Over the past year, it’s become clear that the future of innovation will heavily involve AI. While generative AI tools like ChatGPT continue to wow consumers and businesspeople alike, a truly disruptive AI-based innovation has yet to emerge (apart from the AI models themselves).
AI technology is moving so quickly that business leaders are still reeling. Like deer in headlights, they’re waiting for the seas to calm and unpredictability to subside. But companies that wait on the sidelines may miss their opportunity to engineer new growth opportunities and reshape their industries.
This is what tech billionaire Phaneesh Murthy expressed in a recent interview. Murthy is no stranger to risk-taking and disruption. At the start of the internet age, he single-handedly dismantled the IT services business model and rebuilt it to scale globally online, turning several small IT firms into global leaders in a few short years. The processes he developed are now industry standards.
Today, Murthy sees similar opportunities emerging as a result of generative AI.
During this watershed moment, companies must make a choice. They can wait for others to test the waters and simply follow suit—or take decisive action themselves and redefine their industries to their liking and their benefit.
Phaneesh Murthy: AI Will Change Everything
It may seem obvious that AI will have a massive influence over the IT industry—the industry Phaneesh Murthy has helped to steer for his 30+ year career. While this is true, it’s also shortsighted, according to Murthy.
He is confident that AI will affect all businesses—and not only businesses but society as a whole. The fundamentals of how people interact with technology and each other are about to change. Not only is AI able to perform a number of cost-saving tasks, but it’s also being used to facilitate communication between people online and off.
This means that AI isn’t just important for businesses hoping to develop new processes and cut operating costs. Consumers are also directly engaging with the technology, and it’s causing their behavior to evolve. For some perspective, ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app of all time within a month of its launch in November 2022. Today, it gets about 1.6 billion visits per month.
This is why Phanees Murthy is dedicating much of his time to understanding AI—both its implications and applications. “AI Is something which I’ve been doing a fair amount of work and research on and that’s what’s keeping me quite busy,” Murthy said. “And quite excited.”
Businesses that understand AI in the context of their customers and not just in the context of operations will have a better perspective on the market and be better equipped to create value.
Turning Ideas into Action
What does Phaneesh Murthy think is the next billion-dollar AI business? When asked what business he would start with AI and $1000, he said he would utilize AI to develop software.
Generative AI has the ability to write code, so it’s often used as a tool to develop software. Murthy is interested in taking this to the next level by training the AI to develop solutions with minimal input, automating as much as possible.
He encourages businesses to analyze the capabilities of their software, especially those that require human input, and begin converting those tasks to AI. For example, Murthy, as an advisor to a major financial institution, took part in rehauling the cumbersome task of brokering mortgages. Now, he’s reimagining many of those processes—drafting lending applications, gathering quotes, evaluating estimates, and more—with the hopes of using AI to dramatically cut costs for both brokers and home buyers.
Phaneesh Murthy is also exploring ways for AI to detect fraud, as AI can be trained to detect risk factors more effectively than humans, in many instances. He has already had success using AI as a fraud firewall, and he’s looking forward to ramping up digital security with more robust AI fraud prevention software.
The Future of AI
What does Phaneesh Murthy predict will happen with AI in the future? He admits that it’s impossible to know exactly how AI will change the world—just as it was impossible to predict Facebook and the concept of an iPhone “app” at the dawn of the internet in the 90s.
However, he warns that the unpredictability of AI shouldn’t be a reason for companies to take a seat and “wait it out.” Businesses need to think big, take risks, and constantly reevaluate to remain competitive and keep pace with changing consumer expectations. Because AI isn’t slowing down any time soon.
