Here come the 'custobots': AI pervades Gartner's top 10 strategic technology trends for 2024

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Gartner has identified the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2024, and generative and other types of AI solutions take center stage with widespread adoption and risks that are primary focus areas. 

The top strategic technology trends for 2024 are:

1. Democratized generative AI

Generative AI (aka, GenAI) is becoming democratized by the confluence of massively pre-trained models, cloud computing, and open source -- making these models accessible to workers worldwide. 

Gartner: top 3 critical enterprise outcomes for CIOs and tech executives are:
1. Customer experience excellence
2. Operating margin improvement
3. Revenue generation pic.twitter.com/7ILijA8pia

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) October 16, 2023

5. Augmented-connected workforce

The augmented-connected workforce (ACWF) is a strategy for optimizing the value derived from human workers. The need to accelerate and scale talent is driving the ACWF trend. The ACWF uses intelligent applications and workforce analytics to provide everyday context and guidance to support the workforce's experience, well-being, and ability to develop its own skills. 

Also: These 5 major tech advances of 2023 were the biggest game-changers

At the same time, the ACWF drives business results and positive impact for key stakeholders. Through 2027, 25% of CIOs will use ACWF initiatives to reduce time to competency by 50% for key roles.

How AI powered customers will evolve pic.twitter.com/6YZv4ov4uU

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) October 16, 2023

7. Machine customers or 'custobots'

Machine customers (also called "custobots") are nonhuman economic actors that can autonomously negotiate and purchase goods and services in exchange for payment. By 2028, 15 billion connected products will exist with the potential to behave as customers, with billions more to follow in the coming years. This growth trend will be the source of trillions of dollars in revenues by 2030 and eventually become more significant than the arrival of digital commerce. Strategic considerations should include opportunities to either facilitate these algorithms and devices, or even create new custobots.

8. Sustainable technology

Sustainable technology is a framework of digital solutions used to enable environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes that support long-term ecological balance and human rights. The use of technologies such as AI, cryptocurrency, the Internet of Things and cloud computing is driving concern about the related energy consumption and environmental impacts. 

2023 STATE OF IT REPORT
20 key IT statistics and trends found that every CIO should know:
1. 84% of IT leaders say their departments need to better address changing customer expectations.
2. 82% of IT leaders say their departments need to better demonstrate business…

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) September 12, 2023

The State of IT report found that generative AI has only recently become mainstream. The report shows 86% of IT leaders believe generative AI will have a prominent role in their organizations in the near future. Yet 64% of IT leaders are concerned about the ethics of generative AI, and 62% are concerned about its impacts on their careers. The report also notes that ethics and generative AI focus on accuracy, bias, toxicity, safety, and privacy.

Also: The ethics of generative AI: How we can harness this powerful technology

In a recent survey of IT leaders, concerns around generative AI included security risks (79%), bias (73%), and carbon footprint (71%). With nearly 9 out of 10 IT leaders believing generative AI will have a prominent role in their organizations in the near future, business leaders must understand the strategic technology trends highlighted by Gartner for 2024 and beyond. In order to do this, businesses must commit to education, stakeholder reskilling, and strategic partnerships in order to ready themselves for a future that is led by AI-powered products and services. 

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