Texas Christian University senior computer science majors Madhavam Shahi and Kavish Soningula knew they had a great idea: an artificial intelligence-powered tool designed to help students with their academic and research projects.
Development typically takes months, if not years. Because we used AI for much of our software development, we were able to get the program up and running in four and a half months. Along the way, the two founded a company called FasterFlow.
“In this age of AI, development has become much easier than design and distribution,” says Shahi. “We wanted to get the product out there with the features that users wanted and then focus on distribution.”
Startups aren’t the only ones benefiting from AI. Fort Worth area businesses are adopting this technology to save employees time and focus on the work that matters most.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines and Google have partnered on an AI-based predictive tool to help prevent contrails — the white lines behind airplanes that cause up to 2% of global warming, according to some studies. According to Google, a new AI-based predictive tool integrated with standard airline flight planning software can reduce the occurrence of contrails by 62%.
Joseph DeWoody, CEO of Valor, a technology-enabled professional services firm that provides oil and gas asset management services, believes the world is only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of how AI will impact the world.
If you go…
Candid conversation: AI — the good, the bad, and the future?
when: April 2nd (Thursday) 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
where: on the second floor of the Nick and Lou Martin University Center at Texas Wesleyan University, 3165 E. Rosedale St.
Who:
- Kelly Baggett, City of Fort Worth Innovation Coordinator
- Reuben Birch, Research Associate Professor, Texas Christian University
- Carlo Capua, Senior Principal, Rainwater Charitable Foundation
- Adam Powell, CEO and President, United Way of Tarrant County
We are looking for questions for the panel. Please send it to hello@fortworthreport.org.
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He believes office work, which relies on human-driven workflows and boring tasks like email and spreadsheets, will be completely transformed.
“AI flips that model on its head,” he said. “The office of the future will be systems-driven, with humans designing, overseeing and improving processes rather than performing every step.”
DeWoody predicts major changes in the way the energy industry handles the vast amounts of data.
“The real opportunities are not only in the field, but also in asset management and the back office,” he said. “AI enables real-time automation and verification of revenue, expenditures, and ownership, automated detection of unpaid balances, and continuous monitoring of regulatory and operational activities.”
Impact on employees
The new world of AI promises to create new opportunities for businesses large and small. At the same time, it is likely to be a challenge for workers who are not prepared for the shift.
DeWoody believes that the AI-driven shift will impact the workforce so that the most valuable employees will no longer be doing much manual work.
“They will be designing workflows, evaluating outputs, and asking better questions of the system,” he said.
A Dallas Fed study found a correlation between employment declines and AI, but the impact has so far been limited to younger workers, especially those who have never been in the labor force.
What occupations will be affected by AI?
- Exposure to AI is minimized: Cashier. Managers and building cleaners. laborer. Freight, inventory and material carriers.
- Moderate AI exposure: Drivers/Salespersons and Truck Drivers. Retail salesperson. Elementary and junior high school teachers.
- Most exposed to AI: First-line supervisor of retail sales personnel. secretaries and administrative assistants; customer service representative.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
In a recent post, Grace Atkins, a policy advisor at the nonpartisan public policy group Texas 2036, compared current and past technological advances and said AI is changing how people work, not whether they work.
“Rather than simply replacing humans, AI tools often augment human capabilities and increase worker productivity,” she writes.
Utilization of AI
Jordan Johnson certainly believes in the productivity aspect of AI.
A longtime commercial real estate broker, he founded Pecos Automations, an AI-driven automation platform that he believes can revolutionize brokerage and expand to other industries.
“It will level the playing field for smaller brokerages and, above all, allow them to offer the same high-quality, 24-hour service as larger brokerages,” he said.
He also highlights several business verticals that he believes can take advantage of this technology.
Pecos Automations has already built prototypes for several industries that provide dashboards with a myriad of data in real time, Johnson said.
“The first thing I’m looking at is food and beverage because I’m familiar with that industry,” he said.
Johnson built a dashboard that allows managers to see in real time what’s wrong with their restaurants, from the price of beef to the number of employees out sick.
“Based on weather forecasts, we can also show you how bad weather could impact future sales,” he said. “It’s very powerful because you can take action immediately instead of having to react after the fact.”
Nonprofits are also looking to leverage the power of AI.
Ken Schetter, director of One Safe Place, a domestic violence resource center located at 1100 Hemphill Street, is working on localizing a national project using AI.
For three years, Shetter worked with Alliance for Hope International to develop an AI chat bot as a first step in reaching abuse victims.
“I was very skeptical at first,” he says. “Then I got to test it, understand the guardrails they had put in place, and get an inside look at how it worked and how successful it was and how survivors were taking advantage of it.”
Most people seeking domestic violence help first turn to the internet for resources and answers, long before they make a phone call or walk into a shelter door, Shetter said.
Chat bot tools allow you to interact with AI, start conversations, and access resources.
After working on a national project, Shetter asked about creating a localized implementation of the technology.
“So that’s what we’re doing,” he said.
Southlake-based RobotLab sells robots that perform a variety of business tasks. Paulo Orosh, the company’s Fort Worth franchisee, said the addition of AI to the company’s robotic product line will improve its capabilities.
“This was before we were selling floor cleaning robots and being able to do that,” he said. “With AI, you can program robots to not just clean, but to find and focus on areas that need extra cleaning. You can take robots to a higher level.”
Pecos Automation’s Johnson expects to see more innovative projects emerging from AI, as AI technology is changing rapidly.
“You never know what’s around the corner,” he says.
Would you like something for a Bob on Business column? Email Fort Worth Report Business Editor Bob Francis. bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
At The Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independent of board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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