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High-growth companies are big believers in artificial intelligence

All workers must have days when they wonder whether their managers possess any intelligence at all. But next time you are puzzled by a boss's decision, consider this possibility: the manager relied on artificial intelligence (AI) when considering their options. A survey by Microsoft of 800 business leaders drawn equally from eight countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, the UK and the US) found they are increasingly keen on the idea of AI. 

The survey found that 41% of high-growth companies were already implementing AI, as against only 19% of those defined as low growth. There is no proof of causation, of course; the high-growth companies have not necessarily prospered because they have used AI. The explanation could simply be that high-growth companies have more money to spend on technology and AI is the latest fashion. 

Clearly, their experience so far has not discouraged them. Almost all the high-growth companies (93%) intend to invest in AI in the next 1-3 years, and more than half of them expect to use AI to improve their decision-making over the coming year. 

So what are the ways in which managers hope to benefit from AI? Microsoft's David Carmona points to four areas. The first is based around customers; identifying for example, which customers are likely to "churn", allowing the company to find ways to keep them on board. A second approach is to use AI to optimize business processes. Third, AI can be used to make hiring decisions. Fourth, managers can use AI to identify new products or areas of expansion. Companies have been using AI already for issues such as quality assurance^[각주:1], predictive maintenance and adding digital assistants to consumer products like cars. Others use "HR bots" to help employees who have questions about their work. 

More detailed questions reveal that "motivating and inspiring employees" is the area that managers think might be the single most useful way to invest in AI. So next time your boss pays you a compliment^[각주:2], remember: an algorithm may have made them do it. 

1. quality assurance ; [U] 품질 보증 [본문으로]
2. pay sb a compliment ; …를 칭찬하다, …에게 경의를 표하다. [본문으로]