Further developments in the area of artificial intelligence pose both cybersecurity risks and opportunities for companies. Generative AI will become increasingly important, especially in business applications.
AI technologies are developing at an unprecedented pace. The advances in artificial intelligence, especially generative AI (GenAI), open up new possibilities that will significantly change our economy, ways of working and living. However, the Cisco AI Readiness Index shows that although 95 percent of German companies have or are developing an AI strategy, only 7 percent are best prepared for the use of artificial intelligence. Liz Centoni, Chief Strategy Officer and EVP/GM of Applications at Cisco, names five technology areas in which artificial intelligence will become increasingly popular in the new year.
APIs simplify the use of artificial intelligence
Companies have a growing need to leverage data, automation and innovation quickly and easily. However, according to the Cisco AI Readiness Index, only 17% of German companies prioritize budgets for AI implementation over other technology investments. One solution will be the increased use of interfaces (API). Many AI tools and services will be integrated via this abstraction level in the coming year. Such “API abstractions” enable artificial intelligence to be integrated more cost-effectively into business processes without developers having to delve deeply into the technical details of AI implementation or develop their own Large Language Models (LLM). By accessing a variety of AI functions via APIs, repetitive tasks can be automated and decisions can be made based on better data.
APIs that enable customer-specific implementation of artificial intelligence will also become established in 2024. To do this, companies combine interfaces from different providers and thus create AI solutions for their individual requirements. The integration also supports collaboration with external AI experts, start-ups and research institutions. The first models of such curated AI ecosystems are currently visible - models that we will see more frequently in the coming year.
AI-powered cyberattacks require collaboration
In 2024, companies, politics, NGOs and civil society will be increasingly at risk from AI-generated disinformation. According to Cisco's Cybersecurity Readiness Index 2023, only 11% of German companies are resilient enough to withstand cyber attacks - and only 29% have a good understanding of the various cyber threats posed by artificial intelligence. Technology companies and governments will therefore work together in 2024 to sharpen solutions against AI-powered threats such as deepfakes, AI social bots or cloned voice recordings and to implement appropriate cybersecurity measures. Investments in risk detection and training AI models with large data sets will also increase. In order to detect threats early, companies must therefore invest in advanced security technologies in 2024 and give data protection a higher priority.
Generative AI is making its way into the B2B business world
To remain competitive, companies must implement artificial intelligence within the next year. That's why in 2024 the focus will be on natural linguistic interfaces (NLIs) for new products supported by GenAI. Half of the new products will have such interfaces integrated as standard. GenAI will also improve B2B interactions, provide data access interfaces and services, and be used in many business applications. This primarily affects corporate tasks that analyze and visualize data, for example in project management, evaluating software quality or analyzing compliance fields, as well as HR tasks.
It is still foreseeable that specialized AI models will become more important. This will see a shift towards smaller LLMs with greater accuracy, relevance, precision and efficiency. For example, LLaMA-7B models can be used for language tasks such as writing and completing code or classifying images with few shots (“few-shotting”). In addition, multimodality, which combines different data types such as images, text, voice and numeric data, will expand B2B use cases in areas such as business planning, medicine and financial services, ensuring continuously better results.
Improved energy efficiency when using AI is more important than ever
Smaller AI models tailored to specific use cases will reduce energy costs when using artificial intelligence as early as 2024 compared to generic systems. These special systems are trained on high-precision data sets and complete specific tasks much more efficiently. In contrast, deep learning models require processing large amounts of data to produce results.
Furthermore, the rapidly growing application of energy networking will contribute to better energy efficiency. This refers to the combination of software defined networking with direct current microgrids. This will help companies measure energy consumption and emissions more accurately in 2024. Many functions in IT and smart buildings can be automated with IoT sensors and made more efficient through integrated energy management capabilities.
Ethics and frameworks are playing an increasing role for artificial intelligence
The introduction of artificial intelligence is a unique technological change that requires both innovative strength and trust. However: According to the Cisco AI Readiness Index, 76% of all companies worldwide lack comprehensive guidelines that regulate the use of artificial intelligence. Given the risks of GenAI, there is broad consensus that such guidelines and voluntary self-regulation of the AI industry are generally necessary.
It must also be ensured that consumers retain access to and control over their data – in line with the current EU data regulation. The companies themselves are challenged: With the growing importance of AI systems, publicly available data will soon no longer be sufficient for training AI models. High-quality voice data is expected to be exhausted before 2026, meaning a transition to private or synthetic data will soon be necessary. However, this carries the risk of unauthorized access and data protection violations. Those responsible for deploying AI will therefore commit to greater transparency and trust in the development, use and results of AI systems.
Technology companies in particular will have to prepare themselves to show a new level of openness in the coming year - for example, which governance processes control the internal development, application and use of AI. If they are unable to credibly demonstrate trustworthy use of AI, the regulatory framework will also be narrower in the coming year.
About the studies
The Cisco AI Readiness Index is based on a double-blind survey of 8.161 private sector business and IT executives in 30 countries in 2023. It was conducted by an independent third party who surveyed participants from companies with 500 or more employees. The index assesses companies' AI readiness in six key areas: strategy, infrastructure, data storage, governance, specialist staff and corporate culture. 300 experts were surveyed for Germany.
The Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index 2023 is also based on a double-blind survey of 6.700 executives in 27 countries who are responsible for cybersecurity in their companies. The research was conducted at the end of 2022 using online and telephone interviews. 300 experts were surveyed for Germany.
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