Sixty-four percent of surveyed CEOs face pressure to adopt Generative AI
Artificial Intelligence has been with us in various forms for decades. A decade ago, IBM Watson seemed to have a lock on AI with this new technology. Then, it all slipped through their fingers like sand. Now, in a comeback move, IBM is focusing on Generative AI with their branded watson.ai as their next, big growth wave. I have two questions. Will this be as successful for IBM as the first chapter of Watson was, and will it have staying power this time around?
IBM seemed to hit its peak around 2016 with the World of Watson event in Las Vegas. Then, it suddenly vanished.
Over recent years we thought IBM was out of Artificial Intelligence. Not so. They have not exited AI. Rather, Watson has been replaced by the next, big thing in AI. Generative AI.
You see, even a huge computer company with the brand name IBM can have a difficult time hanging on to a rapidly growing and always changing opportunity like AI with Watson.
That’s one story. Another story is, can they make lightning strike twice with AI?
Chatbot technology like ChatGPT and Bard has exploded onto the scene during the past year.
Wireless was a key part of that growth by expanding the reach of the new technology. You can use your smartphone anywhere, not just at your computer at your desk.
Chatbot technology is much different than Watson. So, the question is can IBM reengage into AI, lead once again and benefit from this latest next step into Generative AI?
Is there room for IBM to be player, even leader in Generative AI?
Another important question is this. Is there still room for IBM to be a player, even a leader in Generative AI.
The answer is yes, if they can learn to do something they have not been able to do in the past.
They need to build a bridge between the tech talking leadership of the company and the average, every day investor, customer, worker, the media and more.
That’s right. IBM needs to be able to get the average observer excited about Generative AI and not get lost in the sci-fi verbiage they love to use.
Plus, they are not alone. Other heavy hitters are also playing around in these early stages of the Generative AI game. Companies like Amazon AWS, Meta or Facebook, the Mayo Clinic and in fact so many others.
David Ferrucci, scientist who led team to develop IBM Watson
David Ferrucci was an IBM scientist who led the team that originally created Watson. Since 2015 he has been leading a company which he founded called Elemental Cognition.
Today, AI Chatbot technology seems to be growing and bursting at the seams. However, growth comes from new and different areas.
Perhaps Ferrucci and Elemental Cognition can create something even better with this next effort in AI. He says that he wants to create “AI that thinks before it talks”.
That may signal the next chapter in AI. Think AI 2.0.
Next question: would IBM be interested in acquiring Elemental Cognition? Stranger things have happened before.
Elemental Cognition wants to create AI that thinks before it talks
During the past several months, new Chatbot technology like ChatGPT from OpenAI which Microsoft uses, Bard from Google and others have everyone excited because it is new.
This is the first time a computer can use AI and now start to speak and hear at this level.
In this fast-moving environment, things change quickly. Remember, IBM Watson captured the imagination of the public on the TV game show Jeopardy in 2011. Then they rapidly flew too high, too close to the sun for several years before it quickly fell apart at the seams.
AI as a technology and an industry, can change very quickly.
So, what is the next step in AI development?
Ferrucci’s goal to create a technology that thinks before it talks, sounds like the next, natural step in the Artificial Intelligence journey. Is this what they call Generative AI?
Generative AI may be a hot new category for investors, users, workers
Generative AI is also what IBM is also focused on today.
Investors are always looking for the next, hot trend. Generative AI may be one of the next, super-hot categories in the Artificial Intelligence space for at least the next several years.
If IBM is now focused on a a comeback with new technology like Generative AI, will this be a long-term shift for them, or just the next step in a longer staircase?
When AI moved beyond Watson, IBM has started to sell off the technology. Watson Health was one important sector of Watson, but the marketplace moved on without them. So, they sold part of it last year to Francisco Partners.
Many sectors like Generative AI continue to see explosive growth
However, I do not believe IBM is out of the AI business. Rather, they hit a significant speed bump and sold off a sizable portion of Watson.
Next, I think we should expect to see IBM return to the spotlight with new technology like Generative AI.
The good news is AI is an explosive and rapidly growing industry. Remember, within AI there are many different slices of the pie.
Different sectors. Generative AI is just one slice. Chatbot like ChatGPT and Bard is another slice.
Some parts of the AI space will grow quickly, and other parts will not. Some parts will grow for a while, then as the technology advances, it will move on leaving other tech behind in the dust.
This is the kind of ebb and flow with AI we should expect going forward. In fact, that has been the history of AI, and I don’t see that changing.
Different growth-waves with Generative AI and Quantum Computing
In fact, going forward Generative AI continues to attract the attention of everyone, for better and for worse.
Plus, there are many more new ideas percolating in the minds of the brilliant people who develop new technology like this. We can expect more moving forward like Quantum computing.
Some companies and technologies will ride the wave and grow as well. Some competition will be short-lived. Other competition will ride for a while, but then ultimately miss the wave as it moves ahead, leaving them behind.
That’s what happened with IBM Watson. What about Generative AI?
That’s the excitement and the challenge we face today. There will be many long-term and short-term winners and losers. Choosing which is which is the next, big challenge.
IBM will have to prove watson.ai Generative AI is safe and effective
In addition, many business leaders are concerned over the safety and security of Generative AI. So, IBM has a big job in front of it convincing the world this is safe and effective.
That means specific companies and technologies will rise and fall over time. However, if we pull the camera back, the bigger AI picture will continue to grow.
Companies however need to shift with the movement of AI in the marketplace. Either that or get left behind like IBM did with Watson.
IBM has turned the page to watson.ai and see’s Generative AI as the next chapter in their growth story.
AI is a technology that has been with us for many decades. And it will continue to be with us going forward.
Whether you are an investor, executive, worker or user, today it is so important to stay up to speed on this new technology which continues to impact and change our world.
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