Expert.ai (EXAI:IM), an artificial intelligence (AI) company for language understanding, released a new Expert IQ Report, “Natural Language Emerges as AI Priority in 2022.” The report looks at the most discussed AI topics of 2021, while offering forecasts for 2022.
The study turned AI on itself by using expert.ai’s advanced natural language understanding (NLU) capabilities to unearth findings. Expert.ai analyzed a sample of more than 2,700 articles published between January 2021 and January 2022. Focused on news, opinions and analysis, the study examined pieces in leading industry publications and consultancy websites, capturing the main topics and trends expressed.
Analysis across expert.ai’s sample of articles revealed data as the single, most discussed topic in 2021 spanning 15% of total articles, followed by technology (12%), customer (8.6%) and machine learning (5%). Other highlights from the past year include:
- Proliferation of AI Models: When it came to articles about data, AI models were mentioned most frequently, appearing in nearly a quarter (24%) of all articles. Training (17%), testing (3.7%) and labeling (2.4%) were the most discussed subtopics related to AI models.
- Machine Learning: ML emerged as the most discussed AI topic at 16%, while data science (13%), big data (9%), customer (8%) and analytics (8.2%) were the next most frequently cited subtopics.
- Top Industries: When it came to the top five AI-related industries, banking and finance were the most discussed (10.8%), followed by healthcare (9.8%) automotive (4.5%), insurance (4.4%) and pharma and life science (3.9%).
The State of AI for Natural Language Understanding
According to IDC, unstructured data is growing by more than 50% every year, and by 2025, it will form as much as 80% of all data. As data grows, signals of natural language-related innovations emerge to effectively manage it. Of the entire sample, 6.17% of articles were related to AI applied to natural language (NL) and, according to a recent report by The AI Journal, 34% of enterprises are in the process of activating NL-based plans while 43% are either making plans or considering their options.
Based on that, expert.ai offers a number of predictions for 2022, including:
- Natural language-enabled enterprise: AI will help organizations understand the context, meaning and relationships in language. This will enable the enterprise to transform language into data, resulting in better decision making.
- Humans in the Loop: Technologies so smart they can learn and manage themselves do not exist. Enterprises are beginning to understand they will always need the human touch. Taking a human in the loop (HITL) approach that leverages both human and machine intelligence will be increasingly used to organize processes in such a way that people can add their unique value.
- Hybrid AI Gains Steam: A hybrid AI approach is based on the principle that no single technique is a fit for every project. A best-of-both-worlds scenario that pairs ML and symbolic reasoning will continue to be socialized and gain significant momentum.
“Natural language processing and natural language understanding have evolved rapidly in recent years, moving from R&D discussions to proven, deployable solutions,” said Keith C. Lincoln, expert.ai CMO. “With this pace of change, it’s important to examine market dynamics in the aggregate and identify where AI is providing value. Using AI to do so, we can identify new opportunities and develop more effective approaches.”
