Artificial intelligence is a technology that focuses on making intelligent machines that can assist and automate processes. AI tries to make software think like how a human brain thinks, with the help of algorithms. In simpler terms, AI's mission is to implement human intelligence in machines. Machine learning is a subset of AI; it allows machines to predict outcomes accurately without having to be provided with algorithms and to learn from its users how they expect it to function. The primary mission of ML was to work on algorithms that make a machine capable of receiving information and statistically analyzing data, providing acceptable outputs.

Hyunsoo Kim, a 29-year-old entrepreneur in South Korea, is on a mission to democratize artificial intelligence to enable more companies, both large and small, to utilize the emerging technology. So it's only fitting that Kim, cofounder of Superb AI, has been selected as the featured honoree for the Enterprise Technology category of this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list, leading a pack of several fellow honorees who founded startups based on AI. Since launching Superb AI in April 2018 with four cofounders, Kim has grown his startup to $2 million in revenues last year and 21 employees, fueled by increasing demand for AI. Profits are still in the future, but Superb AI also managed last year to join Y Combinator, a prominent Silicon Valley startup accelerator. So far, it has raised $2 million in funding from Y Combinator, Duke University and VC firms in Silicon Valley, Seoul and Dubai, giving it a valuation of $12 million as of March 2019.

Click to learn more about author Dr. Michael Zeller. As volume, velocity and variety of data – often referred to as the "three V's of Big Data" – continue- to increase, many businesses are unprepared to match the influx of this data with tools for collection and analysis. Even more surprising is that most organizations are not in a position to truly leverage their own operational data for more intelligent decision making, which is the means by which data converts into business value. Basically, the current, standard business processes mostly leverage hard-coded rules and make fixed, pre-defined decisions. This classical "rules-based" approach is in many cases ill-suited for today's Cloud-centric, data-driven enterprise environment where customers demand a more personalized response of IT systems.

For the past decade, many IT departments have been on the defensive trying to keep pace with escalating end-user demands and competitive pressures. The emergence of'shadow IT' as a major force within many enterprises raised questions about the role of IT in a cloud-first world. Now, enlightened CIOs are exploring ways to employ artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to actively engage their IT teams as key players in the rapidly evolving digital transformation efforts within their organizations. A growing number of IT departments have recognized that they have been unable to satisfy the rising expectations of end-users and corporate executives because they failed to successfully adopt IT service management (ITSM) tools and best practices in the past. This failure not only resulted in inconsistent processes, but also the inability to collect and act on timely data in an effective fashion.

As organizations look for ways to better serve their customers, many are seeking new and innovative ways to better understand their customers' wants and behaviors. Increasingly, this means the use of digital tools and digital transformation initiatives, as well as the use of customer and predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning, to better know and understand their prospects' and customers' needs to provide an outstanding customer experience. For some, the initial exposure to AI has been with such consumer products as Apple's Siri and Amazon's personal assistant, Alexa. For others, this journey began with exposure to progressive retailers that have been leaders in defining and executing on key elements of omnichannel retailing and omnicommerce. These firms, which include such names as Apple, Best Buy and Nordstrom, and others, are relentless in their efforts to better understand their customers, and have been among the leaders in developing customer-centric systems. Analytics and digital transformation efforts are often at the center of discussions about increasing customer interaction and engagement.