More than three-quarters of Australian businesses are excited about the opportunities presented by AI. While the lack of AI talent and skills has held up some projects, we are already seeing incredibly innovative uses of AI by companies that stand to gain first-mover advantage. AI is embedded across industries and sectors, leading to amazing sector-specific innovations.
Here are some notable examples of Australian companies leveraging AI in innovative ways.
1.BHP
BHP, one of Australia's most important manufacturing companies, has deployed an AI solution to optimize the process of loading and unloading iron ore on rail trucks and then onto ships for export.
This “machine vision technology” is important. This is because an unexpected surge in the amount of iron ore being unloaded could cause spills and damage to transportation infrastructure. The support of load monitoring with AI has enabled BHP to operate more safely, saving him 105,000 tons of production in just one area of operation from 2022 to 2023.
2.Telstra
Australia's largest telecommunications company uses AI in customer service to improve product recommendations and help customers get the results they want faster.
Telstra also uses AI in its networks and systems to identify potential issues and flag cyber threats. Like other telecommunications companies, Telstra is a particularly attractive target for cybercrime, so the real-time monitoring and response enabled by AI is particularly important.
3. Local council
AI is also being applied to the public sector. A local government (who will remain anonymous) partnered with his local AI company to deploy a monitoring tool to monitor traffic violations and compliance with traffic regulations in school zones.
As a result of this implementation, the City Council was able to increase school zone patrol coverage and patrol rates by 900%. Automation also supported the filing and follow-up of infringement claims, and as it was automated and driven by technology, there was no risk of bias. The result is increased compliance and, more importantly, a safer school district for our children.
4. Treasury Wine Estate
As an agricultural business, Treasury Wine Estates is highly affected by weather and meteorological phenomena. Vineyards are especially susceptible to everything from frost to wildfire smoke. Even if the plant survives, the flavor of the crop may be compromised, making the grapes virtually unusable for winemaking.
Treasury Wine uses climate data and AI algorithms to make unique predictions based on what will affect crops. In addition to being able to prepare for frost and fire, this AI system helps optimize water use by calculating the exact amount needed for each vine.
5. Kakadu National Park Management
One of Australia's more complex national parks to manage is Kakadu in the Northern Territory. This is one of Australia's largest national parks, and it's also a place where working conditions can be harsh, with temperatures consistently exceeding 40 degrees and humidity exceeding 60 percent.
To address this challenge, CSIRO is working with Microsoft and Kakadu Rangers to develop a drone system that can quickly take large amounts of photos, and a software solution to help analyze the data and monitor ecosystems across the national park. Did. This application of AI was directly related to restoring large colonies of magpie geese in wetlands that were previously choked by weeds.
6. Royal Perth Hospital
The Royal Perth Hospital has adopted a solution called HIVE (Health in Virtual Environments) to support ground staff by continuously monitoring the conditions of patients who require the utmost care. The system tracks vital information such as heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels, and any abnormalities are immediately reported to her HIVE command center, where staff can instantly communicate with nurses and doctors via audio-visual units.
The system ensures that patients receive the highest possible standard of care, while allowing staff to move freely and work efficiently, with confidence that critically ill patients continue to be closely monitored. will do so.
7. Commonwealth Bank
CommBank has always been an active adopter of technology and has held a leadership position in the application and deployment of AI. The bank uses AI to read, analyze, and process customer documents faster, cutting the time it takes to verify the income needed to process a loan in half.
Internally, CBA uses generative AI to streamline internal processes, including coding. For example, the company accepted nearly 80,000 lines of code from his GitHub Copilot recommendations, significantly increasing the speed of their engineers' work.
8. Sydney Airport
Another useful use of AI is to analyze data in real time and use it to provide feedback. This comes after Sydney Airport teamed up with Google to launch his AR-enhanced application, which uses AI to scan tens of billions of images within the airport to understand where users are. That's it. From there, it provides wayfinding assistance and helps passengers find gates, baggage claim, retail and dining options, restrooms, and more.
In addition to saving passengers the hassle of searching for information kiosks, the app is multilingual and designed to help overcome language barriers when navigating the highly complex airport environment.
9. National Pickleball League
If you haven't heard about Pickleball yet, you will soon. It is one of the fastest growing sports around the world, including Australia, and one of the drivers of this is the introduction of AI.
Australia's National Pickleball League has partnered with AI-powered sports video and analytics company PlaySight to enable NPL members to record, livestream, analyze and share highlights and replays online. The platform not only enables the automation of marketing content that supports the sport, but also serves as a useful analytical tool to improve player performance and competitiveness within the league.
What Australian IT professionals need to know
AI can be deeply embedded into the very processes that underpin any sector. In the past, professionals used laptops, word processors, spreadsheets, and sensors to collect and analyze data, but the technology was separate from their jobs. With AI, there is an opportunity to embed technology within the work itself, and this is something that more advanced and technologically prepared organizations are embracing.
For IT professionals, this means that the application of AI technology can vary widely from field to field. IT professionals working at a winery have very different objectives for using technology than those supporting Sydney Airport.
This means that IT professionals need to have a deep understanding not only of the technology, but also of the sector and business in which they work. As a result, IT professionals may be less likely to move across sectors in search of new job opportunities, and AI will be the catalyst for IT professionals to become more deeply embedded business enablers and leaders within their sectors. Probably.
