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CIOs are under increasing pressure to deliver AI across their enterprises a new reality that, despite the hype, requirespragmatic approaches to testing, deploying, and managing the technologies responsibly to help their organizations work faster and smarter.

The top brass is paying close attention. Seventy-one percent of business leaders expect AI and ML to have a worldwide impact, according to the WorkdayC-Suite Global AI Indicator Report.Business leaders are excited about what AI and ML could do for their organizationsespecially operational efficiency, better decision-making, and competitive advantage, says the report.

That excitement is creating an acute sense of urgency among IT leaders and their teams. AmongIT leader respondentsin the AI Indicator study, the No. 1 concern is that IT leaders will face pressure to make difficult decisions about where to apply AI and ML.

Those decisions will have far-reaching impact across the organization. IT leaders expect AI and ML to drive a host of benefits, led by increased productivity, improved collaboration, increased revenue and profits, and talent development and upskilling. As AI and ML evolve, so will the skills of the humans supporting these initiatives.

A lot of new roles are going to emerge in the next couple of years as some of the existing roles become less important, says Prashant Nema, global CIO at Arch Capital Services, in the report. There has to be an ongoing focus on making sure that your talent is continuously learning and developing.

A data-driven foundation

Of course, a dose of caution is in order, particularly with newer AI offshoots such as generative AI. IT leaders understand that the models are only as good as the information on which they are educated. Outrageously inaccurate ChatGPT musings are just an opener for what could later be catastrophic mistakes predicated on bad data.

In the AI Indicator Report, almost 60% of IT leaders conceded that their companys data is somewhat or completely siloed, making it difficult for AI and ML to leverage fully.

Our biggest blocker to unleashing the power of AI is uncertainty over the integrity of the dataset its working from, Dan Cohen, CIO and director of operations at The Amenity Collective, says in the report. Our internal data and adherence to process is where our focus is, and we dont necessarily want to leap ahead until we feel like we have a stable footing there.

Ensuring data integrity is part of a broader governance approach organizations will require to deploy and manage AI responsibly.TheNISTs AI Risk Management Frameworkis a good place to start, providing IT teams with guidance on the design, development, and use of responsible AI products and services

Despite the risks, CIOs understand that embracing AI is a question of when and how, not if. Organizations across all industries are moving forward with pilots and production.

AI and ML are a game-changer for business, Chandler Morse, vice president of corporate affairs at Workday, says in a recentpodcast. The thing thats dawning on everyone is that its tough to see any sector in the economy that isnt going to be adopting these tools.

In the same podcast, Ajay Agrawal, professor at the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management, recommends that every company pick at least one AI project in a key business area to get started: Unlike any other tools our human civilization has used before, AI learns, so it gets better with use. The people who sit on the sidelines will miss all that learning time, and those that are building their AI now [will gain] the advantage.

For more insights, strategies, and best practices for IT leaders, visitWorkdays CIO Insights.

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CIO insights: Whats next for AI in the enterprise? - CIO

Canaccord Genuity is laying out some names poised to capitalize on the new stage of AI set to unfold in 2024. "Enthusiasm for AI's potential to improve human life and create business value has captivated investors and played a meaningful role in recent market optimism," wrote analyst Susan Anderson. "As we enter 2024, we anticipate a marked shift from businesses creating AI strategies towards executing them, with a focus on measuring and delivering ROI." Makers of large language models such as Alphabet and Microsoft, and chipmakers such as Nvidia dominated artificial intelligence investing in 2024, boosting the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. While those stocks may have won 2023, Anderson believes the market is only in the "early innings of a Cambrian explosion of AI-native applications." Here are some of the companies across sectors best situated to take advantage of the next stage of AI growth: Canccord Genuity sees a plethora of opportunities in the technology space beyond the pure play behemoths that prospered in 2024. Those beneficiaries include software vendors such as HubSpot and those providing the infrastructure for data quality, scalability and model running such as MongoDB . The firm also views cybersecurity stocks as well positioned to benefit as AI attacks increase in sophistication and defenders and cybercriminals battle it out with an array of new generative AI tools. "We believe security vendors will address AI to a much greater extent in 2024 and beyond to stay ahead of the curve or risk losing ground due to competition," analysts wrote. "In the software security section of the report, we address how our coverage companies are implementing and/or enhancing AI strategies." But technology isn't the only industry poised to benefit from AI tailwinds this year and beyond. In fact, the firm labeled a slew of beneficiaries within the health and medical field such as Dexcom and Illumina . DXCM 1Y mountain Dexcom shares over the last year AI implementation can be harnessed to monitor issues such as diabetes can help users monitor glucose levels and assist in DNA sequencing by predicting disease-causing mutations, the firm wrote. Even agriculture is poised to see a significant impact from artificial intelligence, with Deere taking a leadership role in the industry. "Through its centrality within farming operations and vast array of data-collecting sensors, DE's equipment increasingly provides the foundation for many of the AI efforts presently underway in the industry," the firm wrote. "Recent acquisitions focused on precision ag and AI underscore the point." DoubleVerify , Mobileye , Doximity and Amazon were also included in the list. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting

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How to play the next stage of AI in 2024, according to Canaccord Genuity - CNBC

Time and money are two of the most valuable resources people have. And one of the most popular ways for Americans to save on both, is shopping online. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American families spend six hours per week on household planning and shopping. Many of those families do so digitally at Walmart. The worlds largest retailer, famous for its low prices, generated over $82 billion in e-commerce sales in fiscal year 2023 and is steadily growing its active digital customers.

In 2024, the company is further improving the digital shopping experience, building generative AI into its search function to deliver customers a helpful and intuitive browsing experience. Using a combination of Walmart proprietary data and technology and large language models, including those available in Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, as well as retail-specific models built by Walmart, the new design serves up a curated list of the personalized items a shopper is looking for.

At CES 2024, Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella introduced the new AI innovations to benefit Walmart customers.

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Study after study shows that AI is driving impact and value across businesses.

Generative AI-powered search

Walmart built an all-new generative AI-powered search function across iOS, Android and its own website. The new capability is specifically designed to understand the context of a customers query and generate personalized responses. Soon, customers will have a more interactive and conversational experience, get answers to specific questions, and receive personalized product suggestions.

For example, a parent planning a birthday party for a child that loves unicorns. Instead of multiple searches for unicorn-themed balloons, napkins, streamers, etc., the parent can simply ask the question Help me plan a unicorn-themed party for my daughter.

One of the reasons why Walmart and other leading retailers are choosing Azure OpenAI Service is the ability to access the most advanced AI models in the world while backed by the enterprise-grade capabilities found in Microsoft Azure including security, compliance and regional availability. Generative AI in retail is particularly exciting as it can help usher in a new way of shopping; shifting from scroll searching to goal searching, which makes the digital shopping experience more seamless and intuitive.

Dont forget about the associates!

Both Walmart and Microsoft share an aligned vision around how AI can help organizations and their people be more productive, more satisfied in their work and go on to solve the most pressing problems.

Over the summer, Walmart launched a new tool, giving its 50,000 non-store associates access to its new My Assistant app, which was created and built by Walmart and leverages a unique build of Walmart proprietary data, technology and large language models in Azure OpenAI Service. In just a few months, the app has already made a big impact for associates, assisting with a range of tasks, from summarizing long documents to assisting in the creation of new content.

A history of success This is just the latest evolution in the Walmart and Microsoft relationship.

In 2018, the companies established a strategic partnership to drive Walmarts digital transformation. As one of Walmarts preferred and strategic cloud providers, Microsoft has supported Walmart on a variety of different cloud projects. From powering access to electronic health records at its in-store clinics to centralizing, democratizing and optimizing data, the companies have and will continue to collaborate to accelerate innovation.

Other ways to AI While Walmarts approach to generative AI uses a combination of large language models, retail-specific models, and their own proprietary data built on top of Azure OpenAI Service, other retailers may have different scenarios that require an alternative approach. Thats why Microsoft offers a broad portfolio of prebuilt, low-code and pro-code solutions that can benefit all retailers and shoppers, no matter where they are on their respective journey.

Visit the Microsoft Cloud for Retail page to learn more.

Tags: AI, Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Cloud for Retail

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Walmart unveils new generative AI-powered capabilities for shoppers and associates - The Official Microsoft Blog - Microsoft

While you worry about AI bringing about the end of humanity, you might as well use it to get a good night's sleep. DeRucci is a Chinese sleep health company that announced an AI-powered mattress and smart pillow that promise to help you sleep better. The mattress features 23 sensors that monitor small changes in temperature, sleep position and heart rate throughout the night. It also has a layer of air bags that respond to changes in position to better support your spine, neck and hips. It uses AI to adjust everything to your body shape and sleep position and will alert you to any potential health issues arising from your sleep data.

DeRucci's smart pillow aims to combat snoring by monitoring for slight movement that may indicate snoring. When it recognizes that a sleeper is snoring, it intervenes by adjusting the loft and moving the position of a sleeper's head. In addition to reducing snoring, the goal is to reduce the risk of sleep apnea. According to an internal clinical study, the company says its pillow can reduce snoring up to 89%. You may, however, pass out when you discover that the pillow is expected to cost nearly $1,000 with the mattress priced at more than $8,000.

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AI Is Everywhere at CES 2024. Here's the Coolest Tech We've Seen So Far - CNET

The competition to build the iPhone of artificial intelligence is heating up.

On Tuesday, the technology startup Rabbit unveiled its contender: a small, orange, walkie-talkie style device that, according to the company, can use AI agents to carry out tasks on behalf of the user.

In a pre-recorded keynote address shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Rabbits founder Jesse Lyu asks the device to plan him a vacation to London; the keynote shows the device designing him an itinerary and booking his trip. He orders a pizza, books an Uber, and teaches the device how to generate an image using Midjourney.

The gadget, called the Rabbit r1, is just the latest in an increasingly active new hardware category: portable AI-first devices that can interact with users in natural language, eschewing screens and app-based operating systems. Retailing at $199, the r1 is a cheaper competitor to the Humane Ai Pin, a $699 wearable device unveiled in November that offers a similar suite of capabilities, and the $299 Meta and Rayban smart-glasses, which have an AI-powered assistant. Prominent tech investors are betting that the new advances in AI, like large language models (LLMs), will open up new vistas of personalized computing. OpenAIs CEO Sam Altman is an investor in Humane. Altman and Softbanks Masayoshi Son are reportedly in talks to design a separate AI hardware product with iPhone designer Jony Ive. Rabbit is funded to the tune of $30 million led by the billionaire Vinod Khoslas venture capital firm Khosla Ventures. Whoever can design the appropriate hardware form factor, these billionaires line of thinking goes, will win big in the AI era.

Read More: Humane Wants Its New Ai Pin to Liberate You From Your Phone Screen

Rabbits r1 is based on a new type of AI system called a large action model, Lyu said during his keynote unveiling the device. The problem with large language models, the technology that tools like ChatGPT are based on, he said, are that they struggle to take actions in the real world. Instead, Rabbits large action model is trained on graphical user interfaces like websites and apps, which means it can navigate interfaces designed for humans and take actions on their behalf. Things like ChatGPT are extremely good at understanding your intentions, but could be better at taking actions, Lyu said. The large language model understands what you say, but the large action model gets things done.

To give r1 the ability to do things like book vacations, order pizza, and call an Uber, users will need to sign into their various accounts via Rabbits web portal. Rabbits AI agents (which it calls rabbits), running on an external server rather than on the device itself, will then use those accounts to execute their actions. Rabbit says each user is assigned a dedicated and isolated environment on its secure servers, and that it does not store user passwords. Rabbits will ask for permission and clarification during the execution of any tasks, especially those involving sensitive actions such as payments, the company says on its website.

The company says on its website that it works with the best industry partners in natural language intelligence to understand your intentions, but does not disclose who those partners are. Its privacy policy retains the right to send user data to third parties for purposes including data processing. Rabbit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Whether a new piece of hardware is even necessary for users to interact with AI agents is an open question. Only those who have lost touch with the way consumers use tech believe these products can succeed, Francisco Jeronimo, a vice president for device data and analytics at the market intelligence firm IDC, wrote on X, referring to both Rabbit and Humanes new products. Although the ideas have merit on their own, the reality is that consumers don't need these kinds of devices, they need intelligent phones!

Altman has publicly expressed a desire to build increasingly agential capabilities into OpenAIs own software, which could obviate the need for new AI-first devices. Eventually, youll just ask a computer for what you need, and it will do all of these tasks for you, Altman said at an OpenAI developer conference in November.

But the trend toward companies empowering AIs to take actions in the real world has left some experts worried. AI devices like the Rabbit r1 have limited levers they can pull to act upon the world, but increasingly powerful agential AIs could pose many risks, according to a paper published in October by the Center for AI Safety. AI agents can be given goals such as winning games, making profits on the stock market, or driving a car to a destination, the paper says. AI agents therefore pose a unique risk: people could build AIs that pursue dangerous goals. A society that becomes dependent on a complex network of different interacting AI agents would, the paper argues, be vulnerable to problems like inescapable feedback loops or agents goals drifting in ways that could be harmful to humanity.

Altman suggested in November that safety concerns were a reason OpenAI was only taking small steps toward giving its AI tools the power to take actions in the real world. We think its especially important to move carefully towards this future of agents, he said. Its going to require a lot of thoughtful consideration by society.

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Startups Are Racing to Create the iPhone of AI - TIME