AI HAS POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE PROFITS ACROSS SECTORS - ANALYST

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 – Artificial Intelligence (AI) is without a doubt the next big thing after the internet and has the potential to improve profits across sectors, albeit still being in the early days of its development, says an analyst.

Stephen Jue, director co-portfolio manager, senior research analyst, technology at Allianz Global Investors, said AI has the potential to increase economic growth rates in annual value across 16 industries by 2035.

Citing an example, he said the information and communications industry, with a baseline growth of 3.4 per cent, has the potential to increase up to 4.8 per cent while the manufacturing industry, with a baseline growth of 2.1 per cent, could grow as much as 4.4 per cent.

“Developments in 5G infrastructure would also fuel the technology’s capabilities by enabling more Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to be connected to the internet, thus driving much smarter capabilities in the future,” he told a webinar titled “Technology and Artificial Intelligence -- Investing in the New Norm or into the Future?”, organised by RHB Asset Management.

Commenting on AI adaptation right now, he said agriculture, drones and automated tractors are taking over farming applications, while in the retail sector, cashier-less stores are being built.

In the healthcare sector, there are AI capabilities and systems that could detect diseases like cancer cells, pneumonia and early stages of Alzheimer’s disease at much higher rates than human doctors.

“We are going to see more and more of the capabilities continue to evolve in the healthcare sector with regards to AI. Even with the COVID-19 outbreak, the sequencing of the virus was done in almost 30 days versus almost six months when we had SARS previously,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tan Jee Toon, chief investment officer of Asia-Pacific equities at RHB Asset Management in Singapore, said with continuous developments in AI, there are also increasing risks of disruption in certain professions.

He said unfortunately for professions that could be highly optimised or involve less strategy or creative element to it, chances for these jobs to be taken over by AI are high.

“On the contrary, the more social interaction that is required in your work or industry, the less likely will you be substituted by AI such as psychiatrists, chief executive officers, social workers and so on.

“The jobs that are in the danger zone are customer service representatives, insurance agents, radiologists, cashiers and restaurant cooks,” he added.

--BERNAMA