Four of the world’s biggest enterprise technology companies have announced major new product ranges that will introduce the business world to generative artificial intelligence (AI) — applications that can generate text, images, audio and data in response to prompts.
For the past six months, consumer-driven applications have dominated AI discussion, as ChatGPT, Google Bard and Microsoft Bing AI transformed the way any individual can generate new content. Now, that revolution is coming to businesses.
Over the past 10 days, cloud computing leader Amazon Web Services (AWS), with Cisco, Oracle and Lenovo, unveiled new products and services that promise a massive shift in how businesses use AI. Initially these tools will give early adopters competitive advantage in their industries, but later it will be essential merely to remain relevant and competitive.
At this week’s AWS Re:inforce cybersecurity conference in Los Angeles, AWS chief information security officer CJ Moses opened the event by declaring that “new technologies like generative AI present new challenges, but also new opportunities”. This, he said, allowed the company to re-evaluate how it improves cyber defences through automation and threat detection.
AWS was an early player in AI applications, especially in machine learning (ML), a type of AI that allows software to learn without being explicitly programmed and which is at the heart of generative AI.
The Amazon ML tool SageMaker helps companies build, train and deploy ML models quickly and easily. South African companies such as Absa, Standard Bank and MTN all use it for fraud detection and risk management. Now, AWS is embracing generative AI.
Lenovo is partnering with AI video generator DeepBrain AI to offer generative AI virtual assistants that can be paired with powerful large language models to deliver automated concierge service in hospitality and retail settings.
Moses announced a range of generative AI tools and updates to existing AI tools during his keynote. The most significant update was to a solution called Amazon Bedrock, which allows companies to build generative AI applications. It gives customers easy access to “foundation models” — ultra-large ML structures on which generative AI relies — from the leading AI model providers. This means they will have flexibility and choice to use the best models for specific needs.
He also announced unlimited free use by individual software developers of Amazon CodeWhisperer, an AI-powered coding companion which uses generative AI to provide code suggestions in real time. Paid tiers are available for professional use, with features like added enterprise-level security and administrative capabilities.
On the same day, cloud rival and software giant Oracle announced plans to develop generative AI services to help organisations automate business processes, improve decision-making and enhance customer experiences.
It is collaborating with Cohere, a leading AI platform for enterprises, to build tools ranging from applications to infrastructure, on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
Clay Magouyrk, executive vice-president of OCI, said: “Our partnership with Cohere will enable our customers to easily embed generative AI into their business. Using Cohere’s foundation models, customers can securely incorporate their data to train specific models, deploy them on best-in-class AI infrastructure through OCI and experience the business benefits immediately in their applications.”
Cohere models will also be directly integrated into Oracle’s portfolio of cloud applications. Oracle said this combination of applications and its data management expertise, with Cohere’s large language models, would deliver “unrivalled data security, privacy, and governance”.
Among others, Lenovo is partnering with AI video generator DeepBrain AI to offer generative AI virtual assistants that can be paired with powerful large language models to deliver automated concierge service in hospitality and retail settings.
Last week, during the Cisco Live conference in Las Vegas, Cisco announced it was “reimagining the way people work with new, powerful generative AI technology”. Cisco said it would harness large language models across its collaboration and security portfolios “to help organisations drive productivity and simplicity for their workforce”.
According to Cisco’s “2023 State of Global Innovation” study, IT professionals rank generative AI as the technology most likely to have a significant impact on their business, with 85% saying they’re prepared for its impact.
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