The Era of the AI Agent
AI this and AI that, everyone is talking about it, and nobody is doing it…. And you might be sick of hearing about it, I can understand your frustration, it’s tiring, but unfortunately this is only just the beginning. AI is real, it’s here now and it’s powerful.
The economic impacts for AI are so strong that if you are not doing it then you’re already getting left behind. GAI (Generative AI) could contribute as much as $115 billion a year to Australia’s economy by 2030 according to the Australian Generative AI Opportunity report done by the Tech Council of Australia. This economic uplift is not just through direct savings but also via the creation of new revenue streams and business models.
The Concepting Challenge and Solution
We work with business leaders in large companies across the globe and one of the biggest hurdles we find with organisations is finding the use cases, understanding the technology and how it can apply to their organisation.
We think the easiest way to think about AI, is to think in terms of ‘AI Copilots’, an AI which helps you achieve your goals faster but you always remain in control. This helps you understand the technology because we can see these copilots in use already, aka ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot. The copilot thinking is important because AI should not be a human replacement, that’s not its strength, human agency needs to remain, and the AI needs to be a collaborative helper.
Eventually we end up with the primary benefits that comes out from Generative AI which is Customer Engagement, Task Acceleration and Automation.
The Era of the AI Agent
Just as the 2000s heralded the dominance of the website and the 2010s saw the smartphone app become ubiquitous, the 2020s are shaping up to be the decade of the AI copilot. From personal assistants to complex analytical tools, AI is increasingly playing the role of second in command across every aspect of business and creativity.
What is an AI Copilot/Agent?
An AI copilot is an advanced digital assistant, equipped with the capability to perform a spectrum of tasks ranging from simple administrative work to complex decision-making support. These systems utilise GAI to comprehend and respond to human text, thereby enhancing human capability rather than replacing it. They are tailored to adapt to various contexts, learning from interactions to provide more precise assistance over time. As these AI entities become more embedded in daily operations, they are redefining the role of human workers, allowing them to focus on more strategic and innovative activities.
AI copilots stand to revolutionise workplaces by enhancing productivity and efficiency. They automate mundane tasks, thereby allowing human workers to dedicate their time to more complex and rewarding work. By lowering the barrier to entry in specialised fields, AI copilots provide support and resources that can help educate and guide users. These tools also foster creativity, providing new perspectives and freeing up mental space by taking over routine tasks. In essence, AI copilots are reshaping the workforce into a more innovative and strategically focused body.
Underlying Technology
The engine that powers AI copilots is the large language model (LLM) — a sophisticated type of algorithm trained on extensive data sets to parse, comprehend, and generate text that is remarkably human-like. These LLMs are not limited to understanding language; they can also predict, suggest, and even create content that assists humans in various tasks. It’s important to understand the capabilities of these technologies and how they can be applied to business. The core capabilities of LLMs include (but not limited to) generation, completion, transformation, conversation, and classification. Then on top of these core capabilities engineers can integrate your own company data, connect with external source of information, engineer prompts and connect these solutions to end users in their existing workflows or new and improved workflows.
Challenges and Concerns
Despite their advantages, AI copilots come with their own set of challenges. Data privacy and security are at the forefront, as the vast datasets required for training LLMs can contain sensitive information. Errors and biases in AI systems also pose significant concerns, necessitating robust oversight and continuous improvement. Additionally, there are broader societal and ethical issues to consider, such as the potential for job displacement and ensuring that the benefits of AI are distributed equitably across society.
Reasoning Limitations of LLMs: While LLMs excel at language tasks, they don’t naturally reason like humans. Programmers are tackling this head-on, though. Tools like LangChain and Semantic Kernel are being deployed to give these models a leg-up in logical thinking, helping them understand context and make decisions more like a mate than a machine.
Privacy Concerns: Privacy risks are real with AI, but they’re not insurmountable. Take Azure OpenAI, for instance—it’s designed with privacy at its core, offering secure AI processing to keep your data safe as houses.
Ethical AI Governance: Most AI-related concerns can be ironed out with tight governance. Adopting AI standards ensures responsible use, aligning with ethical guidelines to keep AI in check and on the level.
Examples of AI Copilots Scenarios – Insurance Company
Scenario 1 – Claims Management: An AI copilot can facilitate automated claims handling by extracting relevant information from claim forms, policy documents, and supporting evidence. It can then help classify this claim and ensure its forward to the correct department. Once it’s picked up by a claims officer all relevant details will be readily available with prefilled suggestions on responses and provide suggestions on actions.
Scenario 2 – Underwriting and Risk Assessment: An AI copilot can help insurers better assess risk profiles and make more accurate underwriting decisions, by analysis of existing based on a wealth of historical data.
Scenario 3: Customer Onboarding and Policy Generation: AI Copilots can play a crucial role in automating customer onboarding and policy generation processes. By leveraging natural language understanding, AI that’s powered by insurance LLMs can assist customers in providing the required information, auto-populate application forms, and generate policy documents with minimal intervention.
Will I Lose My Job?
The question of job security in the face of AI advancements is a pressing one for many. However, the narrative is not one of replacement but of augmentation. AI copilots serve as partners, enabling humans to excel in their roles by offloading certain tasks. While some jobs will inevitably change, new opportunities will arise as the workforce adapts to this new partnership, ensuring that human creativity and strategic thinking remain irreplaceable.
How AI Copilots are Likely to Evolve in the Next 5-10 Years
In the next decade, AI copilots will likely develop enhanced contextual understanding, becoming even more tailored to specific industry needs. The evolution will see AI copilots that are not just reactive but proactive, capable of anticipating needs and offering solutions before they are explicitly requested. As these systems become more seamless and integrated into everyday tasks, they will become an invisible but indispensable part of our work lives.
How Do I Get Started?
Getting started with AI copilots involves a clear, strategic approach. It’s about equipping yourself with the knowledge and tools to integrate AI into your business effectively.
At XAM we have end to end set of process for initiating your journey with AI all the way to final delivery and iteration, focusing on practical application and strategic integration.
- Understanding AI Workshops: Engage in workshops that teach AI basics and apply design thinking to solve complex issues. Use case studies to see how AI operates across various industries. It’s about understanding AI, the use cases and then identifying opportunities at a high level.
- AI Innovation Discovery: This stage goes across a company or company department, to evaluate your department’s activities to identify where AI can make a difference. We will look across your apps, customers, business processes to find opportunities for AI to enhance efficiency, drive customer engagement or outcomes. At the end of this stage, you will have a list of possible business processes/applications/use cases that could benefit from AI Enhancement.
- AI App – Art of the Possible: Now that we understand the areas of opportunity then for each application we can dig deeper into the solution, have AI solution tailored to each business or customer process, ensuring they’re not just innovative but viable. This involves rigorous technical feasibility checks to make sure the AI can be seamlessly integrated.
- Full Implementation: Once we have the top AI opportunities we can move onto the Design, Build and Implement phase. Noting these AI opportunities have been validated from a business, user experience and technical perspective. This means designing, constructing, and embedding AI systems that align with your business goals, mesh with your current processes and provide that large ROI we are looking for.
- Iterative Improvements and Ongoing Maintenance: After deployment, continuously refine and maintain your AI systems. Monitor performance, gather feedback, and adjust improve functionality and efficiency, ensuring the AI evolves with your business needs.
Summary
The ‘Era of the AI Copilot’ is upon us, offering unprecedented economic advantages, productivity gains, and a reimagining of the workplace. While AI copilots come with challenges that need careful navigation, their potential is undeniable. With thoughtful integration, AI copilots can serve as powerful allies to the human workforce, enhancing our capabilities and freeing us to focus on the essence of what makes us human — creativity and strategic thinking. The future of work is collaborative, and AI copilots are set to be our partners in this journey. As we step into this new era, embracing the change with an informed and balanced approach will be key to leveraging the full potential of AI.
CASE STUDY
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AI App Discovery, Design and Build
The recent advancements in AI technology have opened new possibilities and it was time to rethink how websites could be created. Our project’s goal was to harness the full potential of AI, aiming to develop the world’s most user-friendly and rapid website builder. We spearheaded the project leading the design, development testing and successful implementation of the ground breaking AI app.