The impact it is expected to have artificial intelligence in business and workers, recently analyzed Lazaros Polymenakos, partner in the Consulting Services Department of EY Greece and Head of Artificial Intelligence Consulting Services in the EMEA region, in the context of the first AI Hackathon Greece.

According to a related announcement, Mr. Polymenakos presented the evolution of artificial intelligence, from its appearance in 1943, machine learning, deep learning, to the revolution of productive artificial intelligence (GenAI). As he explained, the amounts invested in artificial intelligence have increased significantly in recent years, leading to an “explosion” of innovation, catalyzed by GenAI.

“Companies that take a radical approach and invest the necessary resources in time are certain to initially face technological, regulatory and other barriers, and disruptions to their human resources. However, in the end, their investment will pay off, as GenAI is truly transformative,” emphasized Mr. Polymenakos. “Instead, laggards will see their market share and profits decline, face a flight of skilled workers to the competition and, at the end of the day, be forced to invest more under pressure.”

According to EY global research, the 10% of businesses that will implement AI best practices by 2025 will create at least triple the value as a result of using it, compared to the 90% of businesses that will not adopt it. That’s why EY recommends a balanced approach, which allows for the adoption of technology in stages, in key functions of a business, while at the same time developing the right strategy and proper management of AI technology.

To harness artificial intelligence, businesses need to navigate in a complex and constantly evolving environment and to manage parameters such as different degrees of digital maturity of markets, the evolving regulatory environment, complex ecosystems of businesses, products and services, as well as markets where new entrants can create more competition or opportunities for new collaborations.

“Artificial intelligence will not replace workers, but, on the contrary, it will strengthen them”, said Mr. Polymenakos, adding that “businesses should redefine their strategy and operations in all areas, placing people and machines together at the center”. In this way, as he explained, businesses will increase their productivity, enhance creativity and improve the customer experience, creating new value for consumers, employees and wider society, as well as financial value for themselves.