Investment experts are largely hailing the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) a positive step forward for industry, offering a host of new opportunities.
Harry Raikes, manager of Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust, said AI has the “potential for innovation and disruption on a scale comparable to the introduction of email, the internet and the smartphone.”
Alastair Unwin, fund manager in the Polar Capital Technology team, echoed the sentiment: “AI is set to be the next major secular technology trend driving the technology sector’s growth, taking on the baton from the cloud and mobile internet. The early beneficiaries of AI largely reside in the technology stack which powers the training and inference operations of larger language models, particularly semiconductors.”
Unwin said the quantity and quality of data on which models are trained makes a material difference to their performance, noting that there may be large growth opportunities for infrastructure software companies whose products can help with the collection and management of vast datasets.
Scottish Mortgage holds NVIDIA, a company which designs ‘accelerator chips’ capable of processing vast amounts. The group said around 90% of generative AI programmes are now being trained on them.
Claire Shaw, portfolio director of Scottish Mortgage, said: “One perhaps uncontroversial statement we can make at this stage is that generative AI systems need knowledge, lots of it, to create content, which is not something traditional computer hardware can handle. Against that backdrop, NVIDIA is likely to be one of the foundational companies in this ecosystem.”
A host of different uses for AI has been cited by the investment experts, including the ability to transform customer service and healthcare, with AI generating diagnoses for patients, as well as education.
Steven Tredget, partner of Oakley Capital, commented: “Education is just one of many sectors we think will be transformed by AI. Currently there aren’t enough teachers, classes are too large, textbooks are expensive, private education is prohibitively expensive and exams can be too blunt and stressful an instrument for assessing diverse students with differing abilities.
“AI removes all these constraints to the benefit of students. It’ll become easier, faster and cheaper to create course content, putting more of an emphasis on personal delivery and outcomes. It will enable personalised teaching, enabling students to learn at their own pace, tailoring content and delivery to individual ability, and identifying gaps in their understanding.”
However, there continue to be question marks over the use of AI and its development going forward. AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton recently announced he was leaving Google, warning of the dangers of the rapidly developing technology.
‘History tells us that advances in technology help improve society and efficiency, as opposed to a dystopian view of technology ruining lives.’
Raikes said: “We cannot ignore the significant unknowns we face as a society regarding its longer-term implications. For example, will the widespread use of AI ultimately foster greater creativity and intelligence or will it stifle them? Will it enable better knowledge sharing or fuel rampant misinformation?
“Most significantly, will it mitigate social inequality, or will it exacerbate the concentration of power and wealth among a select few? In our view, the answers to these questions are not predetermined; rather, they will be shaped by the choices we make as a society about how we use these powerful new tools. Again, we are cautiously optimistic since history tells us that advances in technology help improve society and efficiency, as opposed to a dystopian view of technology ruining lives.”
Tim Levene, chief executive officer of Augmentum Fintech, said caution was key but opportunities could not be overlooked.
“Geoffrey Hinton’s comments were specifically addressing the developments in generative AI and the risks that these pose. We recognise, as with all new technologies, the merits in responsibility and caution but there is also a huge opportunity when it comes to AI more broadly that cannot be ignored. Many of the non-generative AI models that are used practically today are well established and the implications are understood.
“The advantages that these bring should not be overlooked, lots can be achieved with AI models that are relatively simple when compared to the large language models and generative AI that are grabbing the current headlines.”
According to Levene, a robust regulatory framework will be essential for maintaining safety and addressing ethical concerns. Policymakers in the UK, US and the EU have all signalled that they plan to implement rules that cover the use of AI.
Levene added: “Overall, we welcome regulation and scrutiny of the industry, and believe the opportunity remains extremely compelling.
“We are excited about how consumers stand to benefit. There remain big challenges to solve in the consumer space such as financial literacy and financial inclusion. In improving operational efficiency of firms, it will be possible to deliver high quality services at lower costs, and to provide personalised offerings. For example, tailored wealth advice, once a service exclusively available to high-net-worth individuals, can now be partially generated by AI and therefore provided to a wider audience at a lower cost.”
