Home Tech Faster drug trials and better movies: How AI is transforming businesses

Faster drug trials and better movies: How AI is transforming businesses

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Faster drug trials and better movies: How AI is transforming businesses

Keir Starmer this week announced a 50-point plan that aims to give the UK world-leading status in artificial intelligence and grow the economy by up to £47bn a year for a decade.

The multibillion-dollar investment, which seeks to multiply the amount of AI computing power under public control by 20 by 2030, has been presented as a turning point for companies and public organizations.

Reaction to the announcement has been mixed, as it is far from clear that the much-hyped potential of AI will translate into the level of economic benefit anticipated. Many are concerned the technology could lead to widespread job cuts, while others fear a destruction of value and growth in the creative industries after hearing about proposals to make it easier for AI companies to extract data from artistic works, free of charge. some.

Despite these concerns, for many in the business world the AI ​​revolution is already here and transforming their industries. So how are they implementing technology to improve productivity and where do they hope it can reap the greatest benefits in the future?

Aviation

Airlines are increasingly turning to AI for the complex logistics of managing large fleets and thousands of crew members in unpredictable skies. AI is used across Ryanair operations to optimize revenue, schedules and “queue assignment”, or choose the best aircraft for each flight; It is also used by BA at Heathrow to help choose boarding gates based on the number of transit passengers on an incoming plane.

EasyJet said it had integrated AI into its new Luton control room and its predictive technology now refines stock levels on planes and redesigns maintenance regimes to prevent breakdowns. Meanwhile, the budget airline’s Jetstream tool helps with the difficult task of quickly reassigning crew and planes with maximum efficiency and least disruption when problems occur. Gwyn Topham

Energy

One of the concerns raised about Starmer’s AI expansion plan is that the energy-intensive data centres, which are needed to run its programmes, could exceed the capacity of the UK’s network. However, others argue that the technology could actually accelerate the clean energy revolution by solving the problem of how to run the energy systems of the future.

Power grids increasingly have to adapt to the real-time fluctuations of thousands of renewable energy sources and take into account new technologies, such as electric car batteries, that can draw energy from the grid but also release it when needed.

Google was one of the first to adopt a digital energy approach. Its artificial intelligence subsidiary, DeepMind, developed a neural network in 2019 to increase the accuracy of energy production forecasts for its renewable energy fleet. By predicting generation and demand more accurately, it has been able to balance its consumption and even sell some of the electricity to the grid. Google says this has increased the financial value of its wind power by 20%.

Meanwhile, in the UK, energy provider Octopus Energy uses the advanced data and machine learning capabilities of its Kraken operating system to allow its customers to access electricity when it is cheapest and greenest through its time-based tariffs. of use. Using off-peak energy means it can often be 40% cheaper and reduce the need to invest in new fossil fuels or expensive grid expansion projects. Jillian Ambrosio

Starmer’s plan proposes reforming UK law so that AI models can extract intellectual property from the internet for training purposes, as long as they give copyright holders the chance to opt out of the process. The creative industries have raised serious concerns that this would threaten the livelihoods of professionals across the sector.

Elsewhere in the sector, however, media companies are signing licensing deals with big AI developers or embracing the technology to make the most of their own (and their clients’) content.

Advertising giant WPP is investing £250m a year in data and artificial intelligence and has run a number of marketing campaigns using the technology, including creating a “Jen AI” that allowed users to invite friends to a Virgin Voyages cruise with a personalized pop message. Star and actress Jennifer Lopez. And for Euro 2024, Mars’ Snickers brand used an AI knockoff of soccer coach José Mourinho to allow users to send a personalized message to their friends.

In the music industry, Sony has worked with Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour to allow fans to remix music and artwork from a classic album, while Warner Music used AI to allow country music star Randy Travis, who lost his ability to sing after a stroke, to release new albums.

And in film, machine learning and “directed” AI have driven improvements in the special effects industry and helped studios decide who to market their films to and even try to predict the commercial success of a film based on a script. Mark Sweney

pharmaceutical products

Large drugmakers and small biotech companies specializing in AI are using the technology to accelerate drug development and reduce costs and failure rates. Drugs typically take at least a decade to develop, and 90% of drugs that enter clinical trials with volunteers fail.

AI is helping them design smarter clinical trials by selecting patients who are most likely to respond to treatment. A recent analysis by Boston Consulting Group showed that since 2015, 75 AI-generated drugs have entered clinical trials, of which 67 were still in testing last year.

A treatment for a deadly lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has been hailed as the world’s first fully AI-generated drug in late-stage trials. Developed by Massachusetts-based Insilico Medicineused AI to generate 30,000 new small molecules and narrowed them down to the six most promising drugs, and then to a lead candidate. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca, Britain’s largest drugmaker, said more than 85% of its small molecule drug portfolio is “assisted by AI.”

Ministers are considering opening up the NHS database to private companies, allowing them to use anonymised patient data to develop new medicines and diagnostic tools. However, privacy advocates oppose such a move, as even anonymous data can be manipulated to identify a patient. Julia Kollewe

Retail

Retailers haven’t been able to stop talking about the rise of AI in their work over the past six months, as they look for ways to be more efficient amid rising labor costs. Sainsbury’s, for example, is using AI-based forecasting tools to help it put the right number of products on shelves in different stores as part of a £1bn cost-savings initiative. Marks & Spencer is using artificial intelligence to write online product descriptions and help advise shoppers on clothing options based on their body shape and style preferences, as part of efforts to boost online sales.

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said AI was already being used widely in purchasing decision-making, adding that the technology was at a level where customer interactions would be “really driven and driven by AI in almost every facet of business.” He suggested it could be used to analyze data from shoppers’ loyalty cards and give them “inspiration and ideas that are relevant to them and their family”, including how to save money or take care of their health by purchasing – or not overbuying – certain items. . sara butler

call centers

Productivity and service levels could be transformed in the public sector through AI-enhanced efficiencies that automate the simplest tasks for call operators. argues Adolfo HernándezCEO of outsourcing group Capita.

For example, revisiting past interactions with customers saves returning to old topics. Programs can link municipal services behind the scenes, so that the planning enforcement department and construction services are aligned. Or listening in the background to transcribe and summarize calls, reducing time spent writing notes.

Capita has presented its “Agent Suite” product with two clients. The first signs, saysshow a 20% reduction in average call handling time, a 25% reduction in post-call administration, and a 15-30% increase in calls resolved on the first interaction. Nils Pratley

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