How is AI and Machine Learning Affecting Business?

It’s all about data. AI is making it easier to better utilize human capabilities by automating the nitty-gritty and monotonous tasks of data collection and data pooling, therefore allowing humans to take on larger roles. For this reason, people shouldn’t buy into the idea of AI taking jobs away from humans

Success Seen With AI in Business

One example is Caterpillar and their use of Natural Language Processing (NLP). By using NLP, Caterpillar technicians are able to see maintenance records on machines from all over the world that give insights as to what processes work best in repairs and what processes don’t work or can be skipped. Just-in-time training (JIT) is also a great example of success with AI in business. IBM uses JIT with new hires to train them on first-time tasks they will run into on the job such as how to conduct a meeting at IBM. 

Best Practices for AI/Machine Learning Implementation 

Companies often throw their hands up after the first attempt at implementing an AI program. These are the keys to getting started:

• • Know your data, know your data, know your data
  • Start with a smaller, decisive problem that focuses on one of your organizations main business objectives
  • Don’t try to tackle all the problems at once; this is what will lead organizations to get analysis-paralysis and give up on AI use
  • Make sure you are using the right data, and don’t put a time constraint on how long you think it should take to solve the first time  
  • Don’t expect anything the first time running AI because your expectations will never meet the results
  • Don’t be discouraged by 50%-60% accuracy results 

What are challenges companies and people should be aware of?

Even in an era where everyone is trying to be a data scientist or engineer, it’s still not easy to find the talent you are looking for. Not all data scientists are created equal. People know more about different aspects of data than others, or sometimes it’s not even a data scientist you need, but a mathematician. In addition, making sure you have the data in the right format is key to avoiding frustration. 

What do you see coming in the future that young professionals and students should be aware of?

• • Right now in the workforce, there are two groups. An older generation who is working longer and harder hours with skills that need to be re-skilled or up-skilled. The other is a younger group who thinks they shouldn’t have to do “grunt work”. This means that going forward, training is going to have to be and is already more of a menu style, with options about how you want to learn, what you want to learn, and how much you want to learn. In other words, “optimizing learning how to learn” is something to be aware of. 
  • Embrace AI and machine learning now before you get left behind. As AI advances, it will become increasingly difficult to play catch-up when you finally decide to go with it.

Check out the full podcast below to learn more about AI and how it can help your organization. 

Also, make sure to check out our summary blog about our webinar with Brandon Hall Group, Machines as Curators to find out more about AI and machine learning and how it can become your greatest asset in content curation.

The post How AI can assist in curation appeared first on OpenSesame.

However, one may say that it was not the presence of robots that was impressive in The Jetsons, but rather the new concept of “push-button living.” The show is riddled with buttons that make life easier for the Jetsons. Cooking, cleaning, house chores. . .you name it and a button did it. We may not each have a personal robot walking around the house, but we certainly are living in an era made easier with buttons. These buttons can clean our dishes, message people across the world, and significantly improve the way we do business. 

Let’s take chatbots as an example. Chatbots are essentially a childhood Jetson dream of robots combined with the ease of button-pushing. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a chatbot is simply “a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the internet.” When used in businesses, it can connect the users and customers to rapid response and support. 

Is it necessary for your company to invest in chatbot technology? It comes down to this: if you’re in an industry that deals with humans in any capacity, it’s a wise investment to have a chatbot. If you want the best chance at thriving in an ever-present button-pushing era, a chatbot is the technology to invest in. Here’s why:

1. Automation:  

Chatbots make it easy and efficient to replace humans across social media, websites, customer service, stores, and some B2B conversations. This not only saves costs on personnel, but it allows employees to focus on their priorities — leaving artificial intelligence (AI) to handle the rest. As a result of automation, chatbots will reduce operational costs, manpower, and time; saving businesses more than $8 billion per year by 2022, according to UK-based Juniper Research. 

2. Ease the load: 

With automation, there is less talk and more work. There is less time having employees deal with repetitive customer service and simple questions and more time devoted to other projects. It can significantly reduce the amount an employee has on their plate knowing customers are being taken care of using AI. An overworked employee leads to stress, diminished performance levels, and health risks; simple automation can alleviate the additional work and threat of overload. 

3. Improve customer service: 

Additionally, chatbots make for happier customers. In a push-button society, we expect immediate answers and solutions. We’ve grown to expect speedy results with Google searches, social media, and instant messaging. It’s no different in the business world. The likelihood of a customer or potential candidate giving up or taking their business elsewhere is heightened with slow response time. Chatbot automation can significantly prevent disgruntled, impatient customers with rapid, 24-hour response time.

So here’s the rundown. Where your business may lack in personnel, you will make up for with AI. Chatbots can be effective and efficient, save you time and headaches, and ultimately create happier customers. 

Interested in learning more about creating an effective chatbot? Check out this OpenSesame course: Building Natural Language Applications with TensorFlow

Learn more about how to use chatbot technology with marketing in 5 ways chatbots can improve marketing & sales.

About the author: Lexi Hunkler, a summer marketing intern at OpenSesame, is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte studying Creative Marketing and Innovation. When not at work, you can find her on a road trip adventure, painting, or petting the nearest dog.

The post Chatbot technology: Not just for the Jetsons anymore appeared first on OpenSesame.

Common challenges  

Wentworth shares some interesting statistics to further the point on how content curation is impacting L&D:

• • 35% of companies from Brandon Hall Group say they have effectively defined the learning content required to satisfy each of their critical competencies (able to map the content they need in their organization for specific training).
  • 52% of companies say their catalog of elearning courses need significant or total improvements to become easy to navigate and work on multiple devices.
  • In a recent survey conducted by Brandon Hall Group, they had these findings: 50% say not enough content, 36.9% say too much old content, 35.1% say too difficult to integrate/incorporate, 31.3% say low-quality content, 29.1% say no curation, 27.6% say difficult to search, 20.1% say not enough content overall.

Remedying the situation

Haines discusses several suggestions on how to get started using data about your learners to curate. Start by organizing content libraries and look at them from different perspectives; provider, user and department. By doing this, it helps break down the process and naturally organizes the curation process. Along with that, it is critical to survey your user population to see what they think about the courses, what platform they prefer to take them on (i.e laptop, mobile, desktop) and encourage an ongoing dialogue with your learners. Open discussion allows your employees to give feedback you may not hear in surveys or other more formal channels.

AI in elearning

First off, we should probably give a brief definition of what AI is. Simply put, it’s computers taking on human behavior. Uber is a great example of this, where they use historical data to compute ETA’s, optimal pickup spots and fares. With this example it’s easy to see how AI can be leveraged for elearning. Here are a few more examples:

• Air Methods, a medivac helicopter company, uses AI to adapt employee training in real time based on employees pace and answering accuracy.
• IBM uses AI internally for new employees and Just-in-Time (JIT) training. Say a new employee at IBM is hosting their first meeting with a team after being there just a few weeks. Their JIT training will send the employee an email asking if they would like a quick course on how to run a meeting at IBM a day before the set meeting.

How OpenSesame Uses AI

OpenSesame Smart Lists leverage machine learning for content curation. It’s built specifically to help you create lists of courses on one or multiple training topics specific to your organization. Smart Lists use a powerful algorithm that takes into account your prior course selections, course completions, and learner ratings, combined with an intuitive list builder to recommend courses that fit your training needs. For more information on how OpenSesame can save you time and money by curating the right courses for your organization, contact us at info@opensesame.com today.

You can watch the full webinar “Machines as Curators” on-demand here

We hope you find this information useful and valuable to your organization.

About the author: Parker Abena, a summer marketing intern at OpenSesame, is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He looks forward to moving out to PNW after school.

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