While the term Generative AI (Gen AI) has been around since the 1960s, it's only been in the past year that its applications have really taken hold in the public consciousness. From business use to our personal lives, the benefits of Gen AI are countless.
In fact, IDC predicts that by 2026, 85% of EMEA's connected population will experience positive benefits from Gen AI in their daily lives, with improved quality of life in areas such as physical health and mental well-being. But to get the desired return on their investment and deliver a positive experience for all, businesses need to deploy Gen AI in the right way.
There are many examples and applications where Gen AI can make a big difference. By enabling users to create processes, automations, and other components by writing prompts, organizations can automate faster and speed up process discovery and development. Gen AI drives improved decision-making by making data easier to access and analyze. By seamlessly integrating more complex and nuanced use cases into existing processes, automation can be made less complex, minimizing disruption and impact to quality.
But success must always be accompanied by robust data governance, security, and accountability. Businesses adopting Gen AI in any process must prioritize trust and transparency, considering it “by design” and not as an afterthought. This is where the marriage of Intelligent Automation (IA) and Gen AI creates a winning combination.
VP of SS&C, Cloud Alliances & Channels at Blue Prism.
Responsible automation
Gen AI needs accountability and auditability, it needs to be told what information it can obtain and it needs to learn. When combined with IA, this is the linchpin of effective data governance, enforcing data accuracy, security, and accountability throughout the data lifecycle.
Simply put, wrapping Gen AI in IA gives companies more control over their data and automated workflows, managing how that data is processed, protected from unauthorized changes, and stored. This “process wrapper” concept allows organizations to adopt Gen AI effectively and responsibly.
Gen AI adoption and transparency is now a must as innovation continues to grow at a rapid pace. Over the past 12 months, significant innovations in Language Learning Models (LLMs) and Gen AI have simplified automation to address complex and hard-to-automate processes. According to IDC, this includes large enterprises that rely on AI-powered processes to improve asset efficiency, streamline supply chains, and increase customer satisfaction.
Five years ago, AI tools and models were very limited and had limited uses, but now we have ready-made learning models and applications that require less skill, and the only barrier to entry limiting the adoption of Gen AI is data quality.
With 80% of technology leaders planning to adopt Gen AI within the next three years (Gartner), organizations across all sectors are rushing to leverage these exciting new technologies into their business processes. Maintaining data security and compliance is essential.
Future-proofing Gen AI investment
Whether it's a manufacturing giant or a global financial institution, distilling vast amounts of unstructured data is a challenge for executives and revenue teams alike. Forrester's AI Pulse Survey highlights how as Gen AI strains systems, measurement becomes unpredictable and delivering insights becomes complex.
Security, privacy, and consent management add another layer of complexity. The random nature of machine learning requires live data sets for measurement and monitoring, and there is no standard to link Gen AI models to the source data, increasing uncertainty and risk. This is the biggest barrier to Gen AI adoption by B2B companies.
Before implementing any kind of new automation technology, organizations should establish the use cases specific to their business and conduct a risk management assessment to avoid potential non-compliance, data breaches, and other serious issues.
By putting in place proper guardrails through a process wrapper like IA to control data inputs, outputs and training models, Gen AI can transform the way businesses automate processes. Combining Gen AI with IA as a process wrapper helps organizations ensure security and transparency in data management.
With the proliferation of offerings from vendors, customers need to scrutinize the hype and realize real business value. Cloud, data, AI, and automation software will continue to push boundaries, overlapping with others to create unique applications. The combination of IA and Gen AI creates a powerful synergy by facilitating effective data governance and enhancing data accuracy, security, and accountability across the entire lifecycle. Leaders can be confident in leveraging the full potential of Gen AI to drive their business forward.
As organizations continue to invest in these technologies and their digital workforce, they can not only future-proof their data management, but by using IA as a process wrapper, they can make more informed decisions while maintaining trust and transparency in their operations.
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