Emerging market players more open to embrace AI, finds study

INDIA: The automotive and technology industries are at the forefront in applying artificial intelligence, found a recent study done by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). One company in five has already integrated AI in their business in those sectors. At the other end of the scale are the pharmaceutical, medical technology, machine construction and process industry sectors. There, only about one in seven companies uses intelligent manufacturing systems.

Transportation and Logistics(21%), Automotive(20%), Energy(19%) are the top three sectors in terms of AI implementation, followed by Consumer Goods(18%), Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technology(16%), Machinery(15%), Process Industry(13%).

The proportion of pioneers is highest in the USA (25%), China (23%) and India (19%). In Germany only about 15 percent of companies currently use AI to any significant extent in manufacturing.

“While most German executives are still wrestling with the basic question of whether and how to apply AI, businesses in China and India are already optimizing their smart factories,” said the study's author Daniel Küpper, a BCG partner and global head of the firm’s Innovation Center for Operations (ICO). “Emerging market players show more courage when it comes to AI and they keep identifying opportunities to apply the new technologies and improve them on an ongoing basis.”

BCG surveyed manufacturing and technology managers from about 1100 industrial companies worldwide about their applications of and willingness to invest in AI. Almost 90 percent of executives say they aim to integrate AI in their processes in the next three years. Nonetheless, so far only 28 percent have created a clear strategy for AI in manufacturing.

Almost 70 percent of executives surveyed admit that their company lacks the AI skills to speed up the introduction of new technologies. That applies particularly to data management, analytics and programming.

“Companies can no longer advance purely on the basis of their engineering knowledge. Employees have to know how to use AI,” said Küpper. “The opportunity for companies now lies in training their employees and attracting AI experts, for example in the field of Deep Learning....You need both to successfully integrate AI in your company: experts who know artificial intelligence and experienced staff who can identify beneficial avenues for its application.”