Artificial intelligence (AI). Whether you jump for excitement seeing those words or cringe, the AI revolution is here. There are some valid concerns about this somewhat controversial topic, to be sure, but there are also numerous benefits for companies, as well as in our personal lives. We’ll touch on all that and more, as we dive into this age of advanced technology together.

3 Main AI Types

First, let’s break down the three main types of this technology: artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning.

Artificial intelligence is similar to humans’ ability to learn. The famous English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer Alan Turing, who broke the Nazi Enigma code during World War II, is perhaps the first person linked to AI, defining it as “when systems act like humans”.

AI means giving machines the ability to learn, recognize patterns, and identify situations, responding with actions and proposing solutions to problems. AI has actually been around for quite a while, and we already use it every day; it’s embedded into many things — think Google Maps for directions, internet searches to find the best articles, and TurboTax for simpler tax filing.

Machine learning is a form of AI. It involves teaching the systems with rules and algorithms to process data. With the huge amount of data we ask it to process, patterns to identify, and corrections to recognize, we can drive actionable insights.

Deep learning is a form of machine learning that processes very complex and varied forms of data, from text and audio files to images and videos. A real-world application would be in the logistics industry, to ensure that truck drivers are being safe and the goods they transport are secure. Deep learning tech can capture drivers’ behavior, snap real-time images of the road and the driver, view the truck’s speed versus the actual speed limit, send alerts if a driver is falling asleep or not staying within the lane, and more. Just imagine that amount of data! It’s all about how we train the machines to do things for us.

AI Blasts onto the Scene

Just like the internet did decades ago, AI is having a similar world-changing impact. What excites me about AI now is its strong ability to process huge amounts of data, giving us insights faster than before, which are driving outcomes in business and our personal lives.

For personal uses, consider devices that track your sleep and workouts like Fitbit; Alexa telling you your medicine is low and then ordering it for you; apps that help you with scheduling — with AI taking away these mundane tasks, you have more time to focus on more important things, like family time.

Professionally, AI can help companies drive business outcomes faster and more cost-effectively by uncovering trends about how customers use products, for example. With a system that has strong processing power, AI can make sense of the data and send results quickly, so humans can make better decisions to solve pain points. This way, we’re not spending time collecting and processing data, we’re spending time on solutions. Just think about cancer treatment improvements — researchers and clinicians are developing new drug treatments that can be delivered quicker and more safely than ever before. Consider the greater good we can derive from all this.

Now, specifically for the hospitality industry, AI can automate repetitive tasks, while analyzing clean, useful data to drive insights that support profitability. Insights like market trends; score analysis; revenue management; room pricing recommendations; guest details to enhance the guest experience through extreme personalization and instant chatbot communications; proactive notifications for preventative maintenance; and efficient employee scheduling. All these save money and time, improve productivity, boost guest relations, and drive insightful decisions. There are numerous opportunities within hospitality and AI — we’re only scratching the surface.

Scared of AI?

Of course, AI can and is doing lots of good. There are, however, legitimate concerns. The biggest of which for me is data accuracy. AI is as good as the data we feed it. If data is not clean, and we’re not closely watching it, that poor data will lead to poor recommendations. Feeding AI biased data means getting biased data — and this is already happening.

I advise validating the data. Artificial intelligence is not a replacement for human intelligence, it’s an assistant. We’re smarter than the machines we create, and they definitely need human oversight. Humans have the vision to upskill industries; AI is taking those ideas to the next level by upskilling the talent to do the data science and build insights.

For the public in general, the explosion of ChatGPT and OpenAI onto the scene made this tech readily accessible to just about anyone, which (understandably) scared some folks. Before these, it was relegated mostly to government entities. Now, anyone with an internet connection can jump in.

I get it, deep fakes are scary! And people are also worried about how secure the data is and how it’s being used — all valid concerns. To ease those fears, we need to stress the importance of feeding them clean data that we still must validate. When the internet was first introduced, there were no laws to mandate it. That eventually changed, and it will be the same with AI — we will see laws and regulations about monitoring, usage, and ethics surrounding this phenomenal technology.

Just think about autonomous driving: there were many crashes in the beginning, people panicked, then developers created safety levels and regulations to improve the software. I believe that fully self-driving cars will be part of our daily lives one day. We will always encounter ups and downs, but thankfully, humans are smart enough to work through it all.

There’s also been much discussion about AI taking over humans’ jobs. While some will be replaced, there will always be a need for human supervision. Consider repetitive tasks in manufacturing — robots that build cars with precision and accuracy. And in food services — robots are taking orders and delivering meals in restaurants. Or a call center, where chatbots are leading 80%-85%, while humans manage the rest.

I don’t, however, see as big of an impact in the tech industry, as we still have people doing the programming, but certainly at a higher level. I believe that ties into my noted concern about accuracy; there is skepticism, though if it improves, more industries will adopt AI down the road. McKinsey recently reported that due to the emergence of generative AI, it’s increased its estimate of the percentage of worker activities — marketing & sales, HR, manufacturing, among others — that could be automated to 60%–70%, up from 50%, however, that doesn’t necessarily translate to the automation of entire roles.

The Future of the Future

As we live in this futuristic AI revolution, what might this progress and innovation look like 10 years ahead? For starters, I believe that AI will be an integral part of our personal and professional lives. It will improve our quality of life.

Think about it: If 50% of your managed tasks are handled correctly by AI, with additional and enhanced automation, then your productivity and creativity increase. We’re seeing it now, with process automation, chatbot integrations, better and safer credit card protection, Alexa Assistant, and humans upskilling — not for trivial purposes — but to meet the demand.

When AI is done ethically and accurately, it’ll produce better recommendations, so we can make smart, responsible decisions in business and life. It’s a beautiful world out there, and we have to be conscious and careful about how we use artificial intelligence. Because AI will get better with time, we’ll see a better future with AI — as long as we remember that AI is not a replacement but rather an assistant for humans to improve our lives and decision-making. Accurate, properly managed artificial intelligence illuminates a promising future.

About Actabl

Actabl is a leader in hospitality business intelligence, labor management, and hotel operations management software that provides actionable insights to above-property leaders and on-property leaders. Actabl brings together four powerful hospitality tech solutions to maximize profits for hotel operators. Actabl's integrated solutions include ProfitSword's business intelligence technology, Hotel Effectiveness' complete labor optimization, Alice's hotel operations management platform, and Transcendent's advanced asset management and CapEx. With a global team of 300+ employees boasting over 1,000 years of combined hospitality experience, Actabl serves the technology needs of more than 12,000 properties in hospitality markets around the world.

Amy Brecker
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Actabl