Organisations need to get beyond the current hype around artificial intelligence (AI), and generative AI (GenAI) in particular, and figure out how to create real value from the technology.
The healthcare industry is likely on the brink of over-promise and disillusionment, said Ngiam Siew Ying, CEO of IT healthcare services provider Synapxe. Referring to the typical hype cycle surrounding emerging technologies, she said many of the statements about AI's promises are largely general, making the hype around the technology unsustainable.
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Speaking on a panel at the NCS Impact conference in Singapore this week, Ngiam called for moving forward with identifying the value of AI.
AI has huge potential if companies can understand how to adopt and leverage it, she said.
Applying AI to software engineering, for example, can bring a variety of benefits to organizations, according to a new report from the Capgemini Research Institute. The study notes that the adoption of generative AI is still in its early stages, with nine in 10 companies yet to scale it.
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The Capgemini study surveyed 1,098 senior executives and 1,092 software professionals across 13 markets, including Australia, Singapore, Germany, India, the US and the UK.
According to the report, 27% of organizations are running generative AI pilots, and 11% are using the technology in their software operations. About 75% of large companies with annual revenues of more than $20 billion have adopted the technology, compared to 23% of organizations with annual revenues of $1 billion to $5 billion.
A Capgemini report predicts that adoption will increase significantly over the next two years, with 85% of software workers using generative AI tools in 2026 (up from 46% today). Generative AI will play a key role in improving the experience, tools, and governance of these professionals, and should support at least 25% of software design, development, and testing by 2026.
Additionally, the survey revealed that 80% of software professionals believe that generative AI tools that can automate repetitive tasks will free up time to focus on higher-value tasks, and three-quarters of professionals believe that generative AI has the potential to improve collaboration with non-technical business teams.
Of the professionals who have already adopted the technology, 61% say it has accelerated innovation, such as the development of new features and services, while 49% point to improved software quality. Additionally, 40% point to increased productivity.
Building infrastructure to support AI
But without the infrastructure needed to embrace AI's “transformative potential” — digital resilience — organisations will be unable to fully harness the benefits of emerging technologies, said Ng Kuo Ping, CEO of NCS.
Speaking at the conference, Ng said: “To build a safer and more sustainable future, it is critical that organisations invest in building the technology foundations that enable advances in cybersecurity, data governance and AI. I believe that organisations that master both AI and digital resilience will be the ones that thrive in an increasingly complex global environment.”
“AI will be a game changer and companies will have to learn the new game, the sooner the better,” he said, touting NCS's experience in using AI as a knowledge base for its employees to help clients adopt emerging technologies. The systems integrator is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore telecommunications company Singtel.
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NCS launched a range of new services this week, including the AI-Digital Resilience Matrix to help enterprise customers develop a roadmap for adopting AI and building digital resilience. The service provides a framework based on a customer's AI adoption maturity and digital robustness, allowing organizations to assess their AI readiness and steps to take.
NCS also announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to launch the GenAI Center of Excellence for Public Good, leveraging AWS' GenAI Innovation Center. According to NCS, the new facility is tailored for the public sector in Asia Pacific and will be supported by a team of AWS engineers, applied scientists and others to drive the use of AI solutions in the sector, using AWS' platform.
“AI is capturing our imagination with capabilities such as natural language processing, image recognition and predictive analytics,” Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Kit said in a speech at the conference. “Governments, businesses and social organizations are learning how to harness digital technologies and AI to more effectively fulfill their missions.”
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Heng noted that Singapore is using AI to improve public services, such as a smart traffic management system to ease congestion, and the use of AI-powered chatbots to provide 24/7 access to government services.
He added that potential breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies, including quantum computing, would provide the ability to solve complex problems and revolutionize sectors such as cryptography and medicine.
“But to successfully use technology for the benefit of humanity, we must maximize the upside while managing the downside risks,” he said.
Heng noted that digital threats such as fraud and cyber attacks are costly and can erode public trust in technology, as well as questions about the ethical and safe use of AI.
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“While AI systems show promise, they are not perfect. They are trained on data and without proper training data they can produce biased or inaccurate results,” he said. “Weaknesses in AI algorithms can also be exploited by bad actors to manipulate results.”
He stressed the importance of establishing appropriate guardrails and creating the “conditions to innovate safely, responsibly, and in the public interest.”
