Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) represent a huge opportunity for Northern Ireland鈥檚 tech sector but companies will have to invest if they want to take advantage of it, a major conference has heard.
Now in its 9th year, Big Data Belfast, presented by Analytics Engines and supported by headline sponsor EY, took place at the ICC Belfast, bringing together more than 700 delegates from the country鈥檚 technology sector.
The conference provided expert insights into the world of data, with a variety of speakers and panel sessions across a range of hot topics including AI, ChatGPT, net zero, ESG and media.
The Global Generative AI market is expected to be worth over $110bn by 2030 and the conference heard about its potential to solve problems and simplify tasks that previously would have had to be done manually.
But delegates also heard that AI technology is advancing so quickly that businesses who don鈥檛 embrace the change and invest in upskilling to understand the latest developments risk missing out.
Analytics Engines鈥� managing director, Dr Aislinn Rice, said: 鈥淲ith a thriving technology ecosystem full of innovative companies, it鈥檚 no surprise that Northern Ireland is being referred to as a 鈥榯esting centre鈥� for artificial intelligence in the UK.
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鈥淭he speed and sophistication of AI solutions being created on this island is breath-taking, and this new technology creates a big opportunity for the region.
鈥淎nalytics Engines has been developing and implementing AI solutions for many years but in 2022, I don’t think many of us were talking about large language models, generative AI or ChatGPT.鈥�
Gareth Kelly, partner at EY Northern Ireland, said: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt that generative AI represents a huge opportunity for many different segments of the business world.
鈥淢any companies in Northern Ireland are developing clever uses of AI and it is incumbent on all of us to take the time to assess and analyse the implications of the latest advances to ensure that we can make the most of the opportunities created.鈥�
Speakers at Big Data Belfast also included citizen astronaut candidate Dr Norah Patten; Catherine Doyle, managing director of Dell Technologies in Ireland; Justin Edwards from Minecraft Education; Sebasti谩n Lancestrem猫re, sports managing director at Microsoft; and Tarek Madany Mamlouk from Axel Springer.