Sizing the prize: What’s the real value of AI for your business and how can you capitalise?

Sizing the prizeWhat’s the real value of AI for your business and how can you capitalise?+26%+14%Artificial intelligence (AI) is a source of both huge excitement and apprehension. What are the real opportunities and threats for your business? Drawing on a detailed analysis of the business impact of AI, we at PwC identify the most valuable commercial opening in your market and how to take advantage of them.www.pwc.com/AIAccording to PwC research carried out for this report, global GDP could be up to 14% higher in 2030 as a result of AI – the equivalent of an additional $15.7 trillion – making it the biggest commercial opportunity in today’s fast changing economyThe greatest gains from AI are likely to be in China (boost of up to 26% GDP in 2030) and North America (potential 14% boost). The biggest sector gains will be in retail, financial services and healthcare as AI i nc rea se s pro duc t iv it y, product quality and consumption. Human in the loopHardwired/specific systemsAdaptive systemsIn our broad definition, AI is a collective term for computer systems that can sense their environment, think, learn, and take action in response to what they’re sensing and their objectives.Forms of AI in use today include, among others, digital assistants, chatbots and machine learning. AI works in four ways:Automated intelligence: Automation of manual/cognitive and routine/non-routine tasks.Assisted intelligence: Helping people to perform tasks faster and better.Augmented intelligence: Helping people to make better decisions.Autonomous intelligence: Automating decision making processes without human intervention.As humans and machines collaborate more closely, and AI innovations come out of the research lab and into the mainstream, the transformational possibilities are staggering.Defining AI Assisted IntelligenceAI systems that assist humans in making decisions or taking actions. Hard-wired systems that do not learn from their interactions. Augmented IntelligenceAI systems that augment human decision making and continuously learn from their interactions with humans and the environment.AutomationAutomation of manual and cognitive tasks that are either routine or non-routine. This does not involve new ways of doing things – automates existing tasks.No human in the loopAutonomous IntelligenceAI systems that can adapt to different situations and can act autonomously without human assistance.For a full glossary of AI techniques and their applications, please see page 26.2Sizing the prize ContentsIntroduction 4Big prize, big impact 6AI Impact Index 12Realising the potential 22Conclusion 243What’s the real value of AI for your business and how can you capitalise? Business leaders are asking: What impact will AI have on my organisation, and is our business model threatened by AI disruption? And as these leaders look to capitalise on AI opportunities, they’re asking: Where should we target investment, and what kind of capabilities would enable us to perform better? Cutting across all these considerations is how to build AI in the responsible and transparent way needed to maintain the confidence of customers and wider stakeholders.These are the strategic questions we’ll be addressing in a series of reports designed to help enterprises create a clear and compelling business case for AI investment and development. While there’s been a lot of research on the impact of automation, it’s only part of the story. In this new series of PwC reports, we want to highlight how AI can enhance and augment what enterprises can do, the value potential of which is as large, if not larger, than automation.There’s a lot of expectation surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). There’s also a significant amount of wariness. Introduction: Getting down to what really counts4Sizing the prize The analysis carried out for this report gauges the economic potential for AI between now and 2030, including for regional economies and eight commercial sectors worldwide. Through our AI Impact Index, we also look at how improvements to personalisation/customisation, quality and functionality could boost value, choice and demand across nearly 300 use cases of AI, along with how quickly transformation and disruption are likely to take hold. Other key elements of the research include in-depth sector-by-sector analyses.In this opening report, we outline the regional economies that are set to gain the most and the three business areas with greatest AI potential in each of eight sectors. Future reports will focus on specific sectors, along with functional areas such as marketing, finance and talent management. We’ll also be setting out the detailed economic projections and, in partnership with Forbes magazine, publishing interviews with some of the business leaders at the for