‘AI is the electricity of this era’: Salesforce

Artificial Intelligence is the most revolutionary technology since the invention of electricity, according to Salesforce’s head of technology.

Delivering the keynote speech at SAAS NORTH in Ottawa today, Salesforce head of technology Chris Makkreel said, “AI is the electricity of this era.” Makkreel was referring to how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the most sought-after technology of this age that will revolutionize almost every sector of industry and government.

Read More: Canada’s first ever SaaS conference to bring over 60 speakers this month

The capabilities of AI are egregiously vast. As the old saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words” — in AI terms — a picture can be worth a thousand possibilities when it comes to analyzing data. With AI and machine learning, there is almost no limit to the amount of data that can be extracted from a single selfie.

“People don’t understand the amount of data available in a single selfie with the use of AI,” said Makkreel at SaaS North.

In September of this year, Salesforce Einstein was launched. “Powered by advanced machine learning, deep learning, predictive analytics, natural language processing and smart data discovery, Einstein’s models will be automatically customized for every single customer. It will learn, self-tune and get smarter with every interaction and additional piece of data,” the official release stated.

Applied AI across industries

Machine learning and AI are being integrated across industries. The concept of machine learning may bring to mind powerful computers processing really big numbers, but its social applications have the ability to actually save lives.

Read More: Machine learning for social good, saving lives, and emergency response

From being able to help eliminate vehicle recalls on the road to applications in the medical field and emergency response capabilities, AI is truly becoming the all-encompassing technology that will define this era just as electricity defined human ingenuity around the turn of the 20th century.

Hosted by L-Spark, SAAS NORTH is Canada’s first SaaS Conference designed to connect the top SaaS founders, investors and executives to learn, network and grow.