Research

Report: AI Will Be in Nearly All New Software by 2020

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 07/27/17

Artificial intelligence will be in nearly all new software products by 2020 and a top five investment priority for more than 30 percent of chief information officers, according to a new report from Gartner.

The company defines AI as "systems that change behaviors without being explicitly programmed, based on data collected, usage analysis and other observations," according to a news release. "While there is a widely held fear that AI will replace humans, the reality is that today's AI and machine learning technologies can and do greatly augment human capabilities."

The company lists three keys to successfully exploiting AI technologies over the next few years:

• Many vendors are "AI washing" their products, or applying the term artificial intelligence to tools that don't really merit it. Vendors should use the term wisely and be clear about what differentiates their AI products and what problems they solve;
• Forego more complicated or cutting-edge AI techniques in favor of simpler, proven approaches; and
• Organizations do not have the skills to evaluate, build or deploy AI and are looking for embedded or packaged AI rather than custom building their own.

"As AI accelerates up the Hype Cycle, many software providers are looking to stake their claim in the biggest gold rush in recent years," said Jim Hare, research vice president at Gartner, in a prepared statement. "AI offers exciting possibilities, but unfortunately, most vendors are focused on the goal of simply building and marketing an AI-based product rather than first identifying needs, potential uses and the business value to customers."