Although AI is a relatively recent development, it is rapidly gaining prominence across various industries. Artificial intelligence, especially generative artificial intelligence, is fundamentally transforming several industries and fundamentally altering the way we live and work. 

By the end of 2024, a number of significant trends are expected to have a dominant presence in the field of artificial intelligence. From the implementation of generative AI in enterprises to the ethical considerations surrounding it, as well as the development of AI systems with agency, these trends will significantly influence both businesses and consumers. But what are the specifics of these, and just how will AI systems impact us over the next year? Luckily, there are a growing number of industry experts who have insider knowledge. What do they think?

Emerging AI Trends from the Experts.

Andy Patel, Senior Researcher, WithSecure:

Andy Patel is focused on how AI will assist the darker side of society. He thinks that AI will be employed to generate huge amounts of fake news, false information and will be used to manipulate public opinion during the lead-up to the highly significant 2024 US elections. This will encompass artificial textual, spoken, and possibly even visual or audiovisual material. The efficacy of disinformation is poised to increase significantly as social networks have reduced or entirely eliminated their moderation and verification endeavours. Social media will increasingly serve as a breeding ground for a combination of AI-generated and human-generated low-quality content. 

Piers Williams, Insurance Lead, AutoRek.

Piers Williams too is a little dismissive of whether AI can have a positive impact on his own industry of insurance. He thinks that financial technology (fintech) advancements have significantly influenced the speed of transformation in the financial services sector, revolutionising the operational processes of many companies in the back and middle-office departments. Nevertheless, the insurance business continues to fall behind. Piers believes that in 2024, the insurance industry will prioritise catching up by emphasising the use of automation, rather than artificial intelligence, to enhance efficiency, strengthen controls, and assure operational resiliency.

Russell Gammon, Chief Solutions Officer, Tax Systems.

Russell Gammon is relatively upbeat about the rise of AI, and thinks that we can live alongside it comfortably. He believes that the buying public are averse to purchasing from or engaging with impersonal automatons; they need genuine human interaction. Consequently, all sectors will persist in requiring human involvement. The implementation of generative AI involves automating processes to augment human functions rather than eliminating them. In the field of finance and accounting, this implies that experts are no longer required to gather and study individual data points. Instead, they may directly examine the results and utilise their tax expertise to interpret the dataset. Junior team members can immediately assume more valuable positions upon graduating from university by assuming responsibility for tedious administrative work, allowing them to apply their specialised knowledge and training.

Tom Fowler, CTO, CloudSmiths

Tom Fowler thinks the adoption of AI has generated significant enthusiasm and anticipation, but practical applications are only just beginning to emerge. Therefore, he thinks that we will gradually descend from the peak of excitement and determine the precise applications of AI that are truly beneficial. Nevertheless, there is a significant surge in the need for refining fundamental models and providing hosting services for them, resulting in an increased need for GPUs and storage. The prices of GPUs remain elevated; however, he anticipates that when the equilibrium between demand and supply is achieved in the upcoming months and years, they will gradually become more accessible even for medium-sized companies.

The development of General Artificial Intelligence will undoubtedly go further, resulting in the emergence of dominant companies that will streamline and unify the tools and frameworks for deploying, training, and utilising domain-specific Language Models (LLMs), making it easier and more widespread. The responsibility of fine-tuning models will shift from data scientists to business analysts, who will focus on collecting and preparing data.

Farley Thomas, Co-founder and CEO, Manageable.

Farley Thomas firmly believes that as we approach 2024, the impact of AI on our work will undoubtedly remain significant. However, artificial intelligence is not the initial catalyst for workforce disruption. Throughout the past 10,000 years, significant changes have occurred in the nature of employment and the requisite skills, such as those brought about by industrialization and the advent of the Internet. As we approach the new year, it is more appropriate to focus on the importance of reskilling and upskilling rather than speculating about the potential negative impact of AI on employment.

Farley agrees with research by Professor Lynn Wu at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and thinks that automation and AI would not inevitably result in the displacement of workers. Consequently, the changing nature of work necessitates the acquisition of distinct abilities, which will have a specific effect on the managerial level. If a user’s sole responsibility is overseeing processes and production, this task is highly suitable for AI to perform with greater efficiency and at a lower cost. Nevertheless, the demand for work of significant importance is bound to escalate, particularly in the context of establishing an effective team dynamic, developing organisational culture, inspiring individuals, and fostering their personal development. The presence of human involvement alongside AI is seen as essential, with the concept of AI serving as a co-pilot for intricate human tasks, such as leadership, being highly appealing. Consequently, he anticipates a gradual implementation of artificial intelligence to assist leaders in making intricate decisions and completing duties.

These area experts have a lot of background in market research and are best placed to give educated predictions about our future with AI, and their thoughts make a lot of sense. While there is plainly a little disquiet about the extent to which AI will impact us, most pundits are upbeat and think that it is a natural progression.

We all at Unity Developers are very excited about how AI will assist in many different areas, and will keep you informed of the latest developments in this fast-moving field.