When it comes to the benefits that AI tools can bring to workers around the world, some companies are naturally more bullish than others, especially if their own technology is powering these advancements.
Salesforce was understandably keen to double down on its AI efforts at its recent World Tour London event, with customers around the world already using the company's range of Einstein tools and services.
Tech Radar Pro We spoke to Paul O'Sullivan, SVP & CTO of Solutions Engineering & UKI at Salesforce about the company's plans to drive efficiency and productivity across all its markets, and why the UK in particular stands to benefit greatly from the continued push towards AI.
Waves of Innovation
“It's fair to say we're on an incredible journey,” O'Sullivan declares, noting that Salesforce.com has announced a $4 billion investment in the UK and Ireland in 2023. “We're extremely well-positioned to capitalize on the AI opportunity in the UK and help our customers realize real value.”
This was made evident by the opening of the company's first dedicated AI center in London to meet growing customer demand for AI technology. The 40,000-square-foot facility will be the hub for Salesforce's efforts to foster collaboration and development in the AI space, and O'Sullivan said this could be just the beginning.
“We are an innovation-led company and are always looking at what's next,” he said, pointing to the UK's “track record of driving innovation and positive disruption in new markets” as a sign that the technology is here to stay in the capital.
Having such resources is especially beneficial as demand for AI tools and services continues to grow across businesses of all sizes, with O'Sullivan acknowledging that “the level of change and adoption in the AI space is enormous.”
“It starts with education, and this applies at all levels,” he added, noting that there is “still a gap” in knowledge and awareness of AI's potential among business leaders.
O'Sullivan said the current push for AI is similar to what we've seen with past major technological advances like the cloud, websites and e-commerce, and companies will need to move quickly to avoid being left behind. But he said the time to catch up with competitors on AI may be shorter than any time we've seen before.
He believes we'll see a “steady wave of innovation” around AI before its use becomes the norm in the business world, especially as competing models and platforms vie for dominance.
“It feels like everyone is racing for AI right now,” he adds, “and I think we all agree that it's going to bring productivity and efficiency gains that will benefit both the bottom line and the bottom line of large companies.”
But looking to the future, there's no need to worry about AI taking over jobs from human workers, as some doomsayers predict. When asked how we might use the free time that AI tools will likely give human workers, O'Sullivan points to a range of possibilities.
“I think human nature is relatively curious,” he says, “and we'll continue to explore how we can do things a little differently and provide a different level of connection and service.”
“We went through the Industrial Revolution. Machines helped workers, but they didn't take away jobs; they took productivity and efficiency to new levels. I think we'll see the same thing here.”
