inforgraphic: 20/20 predictionsI’m the least qualified to ever opine on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the IT industry. That’s why we invited well-respected industry thought leaders at Ivanti and Lynx Technology Partners to chime in on what the future holds for AI in IT in 2020 and beyond. You’ll find their predictions farther down.

But first, a few jokes.

  • “What do you call a cat does it take to screw in a light bulb? They could worry the banana.”
  • “What did the new ants say after a dog? It was a pirate.”
  • “Why did the monsters change a lightbulb? And a cow the cough.”
  • “What do you call a pastor cross the road? He take the chicken.”
  • “What do you call a farts of tea? He was calling the game of the dry.”

Comedy Written by AI is No Laughing Matter

In his June 8, 2018 article for IFLScience titled “AI’s Attempts At One-Liner Jokes Are Unintentionally Hilarious,” writer Tom Hale reported on neural network scientist Janelle Shane and her efforts to train a next-generation neural network to write one-liner jokes. “The results are so unbelievably unfunny, they are hilarious,” writes Hale. “(Shane) started by plugging in a dataset of over 43,000 jokes that use the basic structure of “What do you call a something that somethings?” or “How do you something a something?” In theory, the neural network would learn the structure and relevant content of the jokes, meaning it could create some gags of its own. However, just as numerous projects like this have shown, they can’t seem to get a grip on our sense of humor.”

As published in the Los Angeles Times on April 1, 2019, Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press says, “Alexa and Siri can tell jokes mined from a humor database, but they don’t get them. Linguists and computer scientists say this is something to consider: Humor is what makes humans special. When people try to teach machines what’s funny, the results are at times laughable but not in the intended way.”

Borentein then quotes Kiki Hempelmann, a computational linguist who studies humor at Texas A&M University-Commerce. “Artificial intelligence will never get jokes like humans do. In themselves, they have no need for humor. They miss completely context.”

Our Experts Don’t Miss the Context of AI in IT

The industry predictions below were kindly contributed by these AI and automation gurus:

  • Ian Aitchison, Senior Product Director at Ivanti
  • Mihai Rosca, Product Manager at Ivanti
  • Rex McMillan, Product Manager at Ivanti
  • Aric K. Perminter, Founder and Chairman at Lynx Technology Partners, a Certified Ivanti One Partner
  • Melanie Karunaratne, Director of Product Marketing at Ivanti
  • Marcel Shaw, Federal Sales Engineer at Ivanti

Ian Aitchison, Senior Product Director at Ivanti

  • By 2025, Strategic Planning AIs will Guide the Business: The first new Strategic Planning AIs will guide total business strategy leadership, effectively operating as an executive board-level decision assistant.

Mihai Rosca, Product Manager at Ivanti

  • Machine Learning Will Mature Faster than We Imagine: Already, processes that use machine learning rather than human control are considered typical or natural. Take for example a new program written by a developer that leaves it to the software to identify the system that will execute particular processes based on advanced analytics—in the cloud for instance. Into 2020 we’ll see more and more systems that test and monitor themselves to enhance business processes and software delivery. As test automation evolves, we’ll witness an exponential increase in the use of automated scripts and patterns that can then be read and used to predict the impact of committed code on production environments.
  • Automation and Orchestration Will Come to Life: In the context of economic uncertainty throughout most of 2019, 2020 will create even greater leadership opportunities for CIOs as they focus on improving ways to deliver more with less. As IT automation becomes more widespread, there will also be a push towards the orchestration of information, systems, and business transformation. This automation-orchestration combination will empower CIOs to do more with less more efficiently and improve IT’s value within the organization.

Rex McMillan, Product Manager at Ivanti

  • By 2023, It Will Be the Time of AI: We will be the time of AI; it will be ubiquitous in the enterprise. When done correctly, people will not even realize when AI is being used.
  • By 2025, AI Experts will be Embedded in Every Department: There will be AI experts embedded in finance, sales, and IT departments. CIOs will have created the Office of AI and Machine Learning. This office will have increased C-suite visibility. Departments like marketing, sales, and finance will rely increasingly on this department to gain insight about their respective responsibilities.

Aric K. Perminter, Founder and Chairman at Lynx Technology Partners, a Certified Ivanti One Partner

  • In 2020, Hackers and Responders will Both Use AI: AI will continue to shape and change security. AI will be a big help in speeding response to attacks, but hackers are using the same technology and techniques to exploit vulnerabilities. In 2020, we will see who can stay in the lead.

Melanie Karunaratne, Director of Product Marketing

  • In 2020, Security Teams Embrace Automation and AI: The continued shortage of cybersecurity professionals needed to fill vacancies will lead to accelerated adoption of automation and AI for cyber hygiene and decision support to counter the skill gap and free up personnel.
  • In 2021, AI will go Mainstream: Service management organizations will take AI and Machine Learning out of innovation labs and into mainstream workflow projects.

Marcel Shaw, Federal Sales Engineer at Ivanti

  • AI Will Manage ITAM Solutions: By 2035, ITAM solutions will be managed by AI technology without the need for human intervention. With 8.8 billion people on earth averaging 16 connected devices per person, ITAM will require non-human asset managers powered by AI to keep up with asset management demands.

You can see all of our expert predictions for a new decade of IT in our new infographic. The infographic includes more AI predictions, others around ITxM and security, and changes to your day-to-day job.