Generative AI has been included in Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies for 2023. According to Gartner, generative AI will bring transformational benefits in the next two to five years. This refers to the new ways of doing business across industries that will result in major shifts in industry dynamics. Generative AI is positioned on the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” within the Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle.
Generative AI falls under the broader theme of emergent AI, which is creating new opportunities for innovation. Gartner believes that generative AI will have profound business impacts in various areas such as content discovery, creation, authenticity, regulations, automation of human work, and customer and employee experiences. The technology will also be incorporated into most technology products and services within the next 12 months, leading to their democratization.
In addition to generative AI, Gartner has named six other emergent AI techniques that offer immense potential for enhancing digital customer experiences, making better business decisions, and building sustainable competitive differentiation. These techniques are:
- AI simulation
- Causal AI
- Federated machine learning
- Graph data science
- Neuro-symbolic AI, and
- Reinforcement learning
Gartner selected these techniques based on their potential transformational benefits and their broad impact. Each technique offers unique capabilities. For example, AI simulation combines AI and simulation technologies to develop AI agents and their training environments. Causal AI goes beyond correlation-based models and uses cause-and-effect relationships to prescribe actions effectively. Federated machine learning trains algorithms on local datasets without sharing data samples explicitly. Graph data science applies data science techniques to graph data structures to build predictive and prescriptive models. Neuro-symbolic AI combines ML methods and symbolic systems to create more robust AI models. Reinforcement learning uses positive and negative feedback to train learning systems.
Overall, these emergent AI techniques offer exciting possibilities for businesses in various industries, and their impact is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.
It will become extremely important to small business owners to watch these technologies and find the right experts who can help them selecting the right path to use these technologies.