I have included some Reading below which you may want to have a look at to get ready for AI in 2025. There are links to 50 articles in relation to:
- AI & the law
- How AI is improving productivity in all industries including financial services, insurance, government, retail, healthcare, education & more.
- How to roll out a successful AI project
- 2025 Tech prediction lists from major consulting organisations
AI & the Law
3 Legal Bodies Issue Joint Guidance on AI (Lawyers Weekly): Dec 2024 guidance on AI use issued by Law Society NSW, Legal Practice Board WA, & the Victorian Legal Services Board.
NSW Supreme Court AI Practice Note (Sup Court): Nov 2024 guidance on AI use in litigation. Quite prescriptive and important reading for anyone practicing in this jurisdiction.
Tech, AI & the Law (Thomson Reuters): Oct 2024 survey shows 46% of legal depts and 40% of law firms are using AI.
How to Choose the Best GenAI Product for your Firm (English Law Society Gazette): Article I wrote providing a summary of 20+ LegalAI vendors and a framework for how to evaluate them.
LegalAI Use Case Report (Munich Uni): 34 use cases across 8 categories all scored/ranked.
AI & Productivity Improvement
Looking Back on 2024 (Microsoft): An impressive list of 20 successful AI projects using Microsoft products for companies like Audi, Unilever, EY and Coles.
IDC’s 2024 AI Opportunity Study (IDC): Dec 2024 study finds for every $1 invested in AI the ROI is $3.7x and GenAI usage jumped from 55% in 2023 to 75% in 2024.
The State of GenAI in the Enterprise: Now Decides Next (Deloitte): Report finds that 67% of respondents are increasing their Gen AI investments due to perceived value.
AI Boosts Efficiency for 67% of Australian workers (IT Brief): Survey finds more than 50% office workers using AI save at least 3 hours a day & 49% admit to using free AI tools like ChatGPT.
AI Improves Employee Productivity by 66% (NN Group): Findings of 3 studies on AI use by: Customer Service Agents; HR Professionals; and Programmers found AI improved productivity on average 66%.
Microsoft Says Its AI Copilot Tool Is Already Cutting Costs and Growing Revenue (Inc.): Pepsi has used Microsoft’s AI Copilot to cut opex 6.6% and increase revenue by 8%.
AI at Work 2024: Friend & Foe (BCG): Report shows employees using the 5 hours/week saved by AI to: do more task more tasks (41%), do new tasks (39%) & do strategic tasks (38%).
Lack of AI Training a Problem
A Majority of Workers Want AI Training (WEF): 57% of workers want AI training from their employers.
Companies Fall Behind on AI Training (IT News): 40% of organisations provide no AI training at all.
AI Boosts Small Business Productivity But Employee Training Lags Behind (Business.com): 42% of SMEs are using AI but more than 50% of employees want more AI training.
How to Have a Successful AI Project:
The Root Causes of Failure for AI Projects & How They Can Succeed (Rand): It is estimated 80% of AI projects fail. Here are the 5 key reasons.
5 Best Practices to Successfully Implement GenAI (CIO): Set strategy; Identify & Prioritise use cases; Experiment with purpose; Establish guardrails & Target ROI.
How to Roll Out AI Internally (MIT Sloan): Need to identify & cater to the 5 types of AI users: Maximalists; Undergrounds; Rebels; Superfans; and Observers.
The Four Steps to Building an Effective AI Strategy (Stanford): Define the problem/opportunity; Set the timeline; Create the roadmap; and The Three Pillars (data, algorithms & infrastructure).
Enterprises Face GenAI Scaling Challenges (Deloitte/Technology Magazine): Lists out the 6 barriers to AI value creation. Lack of a governance model for AI is a key one.
SMEs Struggle to Implement AI – Here’s Why (Medium): Small businesses are using AI less than medium/large businesses. Here are the reasons.
2025 Tech Prediction Lists
PWC: 2025 AI Business Predictions – 67% of top-performing companies are realising value from GenAI & this will grow in 2025
Deloitte: 2025 GenAI Predictions – In 2025 30% of smart phones and 50% of laptops will have GenAI capabilities.
Gartner: 2025 Top Strategic Technology Trends – The number 1 trend is “Agentic AI.”
McKinsey: Top 15 Technology Trends – GenAI is the number 1 trend.
Forbes: Top 10 Tech Trends for 2025 – The number 1 trend is “Agentic AI.”
Financial Services & AI
Big Banks Use AI (ABC): Specific examples from ANZ, CBA, NAB & Westpac on how they are using AI to improve productivity & customer experience – especially in home loans and call centres.
CBA Reveals New AI Tool in Australian First (Yahoo!): In Nov 2024, CBA launched a first-of-its-kind GenAI customer service chatbot which has reduced call centre wait times by 40%.
AI Verifies Mortgages “Within Seconds” (Aust): Perpetual uses AI to reduce doc verification from 12 minutes (human) to 1 minute (AI) with 97% accuracy.
Moody’s Launches GenAI Research Assistant (Moodys): Moody’s AI-powered assistant shaves 27% off the time it takes financial analysts to perform their tasks.
OCBC Bank Boost Productivity (Microsoft): Bank’s AI solution has reduced time spent on writing, research & ideation by 50%.
AI Transforming Global Financial Decision-making (Fintech Magazine): 57% of finance leaders globally are relying on AI-generated insights more than other inputs like internal data or external benchmarks.
Insurance & AI
2024 Insurance CEO Outlook (KPMG): 81% of insurance company CEOs consider GenAI as a top priority investment for their organisation.
Accounting/Professional Services & AI
AI to Save Accountants up to 200 Hours in the Next Year (Accounting Times): Survey of 2,200 accountants shows great optimism, inc that 56% of their work will be done using AI.
Finance Functions See Uptick in AI Integration (Accounting Times): Survey finds 72% of companies in Australia and internationally were using AI in some form in their finance operations.
The Future of Consulting in the age of GenAI (EY): AI leads to a 44% time saving in professional writing tasks.
Healthcare & AI
Microsoft’s GenAI Boosts Efficiency at Chi Mei Medical Centre (TechnologyRecord): Doctors’ reports take 25% of the time previously taken. Pharmacists doubled the number of patients they see daily.
19 Major Impacts AI is Having on the Healthcare Industry (Forbes): AI is changing healthcare massively including in relation to: client care; diagnostic accuracy; and reduced admin.
Retail & AI
How To Create An Environment For Successful AI Implementation (Forbes): 69% of retail leaders say AI adoption has increased their annual revenue, and 72% say AI has reduced their operating costs.
Googling is for Old People (MSN): Google’s share of US search advertising will fall below 50% for first time ever. GenAI is the cause of this massive shift & you need to change your website/content strategy now.
Government & AI
Around the Globe, Governments Lean into AI (Atlantic): Numerous examples of governments across the world successfully using AI.
Top Use Cases for AI in Government (Deloitte): Great list of effective use cases for AI in government today and into the future.
Evaluation of Whole-of-Government MS Copilot Trial (Aust Gov): Report into trial of 7,600 Australian government employees using Copilot. Key result is that they saved on average 1 hour/day using it.
Education & AI
39 Examples of AI in Education (Uni of San Diego): 39 great examples of how organisations in the education sector are using AI.
AI Pilot to Help Tackle Teacher Workloads (Govt): $4.7M pilot to use AI to reduce lesson planning time so teachers can do less admin.
Real Estate & AI
Real Estate Braces for the AI Revolution (PCA): Survey shows 40% planning to adopt AI soon as real estate has been lagging other sectors but is now getting active.
Five Examples of AI in Real Estate (Motley Fool): Predictive analytics; 3D modelling; Smart home; Property management; & Mortgages.
Agriculture & AI
How GenAI can Shape the Future of Agriculture (McKinsey): AI adds value in R&D; Marketing; Sales; Agronomy, Sustainability; & Operations.
AI Innovations that are Transforming Agriculture (Forbes): The AI in agriculture market is projected to grow from $1.7 billion in 2023 to $4.7 billion by 2028.