Global provider of multicloud technology solutions, Rackspace Technology, has released the findings of its most recent EMEA study, ‘How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are Transforming Research and Education.’ The results show a considerable rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies in academic and research settings, emphasizing their favorable effects on outputs in terms of creativity, productivity, and intelligent applications.
The use of AI and ML in educational and research institutions has surged since the worldwide pandemic’s upheavals. 93% of IT managers in the school sector and 97% of their counterparts in the research sector, respectively, have either already deployed or are intending to integrate AI and ML technologies into their processes, according to the report.
Vice President of EMEA at Rackspace Technology Mahesh Desai showed delight for the developing trend when he said, “Post-pandemic usage of AI and ML by institutions has expanded tremendously. 97% of IT managers in the research industry have already used AI and ML at work or intend to do so. Cloud use has risen as a result of the trend. Today’s research and universities place a growing emphasis on AI and ML, and by using cloud technology, this community will accelerate innovation for its digital transformations.”
The study clarifies the precise means through which AI and ML are used in the fields of research and education. About half of those asked said they used these technologies in the education industry to allow distant learning, conduct remote tests, and transcribe online courses. Furthermore, more than a third of the participants used AI and ML for proctoring and evaluation. Security screening, fraud detection, sentiment analysis, and prediction suggestions were the main uses of AI and ML in the research industry. Additionally, these technologies were essential in strengthening IoT and device management, speeding up defect detection activities, and increasing accuracy in general.
The survey commissioned by Rackspace findings make the influence of AI and ML quite obvious. These technologies have profoundly changed their research procedures, according to almost 78% of IT managers in the research business. Similarly, 74% of IT managers in the education industry stated that AI and ML had a favorable impact on instructional strategies.
Obstacles to Integrating AI and ML
“AI and ML are increasingly important for research and universities today, and by adopting cloud technology, the research and education community will increase their pace of innovation for their digital transformations,” said Mahesh Desai, Vice President of EMEA.
The many advantages provided by AI and ML technologies were universally acknowledged by the survey’s responders. In the research industry, 100% of IT managers said that AI and ML had a beneficial influence on their companies or had the capacity to do so. The main benefits were specifically noted as increasing research speed and scalability and boosting research accuracy via mistake reduction. In the field of education, half of the respondents pointed out that ML and AI may boost the quality of instructional materials and methods while also giving students equitable opportunity via online learning and resource management. The potential time and resource savings offered by AI and ML technologies were also recognized by the faculty.
Despite the obvious benefits, the study discovered certain obstacles to integrating AI and ML. The most frequent challenge for IT managers in the school sector was a lack of funding, which was followed by a lack of resources and a perceived lack of use cases. The responders from the research sector agreed that more funding was needed and emphasized the significance of gaining the skills and expertise required to fully use AI and ML technologies.
As the AWS contract partner in 39 nations under the OCRE framework, Rackspace Technology claims is to be a unique position to assist the research and educational sectors with their cloud projects. Utilizing AI, ML, high-throughput computing (HTC), and high-performance computing (HPC), Rackspace Technology helps colleges and research institutes speed up the delivery of their public cloud projects via their partnership with AWS. Rackspace Technology has more than 1,800+ AWS cloud certifications and 5,000+ cloud certifications.
The survey was conducted by Censuswide in December 2022. On interviews with more than 400 IT managers, executives, and staff members at educational and research organizations in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, the survey's findings were derived.
