7 things professionals need to know about AI

At Thomson Reuters®, we’re committed to being on the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI). This technology impacts many of our clients and can help them tremendously. That’s why we’re pleased to deliver AI solutions to help legal and tax professionals work smarter and more efficiently. Here are seven things you need to know about AI:

1. It’s all about the data

Every process in an organization generates data, and AI is built on data. But to avoid “garbage in, garbage out,” existing data may require some “data hygiene,” and you may need new processes that ensure future data is clean and actionable.

 $3.1T The cost of bad data to U.S. businesses each year

 70% revenue boost seen by implementing data quality best practices Statistics Source: Sirius Group

2. AI is not just one technology

AI is not a single thing. It’s a number of different technologies working with different data sets to accomplish different things. Defining the problem first will help you find the right AI solution.

AI technologies can be utilized and combined in different ways to: sense, comprehend, and act. Statistics Source: Accudata.com

3. It’s not magic, it’s just software

Although it has a highfalutin name, artificial intelligence is really just the algorithms and technologies that product developers have “baked” into software over the years, making it more user-friendly as it evolves.

 AI is all around us

With voice recognition software, recommendation engines, and other technology apps, AI has become part of the fabric of our lives.

4. AI is already at work

Many of the data-intensive tasks that professionals do today can be streamlined with AI technologies.

Higher efficiency = higher profits

Companies that focused on improving efficiency were able to increase their profits by up to 30%.

McKinsey & Company research

5. AI does not replace humans, it assists them

It’s not a question of whether machines are more accurate than humans, but whether humans assisted by machines are more accurate than humans alone. And the answer, of course, is yes.

Automation makes our jobs easier... 89%

and 91% say automation saves them time and offers better work-life balance. Salesforce research

6. Adopting AI means embracing change

Adding new technology to workflows means a new way of doing things; it also likely means collaborating with new colleagues such as data analysts, process engineers, pricing specialists, and other data-driven professionals.

7. Business needs will drive your AI requirements

The degree to which you adopt AI technologies to help you collaborate across your business will likely depend on the data your company relies on, as well as your management’s vision of an ideal dataflow. Defining the problem first will help you find the right AI solution.

“Companies that embrace the AI opportunity will be able to create the modern experiences their customers expect.” Salesforce.com