Business Analytics for Managers, 2nd Edition

Chapter 4Business Analytics at the Analytical Level

As in all other levels in the BA model, we are experiencing—and can continuously expect—changes in the near future. The term artificial intelligence describes a machine's ability to perform intelligent behavior, such as decision‐making or speech recognition. Just think back to 1997, when the computer Deep Blue beat grand chess master Garry Kasparov through the brutal power of many calculations. In 2011, another computer, also from IBM, became a Jeopardy champion through the ability to understand simple forms of human questioning. At the time it was something that surprised people, but areas where we today accept that algorithms can outsmart humans.

Internet titans such as Facebook, Google, and others are investing heavily in artificial intelligence to better recognize, understand, and serve their users with online offerings. More examples include personal assistant devices and apps like Alexa, Cortana, and Siri, Web search predictions, and movie suggestions on Netflix.

Another area where we can expect change in 20 years' time is within the area of quantum computers. We will leave the technical explanation for experts, but the center of the matter is that when we can master the stabilization of 300 atoms at the same time, a computer will have more computational power than all computers have today. Today's challenge, however, is to create an algorithm that can keep these atoms exactly in place.

To tackle this challenge of developing ...