Like it or not, Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. According to Next Move Strategy Consulting, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry is currently worth almost US $100 billion dollars and is expected to continue growing strongly in the coming decade to nearly US $2 trillion dollars by 2030. While some experts in the field have warned the technology could be used negatively for things like election rigging, new weapon systems or financial fraud, other companies are embracing the positive possibilities of AI. Companies as diverse as Microsoft, Sydney University and Canva are all dabbling in Artificial Intelligence in a variety of different ways to improve their products, operations and customer service. As an example, the popular Web-based design platform, Canva, announced a host of new AI tools in March, including Brand Hub, to help companies boost their brand awareness and visual identity. The widespread implementation of AI is not without its downsides, of course.

A concern that is likely to spring up is AI taking over human jobs, with tech-giant, IBM reportedly pausing hiring in a plan to replace nearly 8,000 jobs with AI-based technology.

Not all companies are thriving, either. The widely publicised downfall of Appen, the ASX-listed data company, whose valuation has dropped from $5b (2021) to just under $320m (19 May 2023), in just under 2 years, is one clear example. All in all though, businesses seem to be thriving from implementing AI technology. One such technology that has taken the world by storm, is AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Since the launch of ChatGPT earlier this year, many companies have started utilising the AI chatbot to varying degrees. Furniture retailer, Temple & Webster, even went as far as to introduce ChatGPT for all of its pre-sale product inquiry live chats, which serve 25% of all customer enquiries. There’s even been competition between countries over AI innovations, from an economic (and potentially political) point of view. We reported last month that the U.S. and China are currently the top 2 investors in AI technology, with the U.S. Defense Department reportedly spending US$1.5 billion over five years on AI. Most recently, China has even banned U.S. chipmaker, Micron Technology, from selling certain products in their country, after a formal review found there were cybersecurity issues. As the technology improves and companies all over the world continue to adopt it, AI is on an upward trend.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.