The AI Value Chain

Artificial intelligence has found its way into stock trading and has helped streamline the processes while also helping investors and traders deal with huge amounts of data. In fact, Traditional AI is now making way for Generative AI to give a further edge to those who need to choose, buy and sell stocks at a much faster rate. Vaishnavi Chauhan takes a deeper look at how AI works as an evolutionary technology

- Vaishnavi Chauhan

The other day, I found myself chatting with my nephew, and somehow our conversation veered to a topic related to the mid-19th century. In 1848, when gold was found at Sutter’s Mill, a lot of people rushed west hoping to strike it rich. They thought they would find gold easily and become wealthy quickly. But mining for gold was tough work and often didn’t pay off much. Instead of searching for gold themselves, some smart people realised they could make money by selling the deal to the miners. They opened stores where miners could buy tools like picks and shovels, or places like saloons where they could relax after a hard day’s work.

This strategy, known as the ‘pick and shovel strategy’, worked really well. Miners needed good tools to find gold, along with other things like food and a place to rest. By providing these things, these smart entrepreneurs were able to build successful businesses. Just like what happened in the 19th century, we can see a similar trend in today’s business world. Instead of gold mines, we have companies in different fields, and instead of miners’ tools, we have AI. That’s right, artificial intelligence!

AI is like the modern-day tool that helps companies do their work more efficiently. Just like miners needed picks and shovels to find gold, companies today need AI to help them with tasks like analysing data, making predictions and automating processes. So, just as entrepreneurs in the past found success by providing tools to miners, businesses today can succeed by using AI to improve their operations and stay competitive in their industries. When we talk about AI, we usually divide it into two main types: Traditional AI and Generative AI.