Accessibility sets generative AI apart

Generative AI's key differentiator lies in its accessibility through a natural language interface, explained Dr Martin Heinig, Senior Vice President, Head of SAP New Ventures and Technologies and Managing Director, SAP Labs Berlin, at the Dubai Assembly for Generative AI on Wednesday.

During a keynote titled 'SAP: Future-Proofing Organisations with GenAI', he explained that while this technology is "reshaping the machine-human interaction" and "mimics humans in a way never seen before," the underlying principles and research behind it are not entirely novel. The true breakthrough, he stressed, lies in the accessibility it offers.

With 87% of the world's total global commerce represented among SAP's customer base, equivalent to around USD 46 trillion, Heinig said organizations are increasingly exploring the applications of generative AI to maintain their competitiveness.

He said the future of business would be transformed by AI, which promises to enhance employee productivity, deliver crucial insights, automate and optimize new business processes, and even autonomously generate business logic.

Heinig also emphasized the significance of data in this equation, stating: "If you think of large language models, they are trained on tons of unstructured internet data, resulting in probabilistic outputs that are not always accurate. It becomes very powerful when you combine a large language model with data from SAP systems, which are structured, domain-specific data, industry knowledge, and business processes. This data is valuable because it's factual, so its integration ensures that the responses generated are enriched and verifiable."

Reflecting on the widespread global adoption of generative AI, Heinig stressed the need to adapt to this technology and implement governance measures due to its already extensive use.

"The problems businesses are facing are becoming more complex, and the current environment seems to be in a constant state of crisis. Generative AI can help us to tackle many of these challenges ," he added.

SAP, one of the assembly's strategic partners, hosted a private session on the sidelines of the assembly titled 'AI and Beyond: Your Business, Reimagined.' The session delved into the applications of hyper-automation and generative AI in reimagining businesses and delivering business value. Additionally, SAP is scheduled to host another private session tomorrow titled 'Running Your Transformation in the AI Era,' which will focus on how AI can expedite the identification of process issues and predict the outcomes of process improvements and automations.

The Dubai Assembly for Generative AI takes place from 11-12 October at the Museum of the Future and AREA 2071 in Emirates Towers. The assembly is hosting more than 1,800 officials, experts, and decision-makers, including more than 70 keynote speakers participating in around 45 main and private sessions.