supporting artificial intelligence.

Trends in Artificial Intelligence

AI is improving every year, leading to new trends. Firstly, machine learning is one of the

aspects that AI has brought. It allows computer systems to learn and improve its knowledge

gained from experience, which then can be used to perform complex calculations and functions

(Internet Society, 2017). This process is known as deep learning, and most companies are using

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this approach to improve their systems which then provides a platform to improve performance,

accuracy and identification of risks.

Secondly, facial recognition is picking up and gaining significant momentum. This

technology creates digital patterns which then helps in the identification of human image. Mobile

phones are using this concept to enhance security. Also, some of the sectors, such as the

healthcare industries, are making use of this technology to reduce the time spent on consultations

(Wirtz et al., 2018).

Artificial intelligence chips, as well, is becoming a popular trend which is currently being

used to improve CPU performance. An average CPU is incapable of supporting AI models, and

this has led to the development of AI chips which can be separately incorporated to these CPUs

to enable them to mimic human functions (Finley, 2019).

Cloud computing is becoming a trend that most organisations is opting to reduce the cost

of buying IT infrastructure. Cloud vendors such as AWS, Alibaba, Google, IBM, Microsoft

Azure and Oracle have observed have seen their client’ base increase. It is because of the

incorporation of AI.

Definitions and Examples of Artificial Intelligence for Business

Robotics is changing the shape of businesses. They are being used to conduct tasks that

usually challenge human beings or to achieve consistency. Examples include organisations such

as car assembly lines, food preparation in hotels and healthcare industries. AI is powering a lot of

robots in the industry, for example, the UC Berkely’s BRETT and the MIT dog.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

The rise of autonomous vehicles is changing the transport sector. Most of the companies in this

sector are investing in artificial intelligence which has led to the development of vehicles, trains,

drones, ships and submarines that have artificial intelligence incorporated in them

(RoboticsTomorrow, 2019).

Machine vision is another example in which machines have the capabilities to capture

and analyse visual data with the help of a camera, digital signal or the analogue to signal to

process. It behaves like human eyesight, which is often attained through machine learning, thus

providing efficiency in the business sector.

Machine learning (ML) is a technique in which goals are set, and the steps to attain the

objective are defined, and the machine learns through self-training and experience. This aspect is

achievable through AI and has helped them improve especially in customer lifetime value

prediction, predictive maintenance, elimination of manual data entry, detection of spams, product

recommendations and financial analysis (lynch, 2018).

Global Demands for Artificial Intelligence

The demand for artificial intelligence is rising tremendously. The revenue from AI is

expected to rise to 118.6 billion dollars by 2015. This technology comprising the powerfully-

blend technologies to create intelligent software and hardware capable of performing tasks that a

human being can perform is higher demand throughout the globe (Castellano, 2019). More so, it

has helped to integrate supply chain data, thus improving the anticipatory production. This

benefit has benefited organisations in the delivery of products to its clients.

Among the global regions, North America has the largest AI market share. It is because

of the advancement in the analytical tools, natural language processing technologies and machine

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learning. Also, it can be attributed to the greater awareness that has made organisations create a

competitive environment to gain the benefits of AI (toppr, 2019). The Asia Pacific is also

growing; for instance, the Chinese government has invested heavily to support AI, which has led

to merging with Baidu. Inc which is aimed at changing the agricultural sector, logistics

manufacturing and defence.

The key players of AI are the IBM and Microsoft Corporation. Since these organisations

have their products distributed globally, they have invested in technologies that are changing the

lives of individuals and how businesses are conducted. For instance, Microsoft Windows, as an

operating, has features of machine learning. The use of virtual assistants in organisations is on

the rise, which will significantly boost artificial intelligence.

Development of Tech Companies Globally

Technology companies are increasing globally. Apple is a leading company which

heavily relies on artificial intelligence. Currently, it has a market value of $1.16 trillion. Samsung

has a significant market share which specialises in consumer electronics, mobile communications

and information technology. Most of their products and services are propelled by artificial

intelligence.

Microsoft is also changing the technology industry. With a market value of $1.10 trillion,

which has focused on artificial intelligence to remain competitive in an environment that is

improving daily (Statistica, 2019). The approach of AI has enabled it to compete with other

organisations such as Apple.

Oracle is a company based in California, and it focuses on computer hardware and

software. Oracle has built powerful AI cloud applications that are changing the face of

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businesses globally. This shift is characterised by its autonomous databases and the incorporation

of machine learning to automatically secure, conduct backups and the optimisation database

query performance.

The Context (Evie.ai)

Evie is a virtual personal assistant that shows the height of artificial intelligence. She

works by scheduling meetings that some people cannot even recognise that she is not human. In

some cases, people have appreciated her and requested for personal sessions because she does

undeniably what a human being can do. Lee Jin Hian inspired this technology while he was still

working with Yahoo which was then supported by the government of Singapore because it

wanted to encourage innovation and creativity (Joseph, Lim & Chun, 2018). Achieving this

required rules, principles and machine learning to enable the virtual scheduling assistant to

perform intelligent tasks, that is, to listen to human speech and comprehend the needs of the user.

Evie can schedule meetings when one is available and the location that the users prefer to

meet. It is very flexible because despite mimicking human behaviour, it adds the aspects of

diligence in that workload is never a problem. Evie initially was offered as a Software as a

Service (SaaS) because this could keep the implementation costs low since the other applications

that Evie could integrate with such as the Google calendar were already hosted on the clouds

(Joseph, Lim & Chun, 2018). It works in a manner that an organisation of individual can

integrate it with the existing systems and once the users have granted her permission. Evie’s

services can be subscribed for, while if one wants to use a free package, he/she is limited to a

few numbers of meetings per month.

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Business Problem

The time that is often spent by individuals and organisations in chasing and attending to

schedule is significant. Hian took this as a challenge which hindered him while working at

Yahoo because his boss was stationed at the US. This factor forced him to use 25% of his time

handling schedules which to him could have been used productively doing the necessary work

(Joseph, Lim & Chun, 2018). Hian wanted a technological solution which would solve the

problem at hand, and that is why he came up with the idea of Evie. With Evie, Hian did not have

to bother regarding selecting a convenient place which had to involve a lot of logistics including

travelling, meals and accommodation in case the venue is far. It, thus, translates to additional

expenditure and waste of time. In that case, without Evie, Hian would not be able to maximise

the throughput.

Problem Analysis and challenges for Evie.ai

The need to maximise productivity which can be solved using Evie as a personal assistant

can yield better results and efficiency in meeting the objectives of the organisation. However, not

all have been smooth for this virtual personal assistant in that adoption has been slowed because

of the organisations’ attitude towards personal assistants (Joseph, Lim & Chun, 2018). Since this

is a cloud service, a significant percentage of the organisations do not embrace cloud services,

for instance, the insurance and banking companies. This challenge was a setback from the start.

Cultural issues are another problem. Evie can work across different time-zones. However,

for some of the organisations, the concept of time is treated differently. With artificial

intelligence, time is a factor, and for most of these meetings, due to culture, they are not specific

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regarding the duration of the session. Also, not all organisations are concerned with productivity,

and thus, they might not bother having any technology that can maximise their throughput.

Thirdly, the reception has been affected because of social issues that some employee has

attached Evie with. Some believe that using Evie is unprofessional and may put them in

problems with their supervisors. On the other hand, some have a negative attitude towards virtual

assistants and always values the face-to-face meetings.

Another challenge is the problem of understaffing. Hian has not been able to find the

right talents to grow the idea, and for reasons above which have slowed down the reception, the

growth has been quite slower than the way it ought to be.

Conclusion

Evie, as a virtual personal assistant, is there to stay, and most organisations have started

to realise the importance of incorporating high technology to remain competitive and maximise

their production. There is an increasing demand for intelligent devices, and that can only be

achieved if Evie is integrated with the organisation’s objectives. The main idea of artificial

intelligence and virtual assistant such as Evie is that the program can be incorporated into digital

computers so that they become smart and “mimic” human intelligence. The debate that is often

raised by individuals is whether such developments would be the mind or a simulation of one,

but the benchmark is that if Evie can perform tasks like a human being and can help an

organisation to achieve its objectives effectively, then it is worth venturing into.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

Summary of Future work Design and Jobs

The global market for AI is expanding rapidly, and in the future decades, most

organisations will be relying on this technology to conduct its business operations. AI has the

power to change the surrounding conditions of the business and bring in the aspect of

competitiveness (Pal, 2002). Already, it is changing how individuals conduct their activities, for

instance, making orders, management of homes, and gathering of information. AI is going to

invent new job opportunities and empower existing jobs. That is, it is going to create a

relationship in which people and machines collaborate to change the working conditions rather

than “man versus machine” approach of working.

Ethical Use of AI

The role of norms and ethics cannot be underestimated in society. Ethics exist in two

extreme positions: whatever is acceptable in society and what is viewed as unacceptable by the

general population. The ethical use of AI is the differentiator of whether technology will be

accepted or rejected by individuals and organisations (Deng & Jiang, 2019). It can be termed that

AI is being used ethically if it bears no threats to human dignity. That is, it should not be

implemented in those roles that are supposed to be respected; for instance, a judge. AI, as well,

should focus on improving transparency and accountability. Lastly, these machines should act

morally, that is to communicate using a respectable language and account for their actions.

The Future of Evie.ai

Virtual assistants and bots implement machine learning algorithms that can analyse text,

speech, pictures and videos and make informed decisions. The reliance in technology is going to

back up this advance it is there to stay (Bennett, 2019). Despite the challenges that Hian and his

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group have gone through, Evie is going to be a breakthrough. It is because more professionals

are venturing into artificial intelligence, and it will no longer be a problem to find the right

talents to propel the technology. So, Evie is going to grow, and more virtual assistants will take

over and shape the organisations, therefore, reducing the time that could have been wasted by the

personnel in issues that hinder productivity.

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References

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Castellano, S. (2019). Artificial Intelligence, Genuine Learning. Retrieved 16 November 2019,

from https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/artificial-intelligence-genuine-learning

Deng, Y., & Jiang, H. (2019). The Development Overview of Artificial Mind. Retrieved 26

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Finley, T. (2019). The Democratization of Artificial Intelligence: One Library’s

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v38i1.10974

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Future of Work. Nanyang Technological University.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

Lynch, M. (2018). 7 Ways That Artificial Intelligence Helps Students Learn - The Edvocate.

Retrieved 16 November 2019, from https://www.theedadvocate.org/7-ways-that-

artificial-intelligence-helps-students-learn/

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SYSTEMS*. In South Central Conference. San Antonio: Trinity University.

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Wirtz, J., Patterson, P., Kunz, W., Gruber, T., Lu, V., Paluch, S., & Martins, A. (2018). Brave

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