A new horizon: Expanding the AI landscape

The pandemic has taught a similar lesson about artificial intelligence (AI): Organizations are either on the right track with their AI strategies or, if anything, need to dramatically step up the pace of investment. Children's Hospital chief information officer Dan Nigrin points out that AI applications that promote telehealth, for example, "are not necessarily covid-related, but certainly the pandemic has accelerated the consideration and use of these kinds of tools." In a recent MIT Technology Review Insights survey of 301 business and technology leaders, 38% report their AI investment plans are unchanged as a result of the pandemic, and 32% indicate the crisis has accelerated their plans. The percentages of unchanged and revved-up AI plans are greater at organizations that had an AI strategy already in place. Consumers and business decision-makers are realizing there are many ways that AI augments human effort and experience.