Artificial Intelligence has made dramatic progress in its development over the last couple of years. This technology has rapidly permeated the most important spheres of our lives like healthcare, communication, business, and education. Can you imagine one day you’ll be able to talk with your computer like with a friend? We don’t perceive our computers and other devices as lively chatterboxes yet, but scientists and developers all over the world are doing their best to make machines converse as if they are real human beings.

In 2017, there was a lot of unkind talk about Artificial Intelligence which we suggest was so much “hot air.” But, in 2018, we have seen more AI implemented. In the technology world, the focus is on machine learning, a branch of AI. There are many companies who are experimenting with and implementing ML solutions to solve real-world business needs. The research industry needs this to make ML better, faster, and most importantly , more clever.

AI Market Overview

Indeed, developing most AI-powered solutions is becoming a priority among ambitious companies. Based on PwC research, 72% of business leaders believe AI provides a business advantage while Adobe data reveals top-performing companies are twice as likely to harness this technology in their marketing than their lower ranked peers. Automation of data analysis and research reports ranks high among areas where AI is expected to make the biggest impact.

Artificial Intelligence is gaining prominence due to its complex, data-driven applications like voice and image recognition. It offers great investment opportunities, as it can be leveraged with other technologies to overcome the challenges of high data volumes, high computing power, and lack of data storage.

In accordance with Markets and Markets, the international research company, the AI market is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2020 due to the use of machine learning technologies and natural language processing in advertising, retail, finance, and healthcare. However, Gartner believes 40% of all interactions with virtual assistants could be based on data processed by neural networks by 2020. From Markets And Markets data, the volume of the pattern recognition market can reach $29.98 billion by the 2020 year with an average CAGR of 19.1%. Pattern recognition technology includes the recognition of patterns, optical images, code, objects and digital photographs.

AI-based software solutions encompass libraries for designing and deploying artificial intelligence applications including those for inference, primitives, video analytics, sparse matrices, linear algebra, and multi-hardware communication capabilities. Further, the service segment includes installation, integration, and maintenance and support undertakings.The AI service solutions market is expected to grow at a CAGR of above 60%. Prudent improvements in information storage capacity, high computing power, and parallel processing capabilities have contributed to the swift uptake of artificial intelligence technology in dynamic end-user verticals.

Based on the information by the Head of Product Management and Joint Innovation in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Sven Denecken, 2018 is the year AI will begin to show a return on investment. Referring to the IDC report, Denecken said 40% of the projects in the field of automation and information will be used by AI services by 2019. Next year, businesses will finally appreciate the benefits of artificial intelligence in areas like optimizing customer service since AI can automate the most monotonous tasks.

Furthermore, according to the research report by the market research and strategy consulting firm, Global Market Insights, Inc., penetration of AI technologies in the retail market will exceed 8 billion USD by 2024. The market research industry has already been disrupted by technology and new regulations in 2018, with the rise of automation and new methodologies and the impact of GDPR.

There’s another up-and-coming trend in AI: image analysis based on regular image decomposition (or segmentation), exemplified recently by Deep Learning or Artificial Intelligence for object recognition. The main drivers of growth in the machine vision market are the needs for quality inspection inside factories and the growing demand for AI and IoT integrated systems depending on computer vision. Computer vision algorithms are being developed to notice patterns, recognize emotions and relations, make differences, and understand intentions. Then they will be able to weave together stories from a still frame. Once this is achieved, cameras will provide massive, real-time visual data to be analyzed for various purposes.

Computer vision software will be one of the fastest growing segments between 2018 and 2023. The reason for this is the expected increase in integration of AI into industrial machine vision software to enable deep learning in robotics technology.

The list below consists of some of the other, hottest trends in the research market.

AI Trends

AI in Everything Digital: The technology vendors competing for space in the advanced apps and analytics market will accelerate their efforts to deliver AI-enabled applications and systems. Simply put, AI will penetrate all business models.

Intelligent Solutions for Data Management: Since more business apps and BI systems have created enhanced AI capabilities, the popularity of AI-powered business solutions will continue to grow. The market for automated ML and packaged apps will continue to increase in 2018.

Automation of Connected Devices: Autonomous systems in farming and mining will continue to expand with partially or fully robotic layers connecting people, machines, and businesses.

Conversational Platforms: The ability of user interfaces to engage with users will gain popularity in every kind of business application. Conversational platforms could help enhance understanding of job functions.

Event-driven Business Ecosystems: Enterprises will gradually adopt event-driven business models where Cloud, IoT, and mobile will use AI technologies as tech enablers.

Bots: People simply can’t keep up with the speed of technology changes and client requests. That’s why many companies are moving to AI-chatbots and other virtual assistants to solve daily workflows. According to Gartner, 85% of interactions with clients will be accomplished with the help of artificial intelligence by 2020.

Automation: This is exactly what companies will work toward. The steady growth of data produced by the Internet of Things will lead to companies being forced to engage machine learning to process and analyze data. According to Forrester, in 2018, 80% of companies could order analytics from “Insights-as-a-Service” companies.

AI has the potential to add new layers of insights to enable deep quantification of qualitative data. This technology has great demand and continues to expand its abilities and skills. With AI, researchers can bring the methodological rigor of quantitative methods into the world of qualitative research. This big technology has the possibility to eliminate much of the routine from our daily work, making our lives easier and brighter. Maybe next year will bring us more discoveries, and Artificial Intelligence will no longer be simply a machine with unusual abilities, but will become a life force among us.

With Neuromation’s unique marketplace and synthetic data platform developing community and functionality, we expect the migration of market players from an open, unorganized marketplace to an organized and automated platform service. In partnership with Neuromation, companies will be disrupting the consumer, retail, medical, manufacturing, and robotic sectors.