Can we spot a long term opportunity in tech? AI automation

Many promising trends are attracting market attention and past years have seen some very intense and dynamic markets.

In a conversation with an entrepreneur friend of mine, we wondered where it was all heading. After few days considering several possibilities, my bet is: that it will all converge on process automation. 🤖 + 👫

We have mobile applications, the Internet of Things (i.e. sensors), cloud computing, distributed computing (blockchain), artificial intelligence, etc. The market is moving faster than many can adapt.

Let's look at some similarities with the renewable energy boom. Components such as solar panels were too expensive 20 years ago, so deployment was far from feasible, 20 years later as the cost of equipment fell we are currently in a deployment boom. Robots or equipment needed for automation have also been around for several decades as well as knowledge, however the numbers did not add up to. Nowadays, with the cost of technology components falling and the cost of software development falling thanks to artificial intelligence, we are bound to see a major advance in automation in the near future. In fact, we are experiencing it, paying attention to the news and seeing how small major advances in automation are popping up around the globe.

When I finished my degree in industrial engineering, specialising in production systems, I never thought about working in a factory and was really interested in the software trend that is rapidly changing the world. Now, thanks to AI, there are great improvements and potential cost efficiencies. Robots are part of a process alongside humans, they complement, not replace, it is all about organising tasks in all sectors and outside of traditional factories.

The ultimate goal is efficiency and that’s where improvement, technology, hardware and software converge: #Automation.