Salesforce, the CRM and cloud software giant, is ambitiously venturing towards the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for business, according to CEO Marc Benioff. From the revelation of the Einstein Copilot to the ambitious aim of achieving an 'AI nirvana', Salesforce is pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities in the corporate world.
Salesforce's journey towards AGI
Salesforce, renowned for its CRM and cloud software solutions, is venturing into new territory—Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for businesses. At the company's Dreamforce conference, CEO Marc Benioff revealed the development of Einstein Copilot, a revolutionary tool designed to empower businesses globally to build their own AI-infused applications without needing any coding expertise. This push towards AGI signals Salesforce’s foresight and commitment to the AI revolution in the business world.
During his keynote, Benioff detailed his vision for enterprise AI, categorizing it into four waves. The first wave, predictive AI, leverages data to predict future outcomes. The second wave, generative AI, goes a step further by creating new data or models based on inputs. The third wave incorporates autonomous agents—intelligent AI-driven processes capable of performing tasks, making decisions, and acquiring new skills. The fourth and most ambitious wave is AGI, which aims to achieve human-level or superior cognitive abilities.
Salesforce's current AI capabilities
Salesforce's AI capabilities are already substantial, with its AI engine, Einstein, currently handling over a trillion predictions on a weekly basis. Moreover, the company has successfully built more than 10 Large Language Models (LLMs), powering some of the most sophisticated AI engines in operation today, such as ChatGPT. These achievements demonstrate Salesforce's commitment to leading the AI revolution.
The 'AI nirvana' and hyperautomation
Benioff's ultimate goal is to reach 'AI nirvana', a state where businesses fully harness the power of AI to streamline their operations, expedite decision-making processes, and provide seamless customer service. In this envisioned future, 'hyperautomation' takes over mundane tasks—AI systems will auto-generate websites, formulate product descriptions, design landing pages for marketing campaigns, and much more, thereby revolutionizing businesses' operational efficiencies.
Salesforce is acutely aware of the existing 'trust gap' in the AI industry and is determined to build AI responsibly. To this end, Salesforce has instituted as many as six ethical AI councils to ensure ethical considerations are central to all its AI developments. The company's key ethical AI tenets revolve around human rights protection, advancing responsible AI globally, and fostering transparency to build trust—indicating Salesforce's commitment to the ethical use of AI.
