The perception that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a matter that belongs to a distant future - centuries away - has been left behind. And in that sense, 2020 will be a more than decisive year to confirm it.

Perhaps unknowingly, in different areas of daily life, we will be interacting (in some cases through speech) with some type of AI solution: while we buy from an online store, we collaborate on various productive projects, we receive health support or academic training, among other areas.

During 2019, of course, we will continue to question the implications of AI progress (won't we be laying the groundwork for the machine rebellion?). However, the next 12 months will also demonstrate that AI is a factor that can positively transform our lives - and in the case of Cognitiva, transforming the lives of Latin Americans.

And this will happen in contexts as everyday as receiving assistance from a business or public entity, or trying to find the desired product. As several investigations have pointed out, in 2020, 30% of our interactions with technology will be carried out through a “conversation” that will involve an AI entity, and according to the consulting firm Forrester, cognitive virtual assistants will influence 10% of purchasing decisions. In a few more years (2022), it is estimated that more than 80% of consumer interactions will be in the hands of AI.

From a broader perspective, in 2020 we will also notice how AI ratifies its economic and strategic potential (becoming a priority issue for companies and societies), and better yet, allows us to believe in a future with prosperity. Some signs in this regard:
• Consulting firm Gartner estimates that global investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, including consulting services, will reach a little more than $ 6 billion dollars in 2020; and it could reach $ 29,000 million in 2021.
• Among the 10 strategic trends for 2020, Gartner highlights: laying the foundation for an AI business strategy, developing applications and services that take advantage of AI, and a growth in “smart stuff” initiatives (objects such as autonomous cars , which require some degree of AI to function).
• In 2020, 45% of the fastest growing companies, according to a HuffPost-Tech Radar report, will take advantage of AI intensively.
• In different sectors, 2020 will be a key year to lay the foundations for an AI vision. An Accenture study estimates that by 2035 AI will drive 4.8% growth in the value of services and products in the Information and Communications industry; 4.4% in the Manufacturing sector and 4.3% in Financial Services.
• In industries where you can automate complex functions, the Accenture report notes, AI will begin to show its potential. For example, in the retail and wholesale sectors, smart automation will drive a 60% increase in profits (going from $ 17 to $ 27 for every $ 100 of revenue).
• By 2030, AI technology could drive a 14% increase in global GDP (gross domestic product). The increase, according to the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), would be equivalent to $ 15.7 billion dollars.

If Mexican business professionals, from all industries, still have doubts about the strategic value of Artificial Intelligence, the figures indicated must convince them that the time has come to dispel uncertainties. This innovation opens the door to new revenue opportunities, efficiencies, and markets. There is no reason to doubt: everything indicates that 2020 will be the year of Artificial Intelligence.