A Pillar of 3rd Generation BI, Augmented Intelligence is Essential to Creating Real Value from AI
The hype around AI is deafening, creating a noisy and confused environment. Organizations are looking for clarity on the role and application of AI in bringing more value to data, and for help avoiding the pitfalls that surround so many of these projects. These pitfalls include error-prone decision making and unintended consequences based on flawed data or “black box” algorithms, and gimmicky approaches including simple search and bolt-on AI that over promise and under deliver.
Worldwide spending on cognitive and Artificial Intelligence systems will reach $77.6 billion in 2022, more than double the $35.8 billion forecast for 2019, according to IDC’s Worldwide Semiannual Cognitive and Artificial Intelligence Systems Spending Guide. The market needs clear and strategic answers on how AI can positively impact business intelligence and analytics performance now.
We are entering the third-generation of BI, and the role and importance of Augmented Intelligence – an approach that combines human intuition and machine intelligence – will only grow. As leading organizations look to democratize data and increase its use and value, having Augmented Intelligence built into everyone’s daily workflow is crucial to becoming a data-driven organization. Whether through natural-language interaction, visual exploration, embedded analytics, or combinations of these experiences, people need the most effective means of interacting with analytics and AI – and one size does not fit all.
Data is for Everyone
When BI emerged in the 1990s, only a small cadre of highly skilled data analysts had the ability to manage it. Data access was restricted and BI reports were sluggishly produced and backwards looking. BI’s second generation saw the arrival of user-driven analytics, which allowed business lines to self-serve and “play” with data. However, this was a silo dominant world, with a lack of governance and limited data sets that stunted the user’s full potential. Individual departments had purview over their own data, but not enterprise-wide data that would truly make an impact. In this 3rd generation of BI, driven by data integration and analytics, the world of data opens up to everyone in the organization, and data is truly democratized.
Democratized Data Alone Isn’t the Answer
Democratization of data is a true driver of transformations in operations, processes and decisions that move organizations forward. But unfettered data access won’t alone help businesses operate at peak performance. The resulting deluge of data would overwhelm all but the most experienced data scientists.This is where AI is crucial, with its ability to analyze massive amounts of data and suggest insights that drive collaboration and action.However, letting the machines loose on the data alone would result in the opposite problem. Yes, AI can help uncover key drivers and make predictions, but it’s only when the human and machine work together can insights have context and real world meaning for impactful decisions.
Augmented Intelligence – The Power of Human + Machine
Our goal at Qlik is to make people smarter using machine intelligence – without restricting them to predefined questions selected by developers or analytical frameworks dictated by machines. This is the true value of Augmented Intelligence, which Qlik delivers directly through our analytics platform in a way that continually builds insight and value based on interactions between users and the machine. This human-machine collaboration creates a multiplier effect, where complex business problems can be solved with a human’s perspective, aided by valuable, context-aware insight suggestions.
This is the “secret sauce” of Augmented Intelligence. No human can be placed into meaningful competition with a Maserati. No computer can possibly beat a human in creating a sonnet. But, when a human and a computer can collaborate through Augmented Intelligence, organizations can effectively drive value where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
When selecting an analytics platform, it’s important to consider the benefits of Augmented Intelligence and AI-enabled analytics, including asking key questions like: can the solution serve all the use cases your organization needs, including visual, conversational, and embedded? Does the solution deliver a powerful, scalable calculation engine supporting these user experiences? Is it built on an open, extensible platform? Is it context-aware? Does it incorporate machine learning? Can it generate insights by leveraging analytics ready, governed data sets? And can it generate explainable insights at scale?
Qlik’s Unique Approach to AI
At Qlik we combine our unique Associative Engine with a Cognitive Engine that “learns” alongside users, bringing hidden insights to light and allowing people to explore them freely. We deliver both visual and conversational AI-powered experiences, allowing users of different skill levels to maximize their potential. And with our open platform, we allow organizations to embed analytics into business applications and workflows, and build new smart capabilities for unique business challenges.
Because our Associative Engine manages the selection state (context) at each step in a user’s exploratory process, and because it understands all the data values that are both associated and unrelated to that context, our AI-driven analysis and insight suggestions are powerfully context-aware – and, accordingly, powerfully relevant. When looking to deliver analytics with a modern approach to AI, there is no substitute to Qlik.Associative Indexing + Augmented Intelligence = AI2.
