Businesses need to stop treating AI as a novelty: tech CEO

Increased efforts are needed to put artificial intelligence into "real use" as many companies are now purchasing AI-driven technologies for novelty rather than efficiency, according to an industry insider.

Dai Wenyuan, CEO of Chinese AI startup 4Paradigm, said on Thursday that using facial recognition systems at reception desks or in guidance robots cannot be called AI transformation.

"With deeper convergence of technologies and businesses, more companies are in urgent need of leveraging AI to really bolster their business, be it improving efficiency or reducing costs," he said.

He made the remarks during the company's launch of a new AI-fueled product.

The product, SageOne, abandons traditional ways of computing through hardware and adopts a software-defined AI architecture, which can better meet businesses' computing requirements, said Dai.

Founded in 2015, 4Paradigm uses AI to help people and organizations analyze data to improve efficiency. It is one of the few startups in which China's big five banks have all invested.

To better use AI, Dai suggested that firms should also revolutionize businesses from top to the bottom.

"A new paradigm for AI transformation would be making decisions based on data, launching new products and, at the end, creating new business models," Dai said.