Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

In recent years, the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has accelerated from previously imaginary and science-fiction topics to the topic among almost all industry actors.

Microsoft itself has spoken with customers, partners, and industry leaders across Asia, including Indonesia to develop breakthroughs in software algorithms and machine learning to create exciting new scenarios in possible use of AI.

In Indonesia alone, AI has been utilized significantly to advance the governance system. For example, AI might allow the Jakarta government to predict how many Transjakarta buses need to be deployed during peak hours to ensure there is no passenger accumulation at the bus stop, or how AI has helped the government estimate water flow data to anticipate flooding.

Along with various breakthroughs in software algorithms and machine learning, the long journey of AI development by Microsoft in seven decades has finally found a meeting between big data, ubiquitous, and powerful cloud computing.

AI is at the center of digital transformation in organizations and even nations. By 2019, IDC predicts that 40 percent of digital transformation initiatives will be backed by AI and cognitive capabilities that will provide critical and timely insight into the new regional movement and money movements.

President Director of Microsoft Indonesia Haris Izmee explained: “With the imagination and the data in large numbers, AI can bring benefits on a large scale. I strongly believe this will be the century for Asia. And AI offers this region an unprecedented opportunity for growth, productivity, and innovation and the potential to address the most important social challenges in the region.”

In Indonesia, Microsoft partnered with LINE, developing a cognitive AI created like a schoolgirl named Rinna. To date, Rinna has brought functional and emotional relationships with nearly 1.6 million people in Indonesia. The conversations that Rinna did with her users ranged from suggestions on what activities to do today to having fun along with interesting games.

Using sophisticated machine learning algorithms including cognitive technology, Rinna’s response reflects what a teenage girl would say in helping her friend – this will encourage users to become more emotionally intelligent.

Asia region will uniquely play an important role in the development of AI on a large scale. There are three main reasons to explain this:

1. AI requires data: AI relies on data to work; the more data entered into the AI system, the better the performance. At Microsoft, this is a distinct advantage, Microsoft has developed a wealth of information from products such as Windows, Office, LinkedIn, Bing, Cortana and others, which can help Microsoft to develop AI tools to anticipate and respond to the needs of people with more good.

2. AI needs talent: As we look forward to the massive adoption of AI technology this year, a long way to go has been to develop a stronger and more sophisticated AI program. For example, Microsoft Research Asia is part of company’s global team that recently developed the first translator engine system that can translate news articles from Chinese to English with the same quality and accuracy as humans.

3. AI requires adoption: As stated earlier, the more data provided into the AI system, the better the performance. One of Asia’s unique aspects is the large population of young people, born into the digital world. The United Nations estimates that as many as 60 percent of the world’s youth population is in Asia Pacific.

“We are very excited when talking about AI’s future in the region and our team has outlined four important basics to ensure we are able to utilize AI optimally with our current and long-term customers and partners,” added Haris.

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