Written By:

Dr Mabrouka Abuhmida,

Senior Lecturer in Computing and Mathematical Sciences,

University of South Wales.

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Artificial intelligence has very quickly become a term that, in equal measure, both scares and excites people.

We’ve all heard the stories about AI taking over the world, with apocalyptic scenes from sci-fi  movies brought to mind and predictions of a time when the ‘robots become self-aware’ and decide humanity’s had its day.

Entertaining as these scenes may be, they’re a long way from reality and fail to highlight the good that AI can do.

With this in mind, I was very glad to play a leading part in a groundbreaking initiative which is aiming to propel Wales to the forefront of responsible and innovative AI use.

The AI Wales Cluster, which is part of the Cyber Wales initiative, was recently launched at the University of South Wales Newport Campus in front of more than 60 interested experts who saw how the visionary initiative will propel Wales to the forefront of responsible and innovative AI use.

A number of University of South Wales students also highlighted AI’s potential at the launch, including talks on topics such as AI in IVF, the Internet of Medical Things  (IoMT), and how AI can show bias. Their presentations raised many questions.

A key aim of the AI Wales Cluster is to make artificial intelligence technology accessible to all by creating a community of learning and innovation, which can then give individuals and organisations across the country the chance to harness the transformative potential of AI.

For small businesses, introducing AI-powered tools and processes into their operations could provide a major boost to the bottom line.

A number of everyday processes which can be time consuming could be easily automated, including customer relations and interactions, data analysis, marketing, inventory management, fraud detection, employee productivity, and social media management, to name a few.

It is the streamlining of these processes for small businesses that the Cluster is looking to encourage and support.

To help this aim take a step forward, throughout this year sessions will be set up across Wales to give businesspeople the opportunity to look at what AI can offer them, and to support the key aim of the AI Wales Cluster –  to foster a community where knowledge flows freely, empowering businesses to innovate and to thrive.

I hope the business community will join us in taking advantage of this opportunity to use these exciting technological advances.