Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of a computer program, using math and logic, to simulate human cognitive functions like:

Data gathering and sorting
Learning from new inputs
Problem solving
Making recommendations and decisions

Ultimately, AI is all about getting computers to do tasks that would normally require human intelligence.

As practitioners, it's our mission to apply this technology within our client spaces, empowering them to discover, decide, and act.

Most AI solutions analyze large datasets to assist in making better decisions, getting to new insights, and helping systems operate more efficiently.

AI finds hidden patterns by clustering large data sets to enable:

Detection of anomalies
Better recommendations
Targeted outreach and communications

AI makes predictions by understanding linkages between data elements to:

Predict population growth
Diagnose potential failures
Detect fraud

AI can do all this and more...

You may already be experiencing AI in action, perhaps without realizing it.

Here are some personal applications you may already be familiar with:

Email spam filters
Conversational bots
Robo-advisors
E-commerce recommendations
Siri & Alexa
Self-driving cars

These are just a few examples of how AI-based technologies are improving our everyday life.

For some, their closest reference point to AI is what Hollywood has portrayed. Think Terminator, Minority Report, or iRobot.

But in reality, we're far away from technology like that even being close to possible. We don't need to worry about sentient robots or Skynet in our lifetimes.

AI is but another technological advancement, akin to the development of the lightbulb and the cell phone. Fundamental changes will happen to our world, but the panicked fears of revolution are overstated.

While AI will disrupt the workplace, we see current employees being the greatest benefactors, as AI will help them be more effective in their job.

As email replaced the inter-office courier and programmable robots are replacing factory employees, the advancements in AI will displace some roles but will also help create others.

The World Economic Forum estimated that 85 million jobs will be displaced, while 97 million new jobs will be created across 26 countries by 2025.

Study after study reports that AI is more likely to help employees become more effective in their work and make existing processes more efficient. AI eliminates the need to sift through mountains of information and spend time on menial tasks, and it enable us to get to the real decision making and find the relevant information quickly. This means we will be working with AI for better results.

AI is an ever-growing field, with increasingly complex capabilities and applications.

We expect to see continued improvements in the following areas:

Analyzing
The ability to quickly analyze massive amounts of structured and unstructured data, which can change quickly and constantly.

Learning
‍The ability to improve the processing of inputs based on historical patterns, expert input, and feedback loops.

Automating
‍The ability to increase the efficiency of organizational functions through optimization of processes and automation of repetitive tasks.

Problem Solving
‍The ability to identify patterns within large quantities of data to solve complex problems.

Deloitte believes we are entering The Age of With™: a time where humans collaborate with AI, and human effectiveness is enhanced.

The technology may be smart, but the way we work with leaders—to develop solutions, deliver insights, and accomplish results—is smarter.

Deloitte strives to deliver solutions that act as workforce enhancements, not workforce replacements.

While AI is becoming more pervasive, often times our clients may not even know that AI might be a solution to the problem they're facing.

Clients are more likely to ask for certain outcomes, such as those listed to the right.

So it's our job to communicate that when properly designed, developed, and delivered, AI can help in many ways.

Primarily, we use AI to help our clients discover, decide, and act.

Our clients don't often ask us for AI, machine learning, or deep learning solutions by name, Deloitte has developed "Six Classifications of AI."

When proposing a solution, use this language to communicate the value-add in the operational context that the client understands.

Predict
Automate
Detect
Interact
Simulate
Interpret

1 - Identify the client problem
Co-create a strategy for the effort, considering client needs and available data sources.

2 - Obtain the data and set up AI environment
Consolidate and prepare all necessary libraries, data sources, and relevant infrastructure.

3 - Pre-process data and conduct exploratory analysis
Load and perform pre-processing on the dataset, transforming data as needed to meet the model's ingestion requirements.

4 - Define and develop the AI model
Determine what model to implement and make strategic choices for hyperparameters (explained in Ch 2).

5 - Evaluate the AI model
Evaluate the model on a test dataset. Options for metrics include: precision, recall, and accuracy.

6 - Communicate findings & develop, iterate, and adapt
Once satisfied with the results of the test solutions, make predictions on new data and communicate findings.

As AI solutions are developed, they need to be deployed to an appropriate environment and then continuously monitored, maintained, and enhanced based on client needs over time.