When Google’s AlphaGo machine learning (ML) program defeated a human champion in the insanely complex board game Go, many dismissed it as yet another computing publicity stunt — a purpose-built parlor trick, more Barnum than business case.
They were mistaken.
Research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and written in discussion with SAP shows that many organizations are moving ahead now, some aggressively, to integrate ML into their operations. For example, the survey of 360 organizations shows
that on average 68% use ML to at least some extent today to enhance their business processes.
Our analysis of the data suggests that the rapid progress of ML is much more than an overreaction by management to another bout of technology hype. There are clear indications that organizations are using ML to signifi cantly improve performance across the breadth of their operations. Some are aiming even higher: to use ML to change their business models and off er entirely new value propositions to customers.
