There’s lots of buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the deep implications it has. AI has the potential to impact all aspects of our life. Everywhere you look, people are touting the wonderful virtues of AI. You hear about how taking advantage of this technology can make us more efficient, more accurate, and better overall. One of the best-realized impacts of AI is in the business sector. In this blog, we’ll share how to use AI for business, and what businesses need to know about AI.
What is AI?
Before we dive into how AI can transform your business, we’ll take a quick dip into the nerdy prerequisites of what AI is, exactly. We are a technology company after all…
AI is just machines that are trained in pattern recognition. Software engineers write complex algorithms (think giant chalkboards filled with mathematical formulas). The algorithm has a specific goal in mind. This goal can be anything from human-level speech or writing, to the ability to recognize or create images, to perform data analysis, or even to be a Chess Grandmaster.
Once the software engineers create the AI algorithm, it is essentially a baby — a blank slate that can identify patterns. This pattern recognition is how it “learns”. The engineers “teach” the AI by having it ingest data that is pre-labeled by humans.
For example, to teach AI what a ball is, engineers might have a folder with pictures of balls and another folder with pictures that are not balls. They can then have the AI analyze all of the balls and all of the ‘not balls’, with hopes that, by the end, the AI would have a rough idea of what is and isn’t a ball. The Captchas used to prove you are human make use of our responses to train the AI in image recognition.
This explanation is obviously simplified. There is a lot more involved in AI creation, and this “quick dip” is becoming a swim in a lap pool. That example was just one type of numerous AI algorithms. The most talked-about AI model currently is Chat-GPT, which has sparked the current wave of attention AI is getting.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT stands for “Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer”. It was developed by OpenAI and is designed to carry on a conversation as if it were a human typing back and responding to you. Specifically, it is a deep-learning language model. At the time of this blog, it is on its 4th generation, dubbed GPT-4. This has added capabilities to intake vast amounts of text, and even analyze images.
How to use AI for business
Businesses can use AI in many ways. For instance, Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service is highly customizable and can be adapted to a variety of tasks and applications. It can help with generating or explaining content, search capabilities, and translating conversational language into code. One benefit of the Azure OpenAI model is the significant investment in research and funding made to help ensure the safety of the service leveraging popular AI models. Microsoft continues to prioritize security, making it a great option for businesses. As with any new technology, the uses for AI will continue to grow and evolve over time, but there are already so many ways you can incorporate it into your business.
How can I start using AI?
It’s pretty easy to start using AI once you decide on a model. Most are available as subscriptions, and some are even free*. As with any new solution, we recommend talking to your IT partner first. They may be able to advise you on which solution makes sense or help ensure you’re incorporating AI into your business securely.
- ChatGPT – Currently available for free if you sign up for an account with OpenAI. GPT-4 is available with a paid subscription currently priced at $20 a month.
- CoPilot – A language model created by Microsoft which is integrated into Microsoft 365 apps. It will be available as a $30 monthly add-on to a normal Microsoft 365 subscription. It has not been released, and Microsoft has not given a date for when it will be available yet.
- Bard AI – Google’s AI language model, much like ChatGPT. It can use current data and is not limited to using data from before September 2021, like ChatGPT is.
- LLaMA – Meta’s, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, language model. You will need to download an application and run it on your own computer to use it.
A word about “*free” in terms of AI
It’s important to remember that when it comes to technology, almost nothing is really free. If an application is giving you something for nothing, they’re either using you to help the AI model learn or potentially selling your data.
So, should your business start using AI? There’s no right answer to that question. AI can do a lot and can be a great way to increase what you’re able to do on your own. As long as you’re doing your research and keeping security in mind, AI is yet another tool that can help your business grow.
Have questions about AI, or how you can incorporate it into your IT? Reach out to us – ADNET and our partners at New Charter Technologies can help!
Fun fact: We used Bing AI Image to create the graphic for this blog!