AI: Beyond the hype - media.bitpipe.com · Emma Kendrew, AI lead for Accenture Technology, agrees that the hype cycle is reaching a peak, driven by busy corporate marketing machines

AI: Beyond the hype

AI: Beyond the hype

http://www.computerweekly.com



Page 1 of 40

In this e-guide

Is artificial intelligence hype

sowing damaging confusion?

Artificial intelligence industry

should get strategic

government boost

Danske Bank taps into the

cognitive capabilities of IBM

Watson

Nordea deploys AI to speed

up customer service

Artificial intelligence will

increase productivity by

sharpening human mind

Let‘s have some more straight

talking on AI and robotics

The rise of the machines

AI: Beyond the hype

In this e-guide:

Artificial Intelligence is red hot. But what lies beyond the hype?

Once it was big data, then cloud, now it is artificial intelligence,

and that sub-set of it which is machine learning, that’s

generating more heat than light. Is there business value here?

And, if there is, is it in danger of being lost in the noise of “AI

washing” – namely, rinsing already existing technologies,

especially those to do with process automation, in the magic

washing powder of “AI”?

A UK government-sponsored report into artificial intelligence,

and how it could benefit the economy, suggests there is much

that could be turned to account, but that the country is in

danger of squandering some comparative advantage in these

advanced technologies.

In this e-guide we can see our Nordic near-neighbours

demonstrating the value of AI in a couple of financial services

case studies: Danske Bank and Nordea.


http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Is-artificial-intelligence-hype-sowing-damaging-confusion

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Is-artificial-intelligence-hype-sowing-damaging-confusion

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450428215/Artificial-intelligence-industry-should-get-strategic-government-boost

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450425291/Danske-Bank-taps-into-the-cognitive-capabilities-of-IBM-Watson

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450423224/Nordea-deploys-AI-to-speed-up-customer-service

Page 2 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Balancing artificial intelligence with human intelligence is one

way to possibly stoke productivity, suggests some research

published earlier in 2017 by Goldsmiths, University of London.

However, as a contributor from an IT vendor, Pegasystems,

argues: “AI is hugely overhyped, hugely misunderstood”, and

needs to be treated pragmatically, with a checklist for CIOs to

keep it real. In this e-guide also, we foreground an instance of a

Singapore-based start-up that is using AI to improve cyber-

security, against a backdrop of other practical applications of

the technology in the region.

Brian McKenna, business applications editor



http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450411801/Artificial-intelligence-will-increase-productivity-by-sharpening-human-mind

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450411801/Artificial-intelligence-will-increase-productivity-by-sharpening-human-mind

http://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Lets-have-some-more-straight-talking-on-AI-and-robotics

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Rise-of-the-machines

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Rise-of-the-machines

Page 3 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Is artificial intelligence hype sowing damaging confusion?

Cath Everett, guest contributor

As many in the enterprise IT community will remember, technology suppliers

succeeded in roundly confusing buyers in the early part of the millennium by

―greenwashing― their products and services - or in other words, exaggerating

the true extent of their environmentally-friendly credentials - thereby shooting

themselves in the foot and, arguably, putting the brakes on the market.

But it seems that many have learned little from the experience. According to

Gartner, the IT industry is now pursuing an equally self-destructive strategy of

―AI [artificial intelligence] washing‖• - by applying the AI label too

indiscriminately, suppliers are once again bamboozling potential customers,

who are putting off making buying decisions as a result.

So just how true is this contention and, if it is valid, what impact is it having on

the market to date? Nick Patience, research vice-president at 451 Research,

believes that AI in the enterprise software space is certainly overhyped, and

adoption has lagged behind uptake in the consumer market.

―A lot of startups are claiming to do AI when they‘re using rules-based

automation,‖ he says. ―Suppliers also say they have AI systems, but it‘s actually


http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/greenwashing

http://www.computerweekly.com/ehandbook/Using-IT-initiatives-to-save-money-and-reinforce-green-credentials

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3763265

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450410267/Three-quarters-of-enterprises-collecting-IoT-data-says-451-Research

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450421003/McKinsey-AI-research-finds-slender-user-adoption-outside-tech

Page 4 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

much more narrowly defined machine learning software that does image

recognition or lead scoring. There‘s nothing wrong with that, but it‘s never going

to be a robot that can do many of the things humans can do, so you have to cut

through the hype to know what you‘re getting.‖

Emma Kendrew, AI lead for Accenture Technology, agrees that the hype cycle

is reaching a peak, driven by busy corporate marketing machines hoping to take

advantage of the possibilities opened up by big data and the cloud, as well as

burgeoning customer interest.

―AI is often associated with futuristic sci-fi films and so has an air of deep

complexity. It also has an air of mystery, and even of being sinister,‖ she says.

―But there‘s a sense of urgency driven by marketing and the media too.‖

The upshot of this situation is that, while many organisations - and in many

instances, their senior business executives - are aware of the technology and

feel a pressing need to engage with it, they simply have no idea where to begin.

Pilots and proof of concepts

―There‘s a lack of confidence in where to invest and where to start,‖ says

Kendrew. ―So there‘s a lot of awareness of AI, but, in many ways, that‘s driving

the confusion and uncertainty as to where to begin.‖•

As a result, most market activity is currently focused on pilots and proof-of-

concept work, with predominantly large corporates in sectors such as financial


http://www.computerweekly.com/resources/Big-data-analytics

http://www.computerweekly.com/resources/Cloud-computing-services

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450425906/Thousands-of-Deutsche-Bank-employees-will-be-replaced-by-robots

Page 5 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

services and customer-facing industries such as retail starting to dip their

respective toes in the water as they experiment to understand the technology‘s

potential.

For instance, financial services firms are using AI to help with everything from

fraud analysis to processing customer account applications, while customer

service agents are being employed by business-to-consumer companies of all

stripes to understand customer needs more effectively and personalise

interactions.

―We‘re starting to see adoption in areas where there are large volumes of data -

especially if it‘s unstructured, so text, audio and video - and where people have

to analyse it manually,‖ says 451 Research‘s Patience. ―So a lot of adoption

now is about taking the low-hanging fruit of tedious processes where there‘s no

value in having a human doing it. Helpdesk ticketing automation, for example, is

quite a popular early use case.‖

But he agrees with Gartner that a key inhibitor to the sector‘s further expansion

at the moment is simply the lack of AI skills in most organisations due to its

nascent stage of development. Although not an unusual state of affairs with

emerging technology, the situation is particularly acute here due to the fast pace

of change - although Patience acknowledges that things will undoubtedly sort

themselves out over time.


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450425906/Thousands-of-Deutsche-Bank-employees-will-be-replaced-by-robots

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-artificial-intelligence-is-powering-retail-customer-experience

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/The-rise-of-the-robots-in-financial-services

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450426790/Why-AI-success-depends-on-IT-picking-the-low-hanging-fruit

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450427634/UK-at-risk-of-AI-skills-crisis

Page 6 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Another issue that is holding companies back in adoption terms, meanwhile, is

the belief that they do not have the large datasets required to make AI work.

―Where I see a lot of CIOs expressing scepticism is in relation to data volumes,‖

says Patience. ―Large suppliers are buying in sources of data to build and train

models to make them more effective, but mid-sized organisations don‘t feel they

have enough.‖•

But again he expects this scenario to change as the internet of things (IoT)

starts to take off over the next two to three years. ―The growth of AI will be

tightly linked to the growth of IoT, and also social media-based data, as people

express their views about their preferences in ways they couldn‘t before. It‘s a

big trove of data that can be acted upon by everyone, and it‘ll make a huge

difference,‖ Patience concludes.

Case study: FreestyleXtreme

―We didn‘t specifically decide to introduce AI,‖ says Shaun Loughlin, managing

director of online action sports retailer FreestyleXtreme. ‖It was more of an

extension to our existing automation strategy - we don‘t differentiate between

the two as they go hand-in-hand, so we see AI as simply the next stage in the

automation battle.‖

The company, which was set up in 2003, first began its automation journey six

years later, but introduced machine learning-based marketing applications from

Emarsys in 2015.


http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/blog/IoT-Agenda/Five-predictions-for-the-internet-of-things-in-2017

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/At-IBMs-Watson-lab-customers-marry-the-power-of-AI-with-the-IoT

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/At-IBMs-Watson-lab-customers-marry-the-power-of-AI-with-the-IoT

http://www.freestylextreme.com/

https://www.emarsys.com/en/

Page 7 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

The cloud-based system collects information about each individual customer

based on their demographic profile, purchase history, website browsing activity

and the like, and personalises email marketing messages accordingly in real

time. It also ensures that the company‘s website homepage carries the goods

that customers are most likely to be looking for when they visit it.

―The product recommendation feature has directly increased revenues by 8%

because suggestions are more relevant,‖ says Loughlin. ―But the system has

also allowed us to operate more efficiently and consistently with a much smaller

team than we‘d need otherwise.‖•

Although the firm has only 70 staff, it runs 20 localised storefronts and ships

products to more than 60 countries around the world. ―Without automation and

AI, it just wouldn‘t be possible,‖ Loughlin points out. ―In marketing, for example,

we‘d probably need between 200%-300% more staff to do what we do now.‖•

Pros and cons

The fact that email marketing campaigns can currently be conducted in two

hours rather than the former two days means the team is able to focus on more

creative and strategic activities rather than become bogged down in basic

administrative tasks.


Page 8 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

―We‘re growing massively, but we‘re not letting people go,‖ says Loughlin. ―It

just means that we don‘t have to recruit people at the same level, or we can

recruit in other areas that are most beneficial to the business.‖•

But he acknowledges that the concept of AI has been subject to a lot of hype

that is putting many people off, particularly in the small to medium-sized

enterprise (SME) space.

―Without realising it, e-commerce firms have been using AI for years with things

like text ads in Google, but they‘ve not called it that,‖ he says. ―So the

increased popularity of the term is causing confusion, especially among SMEs.

It‘s scary as it sounds so unobtainable.‖•

Other common barriers to adoption include cost and fact that the majority of AI

systems are far from plug-and-play, requiring time and effort to implement.

But given that Loughlin‘s aim is to expand the business into Japan and Eastern

Europe over the next year or so, he believes increased levels of automation are

an important way forward.

―We‘re going to continue to focus on automating as many elements of the

business as we can as a key way to boost efficiency. AI and automation go

hand-in-hand, so it has a part to play in our continued development. Expansion

was always part of our business plan - it‘s just that AI makes it easier,‖ he says.


Page 9 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Case study: Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

The Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has just started a 12-

month pilot project to establish whether a so-called CoachBot AI-based system

can help clinical team members work together more effectively.

The trial will consist of four teams with about 65 members in total, and is

intended to make it easier for participants to benefit from coaching interventions

without needing to dedicate unrealistic amounts of time to the process.

―Recruitment and retention is a big challenge, especially given some of the

NHS‘s operational pressures, so we‘d been talking about what we could do to

support the workforce,‖ says Stacie Coburn, principal advisor at the Eastern

Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN) - one of 15 similar organisations

set up around the country to promote innovation. ‖ The problem is that getting a

full team to spend a day on face-to-face coaching simply doesn‘t work in a world

where it‘s difficult to release staff from frontline duties.‖•

The advantage of Saberr‘s CoachBot system, on the other hand, is that it

handles the time-consuming fact-finding portion of the process to help set an

agenda and assist team members in understanding what issues they should get

together to tackle.


http://www.hpft.nhs.uk/news-events/news/hpft-partners-with-analytics-and-ai-firm-saberr-to-increase-staff-engagement-and-improve-patient-experience-and-outcomes/

https://www.eahsn.org/

https://www.eahsn.org/

https://www.saberr.com/coachbot

Page 10 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

The online app can be accessed at a time convenient to each individual team

member, but comprises a series of questions that last about 20 minutes in total.

These consist of a four-minute set of on-boarding questions to gain a contextual

understanding of the team, followed by around 10 minutes of diagnostic

questions to get a handle on the challenges it is facing.

The advantage of algorithms

Algorithms are then used to sort through the data and make suggestions on

areas that require work, as well as providing participants with access to learning

toolkits.

But Coburn points out that the system is not necessarily being seen as a

―complete internal replacement for people-led learning‖. As a result, one of the

four teams will be provided with a coach on a quarterly basis to assess whether

additional human intervention is of benefit or not.

In terms of measuring success, there will be quarterly checks on whether teams

are meeting self-defined targets and whether any change has taken place in

their Net Promoter Scores - the willingness of participants to recommend

working in their team. Team productivity will likewise be measured, as will any

impact on quality from a healthcare perspective, which includes improvements

in patient outcomes.


http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/Net-Promoter-Score-NPS

Page 11 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

But Coburn believes it is neither here nor there that the system EAHSN has

bought is AI-based or not. ―It wasn‘t a factor in the purchasing decision,‖ she

says. ―ChatBot as a product looked like it could solve our need, but I didn‘t know

it was AI.‖•

Instead, what did appeal was the fact that the offering could learn on an ongoing

basis. ―Teams are always going to have challenges to work through and there‘ll

always be some element of improvement they could be working on. So there‘s a

huge value in having a product that can continue to learn,‖ she says.

Next article


Page 12 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Artificial intelligence industry should get strategic government boost

Brian McKenna, business applications editor

A government-sponsored review into the potential impact of artificial

intelligence (AI) on the UK economy is urging a comprehensive programme of

support for the discipline.

Published under the joint aegis of the departments for Business, Energy and

Industrial Strategy and for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the report -

Growing the artificial intelligence industry in the UK - is positioned as ―a

contribution to the government‘s industrial strategy, for which a whitepaper will

be published later in 2017‖.

Authors Wendy Hall and Jérôme Pesenti have been working on the report since

March 2017, and Hall referred to it in her recent testimony before the House of

Lords select committee on artificial intelligence. Hall is professor of computer

science at the University of Southampton, and Pesenti is the chief executive of

BenevolentTech, an AI supplier.

The report says the review took input from meetings and workshops that

involved more than 100 AI experts drawn from the university sector, the IT

industry and the civil service.


http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/AI


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450411468/Government-industrial-strategy-proposes-170m-investment-in-tech-institutes-to-boost-Stem-skills

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450428020/House-of-Lords-committee-hosts-clash-between-AI-enthusiasts-and-sceptics

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450428020/House-of-Lords-committee-hosts-clash-between-AI-enthusiasts-and-sceptics

Page 13 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Hall said, in a statement: ―I was very honoured to be asked to co-chair this

review... I‘m particularly keen to ensure that we use it to inform the

establishment of initiatives and programmes to help us extract the most value

from artificial intelligence for the country; that includes an emphasis on

increasing and improving our skill levels to prepare the workforce for the

number of jobs the industry will need for the future.‖

―AI has been around for a very long time as a concept, and this latest surge of

technological development is likely to see automation continue to escalate and

accelerate in every walk of life.‖•

Pesenti said: ―Our proposals are deliberately specific and boil down to three

fundamentals - enable better access to data, create a greater supply of AI skills

and promote the uptake of AI. I am looking forward to working with government,

academia and industry to drive these changes.‖•

Build on UK’s historical success in AI

The report advances the view that the UK enjoys a comparative advantage in

the field of artificial intelligence due to a heritage exemplified by the Cambridge

mathematician Alan Turing, who was one of the leading cryptanalyst at the

government‘s code-breaking centre at Bletchley Park during the Second World

War.


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240211638/Alan-Turing-pardoned

Page 14 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

The report also cites other British pioneers in AI, such as fellow Bletchley

alumnus Donald Michie, of the University of Edinburgh, and Christopher

Strachey of the University of Manchester.

The report recommends that The Alan Turing Institute, set up in 2015 at The

British Library, should become the ―national institute for artificial intelligence and

data science‖. It also recommends that Turing AI Fellowships be established

and funded by government to ensure ―the UK is open to any and all of the

eligible experts from around the world‖.

The report‘s authors state they are ―convinced that because of the UK‘s current

and historical strengths in this area we are in a strong position to lead rather

than follow in both the development of the technology and its deployment in all

sectors of industry, education and government.

―We have a choice. The UK could stay among the world leaders in AI in the

future, or allow other countries to dominate.‖•

The report uses a capacious definition of artificial intelligence from The

Engineering and Physical Science Research Council to inform its advocacy:

―Artificial intelligence technologies aim to reproduce or surpass abilities (in

computational systems) that would require ‗intelligence‘ if humans were to

perform them. These include: learning and adaptation; sensory understanding

and interaction; reasoning and planning; optimisation of procedures and


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240082039/Donald-Michie-robotics-and-code-breaking-pioneer-dies

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/4500251082/Alan-Turing-Institute-gets-down-to-work

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450410637/Case-study-The-Alan-Turing-Institute-takes-cloud-first-stance-on-data-science-research

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450410637/Case-study-The-Alan-Turing-Institute-takes-cloud-first-stance-on-data-science-research

Page 15 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

parameters; autonomy; creativity; and extracting knowledge and predictions

from large, diverse digital data.‖•

And it explicitly uses AI as an ―umbrella term to cover a set of complementary

techniques that have developed from statistics, computer science and cognitive

psychology. While recognising distinctions between specific technologies and

terms - for example, artificial intelligence versus machine learning, versus deep

learning - it is useful to see these technologies as a group, when considering

how to support development and use of them‖.

Reap economic rewards from artificial intelligence

The report adduces some research by IT services firm Accenture to estimate

that AI could add an additional £630bn to the UK economy by 2035, increasing

the annual growth rate of gross value add from 2.5% to 3.9%.

It recommends, among other things, to develop ―data trusts, to improve trust

and ease around sharing data‖, to make ―more research data machine

readable‖, and to support ―text and data mining‖.

It advocates a slew of academic initiatives, including an ―industry-funded‖•

Masters programme in AI, 200 PhD places in AI, and university conversion

courses for candidates from outside the disciplines of computer and data

science.


http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/machine-learning

http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/deep-learning

http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/deep-learning

Page 16 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

It also says businesses should be proactively educated about the value AI can

bring to deliver process improvements, and that the public sector should be

supported to avail itself of the technology.

The report refers to a need for the government to make sure that ―public funding

for research explicitly ensures publication of underlying data in machine-

readable formats with clear rights information, and open wherever possible‖.

It envisages a broad ―UK AI Council‖, drawn from industry and the university

sector. And it says The Department for International Trade should expand its

current support programme for AI businesses.

As an example of what AI can do, the report refers to healthcare, where ―data

from smartphones and fitness trackers that is analysed using new machine

learning techniques can improve management of chronic conditions as well as

predicting and preventing acute episodes of illness‖. It gives another example of

―newsrooms increasingly using machine learning to write sports reports and to

draft articles‖, and refers to the legal sector, where ―groups like Ross, Lex

Machina and CaseText are using artificial intelligence to sift court documents

and legal records for case-relevant information‖.

In a press statement in respect of the Hall and Pesenti review, culture

secretary Karen Bradley said: ―I want the UK to lead the way in artificial

intelligence. It has the potential to improve our everyday lives - from healthcare

to robots that perform dangerous tasks‖.


http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/news/450428081/Box-machine-learning-technology-piques-IT-interest

http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/news/450428081/Box-machine-learning-technology-piques-IT-interest

Page 17 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Business secretary Greg Clark added: ―This important review exemplifies the

world-class expertise the UK already has in AI, demonstrating the huge social

and economic benefits its use can bring. We will continue to work with the

sector in the coming months to secure a comprehensive Sector Deal that makes

the UK the go-to place for AI and helps us grasp the opportunities that lie

ahead.‖

Next article


Page 18 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Danske Bank taps into the cognitive capabilities of IBM Watson

Eeva Haaramo, guest contributor

Danish financial services giant Danske Bank has signed a 10-year infrastructure

services contract with IBM, and as part of the deal it will use a Watson-powered

services platform to automate processes and develop new services.

―Our motivation for making this decision is simple - as a bank, we want to

ensure our customers can count on our online banking solutions being available

24/7,‖ said Bo Svejstrup, head of IT operations at Danske Bank. ―We will utilise

cognitive technology to solve complex IT cases and problems related to our IT

environment even faster, which will improve the overall 24/7 customer

experience across our online banking services.‖•

IBM said the new IBM Services Platform with Watson taps into Watson‘s

cognitive capabilities to predict potential problems in IT operations and

proactively take action to improve quality and reduce business disruptions. The

platform, built on the IBM cloud, will also provide IT staff with data-based

information and real-time visibility of their IT environment.

Danske Bank said it plans to use the platform to develop and implement a ―first

of a kind‖ cognitive delivery system, which will enable it to integrate existing


https://www.linkedin.com/in/bo-svejstrup-b7253/

Page 19 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

systems and develop new financial services. The bank hopes the platform will

help to minimise incidents that affect business-critical applications and end-

users.

The banking group said it has already seen a significant drop in server incidents

while testing IBM‘s cognitive monitoring system, which is part of the new

platform.

―At its core, cognitive technology enables us to understand and correlate

complex data related to IT incidents across our IT infrastructure and predict

where we may see issues next,‖ said Svejstrup. ―We can then resolve these

issues before they impact our customers and therefore avoid poor customer

experience.‖

Under the agreement, Danske Bank will focus on more operational activities,

while IBM will provides its mainframe infrastructure-as-a-service and cognitive

services for mainframe, distribution and network.

The move is part of Danske Bank‘s strategy to modernise its IT infrastructure

and make it more cloud-based in the coming years. Currently, the banking

group employs more than 19,000 people in 15 countries and is looking to

expand its IT capabilities.


Page 20 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

―As a consequence of our decision, we are currently hiring IT resources in

Denmark, Lithuania and India to ensure we can drive the modernisation efforts

as planned across our IT platform,‖ said Svejstrup.

In addition to IBM Watson, Danske Bank is investigating how artificial

intelligence (AI) could improve IT support for its own employees.

―Cognitive technologies can be an important lever to pull to improve customer

experience in the financial industry, provided that companies carefully scan

solutions on the market to find providers that offer mature products and a solid

delivery model,‖ said Svejstrup.

AI and cognitive computing are spreading rapidly across the financial services

industry. Rival Nordic bank Nordea is using AI software to speed up its

customer service and in the UK‘s Natwest is trialling AI technology to monitor

advice given to its customers.

Next article


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450423224/Nordea-deploys-AI-to-speed-up-customer-service

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450421673/AI-monitors-NatWest-communications-to-ensure-advice-is-appropriate

Page 21 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Nordea deploys AI to speed up customer service

Eeva Haaramo, guest contributor

Nordic banking giant Nordea is rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) technology to

speed up its customer service processes.

The software, developed by Estonian startup FeelingStream, analyses customer

messages and feedback and automatically forwards them to the right recipient.

Trialling initially in Finland, FeelingStream‘s software will be used by Nordea to

prioritise loan queries and applications. It works by tapping into Nordea‘s

contact handling platform Genesys through an application programming

interface (API) and uses text analytics and natural language processing to

categorise messages from customers.

―Messages come into the Genesys platform as per usual, but certain messages

that have been tagged as loan messages are then redirected to the

FeelingStream tool. It will read, analyse and categorise them into urgent and

normal,‖ said Anna Metsäranta, head of automated remote customer

experience at Nordea.


http://www.computerweekly.com/ehandbook/Focus-Artificial-intelligence-in-the-enterprise

http://feelingstream.com/

http://searchcloudapplications.techtarget.com/video/Strong-API-strategy-matters-in-growing-API-economy

http://searchcloudapplications.techtarget.com/video/Strong-API-strategy-matters-in-growing-API-economy

Page 22 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

―They are then returned to the Genesys routing system, either to the priority or

normal queue [for customer service agents to pick up].‖

The bank said the software is able to analyse hundreds of messages per

second, dramatically speeding up response times. It has been used full-time by

Nordea since the spring following a three-month pilot, which concluded in

February 2016.

According to Metsäranta there were no major technical issues during the pilot,

instead the challenge was getting anonymised data for FeelingStream to work

with. When the data was finally approved, a key change during the pilot was to

move from an initial model of categorising messages into five groups to

simplifying it down to two.

Now Nordea preparing for a Nordic-wide roll out and mapping out other

potential usage cases for the technology. This is done through workshops to

identify any problem points and areas where customer services could be

improved by the AI tool.

―It has been a learning process where we work together with Feelingstream

iteratively to understand the use case and build the relevant model, and that is

how I expect the next few use cases to be as well,‖ said Metsäranta. ―Currently

it seems the next use cases will be in Finland as well, and other [Nordic]

countries will come aboard as soon as possible.‖•


Page 23 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Nordea picked out FeelingStream from its financial technology (fintech)

accelerator programme run in Helsinki in 2015-2016 and, following its success,

the bank is looking to continue this kind of collaboration.

―We are currently identifying vendors we want to work with,‖ said Metsäranta.

―Of course we want to be keep working with the fintech startup field very closely

and we will run more accelerator programmes, but we will work with more

mature vendors as well. We are currently putting the building blocks in place

and finalising the strategy for automated remote customer service and advice.‖•

With its focus on AI, Nordea joins a long list of financial services companies

looking into this technology. In the UK, NatWest is testing the use of AI to

monitor its advisors and to ensure appropriate advice is given.

In 2016, the Royal Bank of Scotland announced it would pilot AI chatbot Luvo,

powered by IBM Watson, to handle simple customers queries while Swedish

bank SEB deployed customer service robot Amelia to work alongside its IT

services desk.

Next article


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/4500250273/Nordea-Bank-launches-startup-accelerator-to-boost-fintech-innovation

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/4500250273/Nordea-Bank-launches-startup-accelerator-to-boost-fintech-innovation

http://www.computerweekly.com/ehandbook/Focus-Artificial-intelligence-in-the-enterprise

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450400525/Royal-Bank-of-Scotland-to-use-AI-platform-for-customer-services

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450400525/Royal-Bank-of-Scotland-to-use-AI-platform-for-customer-services

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450401647/Interview-How-Swedish-bank-prepared-robot-for-customer-services

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450401647/Interview-How-Swedish-bank-prepared-robot-for-customer-services

Page 24 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Artificial intelligence will increase productivity by sharpening human mind

Karl Flinders, EMEA content editor

Research shows that software robots will soon automate 80% of repetitive tasks

currently being done by people and increase productivity by freeing up humans

to use their brains.

Businesses will need to develop a balance of artificial and human intelligence as

different roles require a mix of the two, found the academic study by

Goldsmiths, University of London and artificial intelligence (AI) supplier IPsoft,

It said by automating and redeploying humans away from repetitive jobs to

tasks that require creativity and innovation, organisations can increase

productivity three times over.

The FuturaCorp: Artificial Intelligence & the Freedom to be Human report

outlines the future workplace where humans and machines together increase

output.

The report described three tasks requiring a different mix of human and artificial

intelligence.


Page 25 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

It said deterministic tasks are repetitive and process-oriented, while probabilistic

tasks require a human in concert with machines. Then there are cross-

functional reasoning jobs that rely on connections that can only be made by the

human brain.

The report said that 80% of deterministic tasks will be done by machines in the

not-too-distant future, probabilistic jobs will be shared 50:50, while humans will

do 80% of cross-functional reasoning tasks.

―The real productivity benefits of AI will not be simply a factor of automating

existing processes. The arrival of AI will engender entirely new, unknown

possibilities for humans and what they can achieve,‖ said Chris Brauer, senior

lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London.

―It is this new configuration of humans working alongside intelligent machines

that will be the source of sustained competitive advantage. The result will be

FuturaCorp - a Fortune 500 with the innovative flexibility of a Silicon Valley

startup, or a startup with the IT power of a Fortune 500.‖

Chetan Dube, CEO at IPsoft, said CEOs must be prepared to redefine their

business in order to capitalise on the productivity potential of AI. ―That journey

begins with fundamental change to organisation structure, who they hire for

which roles, and how they use the new relationship between humans and

machines to maximise efficiency and innovation.‖•


Page 26 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

―AI engenders emergent individual qualities, which push us to access the more

complex parts of our minds. When routine work is automated, we will be able -

and required - to flex our most human of skills. The future of society relies on

individuals accessing higher reasoning, critical thinking and complex problem-

solving skills,‖ said Dube.

Amelia’s reading power

IPSofts AI platform, known as Amelia, was launched in 2014. It has an

understanding of the semantics of language and can learn to solve business

process queries like a human. It can read 300 pages in 30 seconds and learn

through experience by observing the interactions between human agents and

customers.

If Amelia can‘t answer a question, it passes the query on to a human, but

remains in the conversation to learn how to solve similar issues in future. It

understands 20 languages, as well as context, can apply logic and infer

implications.

The software is used for services such as technology helpdesks, contact

centres, procurement processing and to advise field engineers, among other

business processes.

AI‘s benefit to productivity is now being predicted. According to recent research

by Vanson Bourne for Infosys, businesses that have adopted AI technologies


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240231755/IPsoft-gives-automation-platform-a-face

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450411088/Artificial-intelligence-critical-to-business-growth

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450411088/Artificial-intelligence-critical-to-business-growth

Page 27 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

expect their revenues to increase by 39% and costs to drop by 37% by 2020.

Some 64% say their future growth depends on large-scale AI adoption.

But there are hurdles to overcome. The World Economic Forum‘s Global Risk

Report 2017 has highlighted risks associated with AI. Based on a survey of 750

experts, the report warned that AI, biotech and robotics have among the highest

benefits to society, but they also require the most legislation.

The World Economic Forum warned that governance of emerging technologies

is patchy. Some are regulated heavily, and others hardly at all because they do

not fit under the remit of any existing regulatory body.

Next article


Page 28 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Let’s have some more straight talking on AI and robotics

Don Schuerman, guest contributor

The robots are coming – and they‘re going to take your jobs. That is a popular

mantra, but I really want to let some of the (hot) air out of the inflated robotics

and artificial intelligence (AI) hype.

My starting point isn‘t that AI and robotics are not going to be important – they

are. But AI is hugely overhyped, hugely misunderstood, and already hugely

impactful. We are building a mirage of a robotics revolution on the backs of

some interesting startups that haven‘t delivered much at all in self-thinking

software or hardware robotics that‘s going to have mainstream impact.

This confused situation is the creation of my industry. Enterprise IT suppliers

talk too much about parts of AI that deliver the least potential value. This is

perverse when there is AI that has proven to deliver tremendous value and is

underused today.

A great example of this is deep learning. Fascinating stuff, but, I would argue,

not yet a game-changer for a commercial organisation such as a bank or

insurer. These businesses need AI to do the hard work of growing revenues and

driving down costs. The challenge here is how AI could transform their


http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/robotics


http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/news/450420350/Experts-explain-how-to-deploy-deep-learning-in-production

Page 29 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

interaction with customers – how can AI make a customer more loyal, more

ready to buy more services and products?

In the final analysis, software robotics is a new way to describe what many

businesses have been doing for years – automating more repetitive, sometimes

complex, tasks.

Today, AI is at the heart of some fundamental processes that affect profit and

loss in meaningful ways. For an energy utility, machine learning in its marketing

systems continually improves how it presents the best offers by learning about

customers in real time. This has delivered a 20% increase in conversion rates.

For an insurer, robotic process automation sequences the activation of apps

and data to cut out dull, mundane tasks and speed up the claims process.

Perhaps not as exciting as human androids, but these are examples of AI and

software robotics embedded in everyday business processes. The challenge is

how you get AI to grow with your business and not become an assortment of

technologies that are all fantastic, but don‘t integrate or scale well.

So, my checklist for the CIO or their close colleagues in marketing and

customer service might be the following:

Unify from the get-go

When chatbots fail in their human interactions, it is a result of how AI

deployments are too often disconnected. The quiet success of today‘s AI


http://www.computerweekly.com/ehandbook/Focus-Artificial-Intelligence-and-Machine-Learning

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/machine-learning

Page 30 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

deployments is in the effort to unify the intelligence behind the technology – an

always-on central ―brain‖ that functions across all different lines of business,

channels, systems and data. This ensures that customers get consistent

treatment, and the best treatment, no matter how they interact with your

organisation.

Think human first

The goal should be to humanise rather than mechanise interactions, because

that‘s what delivers the best value – applying AI to give intelligent guidance to

human customer service agents, so they can provide customers with next-best

actions personalised to them. Or empowering customers who want to look after

their own affairs with intelligent guidance and support when needed. Or use

robots to take away rote tasks, so employees can focus on interacting with

customers.

Continuously optimise the customer experience

Connecting to big data can identify opportunities for better customer service and

experience. Detect, predict, test and learn in real time when customers need

help, and act immediately, improving sales results and customer satisfaction.

Act proactively and pre-emptively, connecting to event streams and finding

issues or patterns of behaviour before they become a problem for the customer.


Page 31 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Govern your AI with rules

Develop a library of machine learning algorithms that allow you to automatically

anticipate customer needs and trigger next-best actions as well as open

fulfilment or service cases. By using business logic, the business has the ability

to change to ensure that machine learning is governed by rules that keep it

within regulatory bounds and aligned with corporate values.

Develop strategies powered by machine learning

It is so important to democratise access to AI tools. Choose drag-and-drop

visual tools that can be used by business people rather than data scientists, so

they can easily connect streaming big data and machine learning algorithms

into their decision strategies. Filtering ensures that unnecessary data is not

evaluated, which safeguards performance, especially for data streams that can

entail millions and even billions of data records.

Next article


Page 32 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype


Aaron Tan, APAC senior editor

Former US intelligence officer Drew Perez is an old hand at making sense of

vast volumes of data using machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) in the

name of counter-terrorism and national security.

Armed with this know-how gleaned over 30 years, Perez founded Adatos, a

Singapore-based AI startup where he adapted recently declassified

methodologies and software used by US defence and intelligence communities

to produce data-driven insights quickly.

―We‘ve been doing this in the intelligence community for decades,‖ says Perez.

―There‘s really nothing sexy about it, because it just works.‖

The intelligence community first discovered machine learning during World War

II at the UK Government Communications Headquarters at Bletchley Park,

where the famed German Enigma codes were broken using techniques that laid

the foundation for computing and AI.

Since then, Perez says intelligence services and the US military have been

using machine learning and AI to process vast amounts of data, with previously

unmanageable signal to noise ratios.


https://www.adatos.com/

https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/video/A-call-for-democratizing-AI-from-IBM-Watsons-chief-architect

Page 33 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

―The current demands in counter-terrorism require precise, accurate insights

delivered in the span of minutes,‖ he says. ―A key contest in war will be between

adversary cognitive systems - artificial and human - to process information,

understand the battlespace and decide and execute faster than the enemy.‖•

While AI and machine learning are not new to military and intelligence

communities, the world has been enamoured by their ability to beat chess

masters and human opponents in TV game shows over the past decade.

Much of these developments have been fuelled by rapid advancements in

computing power - think Moore‘s Law - and large volumes of data being

generated by sensors and mobile devices.

However, Perez says the hype and expectations around AI and machine

learning today may lead to disappointment, if people are expecting Ex Machina-

type humanoids with the ability to think like humans do.

―AI, if defined by the expectations of cognitive functions that mimic humans, is

still largely in a development stage, but it doesn‘t mean it can‘t solve real-world

problems much more efficiently,‖ Perez says.

Practical applications in APAC

Machine learning as a form of AI is already widely accessible for immediate

practical applications.


https://www.wired.com/2012/09/deep-blue-computer-bug/

https://www.wired.com/2012/09/deep-blue-computer-bug/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFR3lOm_xhE

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Making-more-of-Moores-Law

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/

Page 34 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

It has rapidly matured over the years, and is the norm in a number of fields,

helping companies deploy smart systems of engagement to improve efficiency,

enhance security, gain insights and deliver superior customer experiences, says

Aan Chauhan, chief technology officer at Cognizant.

According to research firm IDC, the Asia-Pacific AI market will grow at a

compound annual growth rate of 63.9% between 2015 and 2020, surpassing

the global growth rate of 55.1%.

―Be it virtual cognitive agents delivering contextual and personalised services

and customer interactions, predictive analytics engines that help companies

forecast, systems that help automate business processes, applications that

automate infrastructure management and application services, or deep learning

systems that augment human expert capabilities, machine learning applications

are being used across industries,‖ says Chauhan.

Examples include robo-advisors in financial services, sales forecasting in retail,

supply chain optimisation in logistics, robotic process automation and even

medical image analysis, such as screening images of the retina for diabetic

retinopathy.

―AI and machine learning platforms take a while to ‗learn‘, but the effectiveness

of the engine improves with time,‖ says Chauhan.


https://www.dbs.com/newsroom/news_1097_8288934481335335538_MIGRT

https://blog.google/topics/machine-learning/detecting-diabetic-eye-disease-machine-learning/

https://blog.google/topics/machine-learning/detecting-diabetic-eye-disease-machine-learning/

Page 35 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Tracy Tsai, research vice-president with Gartner‘s personal technologies team,

says for now, repetitive tasks - as well as jobs that require humans to process

large amounts of information to make decisions - are most suited for machine

learning.

―For example, it is difficult in crowded areas for the human eye to recognise

faces of criminals amid so many moving objects,‖ she says. ―That‘s where

machine learning and AI can be used in surveillance applications.‖•

Machine learning capabilities are also used to fortify cyber security and make

driverless cars safer.

High-fidelity machine learning

In cyber security, machine learning enables security software to recognise

known threats that are attacking a system, and subsequently stop them from

passing through.

This process also helps the software build up a threat database, allowing it to

recognise and block more threats as time goes on, says Ryan Flores, senior

manager for forward-looking threat research at Trend Micro, Asia-Pacific.

Traditional machine learning, however, becomes inadequate when it comes to

unknown threats that a system has never encountered before.


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450301986/Artificial-intelligence-takes-centre-stage-in-cyber-security

http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/opinion/Self-driving-cars-will-test-trust-in-machine-learning-algorithms

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/feature/Machine-learning-in-cybersecurity-moves-needle-doesnt-negate-threats

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450302975/Trend-Micro-confirms-rise-of-ransomware-and-whaling

Page 36 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

―Traditional machine learning-powered security software is only able to run tests

before a file‘s execution and, in some cases, allow the threats to pass through.

This approach is outdated as many threats only show their malicious intent on

execution; it‘s too late if it has entered the system by then,‖ says Flores.

A better approach would be what Flores calls ―high-fidelity machine learning‖,

which runs tests before and during malware execution, allowing security

applications to halt malicious operations halfway and kick malware out of the

system.

High-fidelity machine learning also enables many other defence capabilities,

such as reducing false positives, behavioural analysis and preventing operating

systems from being exploited.

Flores says such machine learning capabilities can autonomously and

intelligently choose the right defence for the corresponding threat, easing the

computational load on IT systems.

Descriptive machine learning aids marketers

Marketers are also harnessing machine learning to better predict how certain

customers react to various marketing efforts and how likely they are to make a

purchase in what‘s known as conversion.


Page 37 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

This helps brands and agencies run more holistic marketing campaigns,

targeting the right audience through the most optimal channels and at the best

times, says Heather Blank, senior vice-president at MediaMath.

However, Blank says machine learning is not necessarily always predictive in

nature and can be descriptive instead.

―Studying machine learning models can help explain which features or individual

characteristics are important in predicting an event - usually a conversion - and

which features may be meaningless or even predictive of the event not

occurring at all,‖ she says.

―This can help marketers understand their consumer patterns more clearly, by

filtering out the noise. It can also help challenge status quo notions of what is

important to the purchase cycle or even what an ideal consumer looks like.‖•

Over-reliance could have significant consequences, says expert

Cognizant‘s Chauhan notes that rapid adoption of machine learning has also

brought some of its limitations to the fore. These include the presence of data in

silos, limited availability of deep data analytics skills, varying accuracies of

algorithms and the speed at which things are changing.

As technology matures, Chauhan warns that an over-reliance on machine

learning or a misunderstanding of its abilities could have significant

consequences, especially since machine learning-based applications might not


http://www.computerweekly.com/news/4500253874/Talent-shortage-drives-IT-salary-rise-in-Singapore

Page 38 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

be able to fully comprehend peculiarities of human sentiments and cultural

contexts right at the outset.

―Businesses must realise that machine learning is primarily designed to help

employees get better at what they do, and not as a tool to replace people,‖ he

says.

In some cases, however, machine learning and AI can replace data scientists,

says Adatos‘ Perez.

―Rather than using data scientists to build risk-based models in the financial

industry, we‘re using machines to do so at a much faster rate,‖ Perez says,

adding that regulators would have to come to terms with such models.

―Because machines are building these models so fast and accurately, regulatory

bodies would either have to get enough experience to test and trust the

machines, or act as a constraining force on something they may not fully

understand,‖ he says.

Getting started on machine learning and AI

As machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies become more

accessible, organisations will need to be prepared for their impact on the

workplace, says Gartner‘s Tsai. ―We will see a lot more cases in the next 10

years, so companies will need to get started to remain competitive,‖ she says.


http://www.computerweekly.com/resources/Artificial-intelligence-automation-and-robotics

Page 39 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Trend Micro‘s Flores says organisations will need to identify key areas that

require machine learning. For example, do they need more customer insights?

Do they want to know more about how their product is being used? Is there a

way to improve the product or service they offer? Asking questions that matter

to their business operations will assist companies in knowing what they need

machine learning for.

But not all companies will have the talent and skills required to build data

models and integrate the technologies required for AI and machine learning.

―They should turn to suppliers with proven track records in specific industries or

specialised areas such as natural language processing,‖ says Tsai.

Ultimately, machine learning is a field where the devil is in the details, where it is

very easy to create something that seems correct, but is not, says MediaMath‘s

Blank.

―They should also understand that machine learning is a powerful tool, but it has

its limitations - it is not a magic box. It can solve many problems, but it can‘t

solve them all, and one of the best determining factors of its success is the

quality, relevancy and freshness of data being used in the first place,‖ she says.


Page 40 of 40

In this e-guide





government boost



Watson


up customer service







AI: Beyond the hype

Getting more CW+ exclusive content

As a CW+ member, you have access to TechTarget‘s entire portfolio of 140+

websites. CW+ access directs you to previously unavailable ―platinum members-

only resources‖ that are guaranteed to save you the time and effort of having to

track such premium content down on your own, ultimately helping you to solve

your toughest IT challenges more effectively—and faster—than ever before.

Take full advantage of your membership by visiting www.computerweekly.com/eproducts

Images; stock.adobe.com

© 2017 TechTarget. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any means without

written permission from the publisher.


http://www.computerweekly.com/eproducts

Documents

AI: Beyond the hype - media.bitpipe.com · Emma Kendrew, AI lead for Accenture Technology, agrees that the hype cycle is reaching a peak, driven by busy corporate marketing machines