The advent of artificial intelligence technology has caused a paradigm shift in the behavior of technology companies worldwide. OpenAI's launch of the ChatGPT chatbot backed by generative artificial intelligence (AI) a year ago took the world by storm and irrevocably altered the landscape of technological transformation.
The latest addition to this trend came from Amazon. The tech giant said it will launch its generative AI-powered assistant, Q, intended for businesses. The announcement came in Las Vegas this week at an annual conference the company hosts for its Amazon Web Service (AWS) cloud computing service.
The re:Invent 2023 was attended by more than 50,000 software developers and IT professionals. In addition to Q, the event saw Amazon showcasing powerful Graviton 4 processors and the new satellite internet service.
Q will be capable of performing a variety of tasks. Once the assistant learns a company's data, it can generate reports for sales managers, provide creative content to marketing teams, or identify errors made by software teams while coding. Cloud customers using Q will be able to limit their chatbots to a very limited and predetermined data source to prevent unauthorized access.
AWS, Google and Microsoft have all been making major investments in generative AI initiatives. With a current global market share leadership in cloud computing with a revenue of $92 billion, AWS unveiled a series of new productive AI products, including Q, designed specifically for work and can be tailored to a customer’s business.
Emphasizing the importance of artificial intelligence assistants performing reliable and error-free tasks for businesses, Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky noted that despite the popularity of OpenAI, there is a need for AI assistants specifically designed for each firm's needs.
"Amazon Q perfectly addresses the need for a reliable AI assistant that can generate specific solutions for business needs. It is important to have the broadest and deepest capabilities," said Selipsky.
He emphasized that executives must be careful, especially in an environment where tools lacking data privacy and security features that almost every business requires are being introduced. He also cited many chief information officers (CIOs) banning the use of most AI chat systems within their organizations.
The development of AI language learning models influences the capabilities of the AI assistant. Amazon Q is designed specifically for the needs of businesses, with Selipsky claiming that the new AI chatbot will be a useful element for every department of a company.
Each organization using Amazon Q can choose a different language model with a payment of $20 per user. The AWS Bedrock AI platform provides businesses with the opportunity to choose. For example, a sales manager can inquire about changes in sales over the months by asking Amazon Q.
Amazon Q can also assist marketing teams in generating content on desired topics, responding to emails, preparing presentations and providing solutions using existing applications. Additionally, it aids in responding to and resolving customer issues.
As the first major player among AI assistants, OpenAI has experienced tumultuous times. CEO Sam Altman, who led the initiative to reach over 200 million users in just a few weeks, was recently abruptly ousted from his position by the board of directors, only to return within days.
The founders of Anthropic, the AI solution company in which AWS invested with its cloud credits, left OpenAI in 2021 to focus on security. Overseeing the entire process, AWS emphasizes security as a top priority, recognizing the importance of limiting access to companies' data.
Despite the popularity of OpenAI, Selipsky remains cautious about security.
"They don't know your data, your customers or your operations. This limits how useful their recommendations can be. They also don't know much about who you are. They don't know your tasks, preferences, what information you use, what you do, and that you don't have access to them," said Selipsky.
"Critically, other providers have launched tools that lack the data privacy and security features almost every business needs. Many CIOs are actually banning the use of the most popular AI chat systems within their organizations. Including security in the fundamental design of technology is much, much better."
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is emerging as a pivotal driver of transformation in critical sectors such as health care, finance and public institutions.
The significant role AI technology is playing in reshaping various domains has been emphasized by Muhammed Özhan, general manager of TT Ventures, the venture capital arm of Türk Telekom, one of Türkiye's leading telecommunications and technology companies.
Özhan emphasized Türk Telekom's active involvement in supporting AI-backed ventures throughout their development stages.
"We are present at every stage of investment in startups. We have been pioneers in establishing acceleration programs and venture capital companies. Artificial intelligence will play a significant role in data-focused transformations in almost every sector," Özhan said during the "Big Data and AI-Focused Innovation with Startups" panel on the sidelines of the Türkiye Innovation Week.
"We closely monitor initiatives and solutions in areas such as finance, health, and education, where we prioritize our investments. We invest both at the early and in later stages," he noted.
The panel also saw Virasoft founder Gökhan Hatipoğlu and Sanction Scanner founder Fatih Coşkun share their experiences and insights for entrepreneurs to establish a lasting presence in the ecosystem.
Coşkun mentioned that many institutions in the sector use Türk Telekom's payment system solution, explaining how they use AI technologies to prevent the rise of financial crimes.
"The number of transactions in e-commerce and financial institutions is increasing exponentially in the shopping season. We utilize artificial intelligence technology to protect both cardholders and institutions from changes contrary to the natural flow of life. We provide real-time information to institutions regarding potential risks that may arise," he noted.
In the health care sector, Virasoft's Hatipoğlu outlined their contributions to pathology services within the strictly regulation-based industry.
"Timing is crucial in detecting cancer. Through a solution developed by learning from doctors' experiences in pathology, we have achieved significant success in obtaining accurate results. Now, we aim to take global steps with our office in the United States," he noted.
"Our solution contributes to faster and more effective results for patients and doctors. By enabling its use in telepathology, we can provide doctors with location-independent services," he explained.
