IT Strategy

How AI and Blockchain Will Influence Businesses in 2018

The advantages of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology haven’t gone unnoticed. In fact, we saw it slowly making an impact across industries in 2017.

As the blockchain decentralized ledger continues to grow in prominence, it will change enterprise business models and market structures.

As middlemen across the planet quickly become extinct, business leaders will also have to stop thinking in silos and be more open to being strong partners in broader platforms and ecosystems.

With both AI and blockchain technologies remaining in a state of continuous acceleration, we at Intersog believe that 2018 will be the year that AI and blockchain change business as we know it.

Our predictions are also supported by 2018 Fjord Trends which comes from Accenture Interactive’s design and innovation consultancy.

According to Mark Curtis, the co-founder of Fjord, winners in the new year will be the best at navigating tensions and seizing the opportunity to collectively design a new world:

  • Automation vs. control
  • Centralized vs. decentralized
  • Digital vs. physical
  • Human vs. machine
  • Speed vs. craft
  • Traceability vs. anonymity

Man and Machines will Engage in Enhanced Collaboration

Even though Elon Musk might be afraid of the robot apocalypse, the rest of us are far from concerned. But some of us are concerned about robots replacing us at work even though there aren’t any legitimate reasons to lose sleep over this.

This is because only jobs that focus on repetitive mundane tasks will be replaced. When this happens, workers will be free to engage in new and more meaningful work.

Working side by side with AI, we have the potential to generate superior outcomes. This has already been evidenced by the joint-ability of pathologists and deep learning (DL) to better identify cancerous biopsies.

Blockchain will Build Trust

The last couple of years have been plagued with misinformation and fake news. This has naturally lead to society as a whole losing trust in key institutions.

According to Fjord, blockchain can be leveraged to rebuild that trust. This is because this technology enables anyone to see where a piece of information came from. This is the primary reason why blockchain is also being used to regulate applications in FinTech.

Hybrid Data-Driven Experiences

Physical and digital experiences will be intrinsically linked going forward without one taking precedence over the other. This will have significant implications for brands and businesses in terms of services, experiences, how products are developed, and how their teams are structured.

This phenomenon has also been a game changer for digital-first companies who are now placing a lot of importance on physical presence. Transitional brands, on the other hand, will continue to harness technology to create highly immersive experiences.

AI will play a role in acting as a gatekeeper between customers and brands. In fact, this is already being realized through recommendation-driven services like Netflix and Spotify. You can expect many more businesses to explore this model in 2018.

Blockchain-Based Fully Automated Legal Agreements

Blockchain will also influence businesses by empowering legal agreements to function at a fully automated level. This means that businesses will be able to leverage smart contract technology to orchestrate their legal agreements without human intervention.

When this is truly realized, it will expedite business processes. For example, the days where businesses agree to terms and conditions and wait endlessly for signatures will be over.

At Intersog, we are highly experienced in developing ROI-driven products that take advantage of the IoT, AI, Big Data, and modern technologies. If you need help with your next project, click HERE to connect with one of our in-house experts.

IT Storyteller and Copywriter
Andrew's current undertaking is big data analytics and AI as well as digital design and branding. He is a contributor to various publications with the focus on emerging technology and digital marketing.