2023 saw an exciting year for generative and conversational AI advancements, with enhanced NLU (natural language understanding) and ethical and privacy concerns dominating the conversation, there’s much to look back on. But what do these developments mean for the year ahead? While it’s true that AI will keep surprising us and there will be plenty of twists and turns ahead, here are my predictions for Conversational AI in 2024.
Further tech buyer confusion
Unfortunately, with the impending convergence of the technology categories surrounding intelligent automation, process automation, conversational AI, generative AI—comparing apples with apples is harder than ever. Buyers with the winning approach will be those who look for vendors to partner with that speak their language, align to their market and industry, and who focus on providing controls which meet their regulatory needs.
The ‘digital colleague’
Strides have already been made in this space where we humans become more integrated with our digital counterparts. However, the ease with which human-like conversational interactions can now take place without the need for technical or situational up-skilling is astonishing. The pace at which ‘digital colleagues’ will become more prevalent in the workspace will only increase.
Modernised company regulations
The productivity gains of the technologies introduced in the last 12-months have exceeded all expectations. However, the pace of adoption has not been met with a level set in enterprise policies and compliance procedures. Phone messages, internal workshops, and customer meetings make up some of the examples where data is uncontrollably pouring into 3rd-party models with little to no understanding of how the data is being used, and what sensitive content is contained within. In 2024, expect enterprises to start setting standards and policies for how Generative AI productivity tools should and shouldn’t be used.
AI for schools
Ending on a positive, we’re starting to see the grass roots where the next generation are embracing the technical assets available to them. While schools are right to enforce governed steps for how this is adopted, much like the original encyclopaedia, the wealth of data and knowledge at the hands of pupils has taken another important leap. Expect to see more widespread examples of schools that are adopting AI in the year ahead as it becomes commonplace instead of the exception.
As we step into 2024, conversational AI technologies are poised for further transformation and development. While 2023 showcased remarkable strides in natural language understanding and a heightened awareness of ethical considerations, the year ahead presents both new challenges and opportunities.
Want to know more about what’s on the horizon? Watch the recording of our recent event ‘What’s next in AI for Regulated Industries’.
