And now, the rise of the machines — or, at least, Machine Learning. This movement has been a long time coming, as artificial intelligence (AI) is moving ever-farther into real-world business applications where once it was too expensive (or too conceptual) to embrace.
Through improving technology and decreasing costs, AI and Big Data are now combining to help firms in the financial sector prevent payments fraud.
A recent whitepaper by data science company Feedzai, “The Dawn of Machine Learning for Banking and Payments,” offered up some food for thought (and points to consider) when delving into fraud and risk protection aided by machines.
The Stage was Set with Big Data
It wasn’t too long ago that AI was confined to academia, theory and tinkering from multi-billion dollar companies — firms that could afford to sink millions into its research and development. But now, AI has become more attainable as a tool that companies can tailor to their own operations.
That affordability and ability to scale from smaller firms come against a backdrop in which ever-smaller form factors, increasingly powerful processors, cheaper data storage and the rise of Big Data have all collided to set the stage for machine learning to be fully embraced by the corporate world.
Certainly, the mountains of data are becoming larger by the day. Seven years ago, the total amount of information produced on a global scale passed one zettabyte. The scale shakes out thusly: If a single cup of coffee holds a gigabyte, then the Great Wall of China stores a zettabyte. In just three years, the tally will be 44 zettabytes, or 44 Great Walls of China, as estimated by global market intelligence firm IDC.
The past 15 years have seen technology evolve enough so that this data is not only just attainable and digestible, but can also be used in context and in ways that can truly transform the way companies operate and serve their customers.
Explosive Growth is in the Works
Along with the impressive growth in data created, stored and used on a global scale, so too is AI poised to grow in leaps and bounds. It will create nearly $37 billion in annual revenues for companies of all stripes, sizes and sectors, according to market intelligence firm Tractica.
Within that figure, machine learning is a sector that will see $15.3 billion in revenue in 2019, as noted by BCC Research and cited by business process outsourcing company TeleTech, with an average annual growth rate of 19.7 percent. The savings for U.S. companies could be as high as $60 billion in 2020, Forbes noted. In addition, AI is expected to add $8.3 trillion in economic activity for the U.S.
