Artificial intelligence is transforming our world of audiovisual, but if we raise our eyes to the horizon instead of the workbench, we’ll see AI will transform the world around us as well. And those changes may be more significant.

Let’s call this next stage in AI adoption the AI Rainbow.

From content creation to editing and personalization, AI is reshaping the ProAV industry landscape. Much of the news and hype on generative AI focuses only on its ability to generate text, images and sounds, or even its ability to create code, automate actions and facilitate pulling in external and internal data. Much of the press also only features a handful of AI providers, the big companies and a couple specialists that are the first-movers.

As AI technology continues to evolve faster than the spring caterpillar into the butterfly, integrators must of course adapt to these new tools to stay ahead of the curve.

Yet working with our heads down (focused on the specific), we’re missing the bigger picture: the top-down view.

Here’s what you need to know so you don’t win the battle and lose the war.

First, there is no “AI.”

There will be a thousand flavors of AI, each one tapered more and more to specific needs of users. Everywhere you look you will see AI — but not the same AI.

AI will fracture quickly into different spectrums (all based on the large language models) that serve not only almost every industry but also each significant job title within every industry. Generic AI may work for the public, but business AI will be a huge rainbow of multi-colored solutions.

The drone industry will have a different AI than the automotive industry. A brewery will use a different flavor of AI than a milk production plant. Inside these industries, the accounting department will not have the same AI as the customer service manager or the warehouse manager or the marketing manager.

Why? Because AI, in order to compete, will need to be trained to be more and more expert specific in order to generate the most expert advice and therefore the highest subscription price.

You have to imagine venture capital and Big Money are all seeking a way into the lucrative AI business. Each one is thinking, “Someone already makes a version of AI to help the hotel booking manager, so we’ll make a flavor to help the general manager inside the hotel administration.”

It’s no exaggeration to say that hundreds of AI companies are being started now across the world in the gold rush of 2024.

Second, AI will change the nature of consultative businesses.

At first, we will all become AI consultants, explaining and selling AI or AI-embedded products to our customers. Then, soon, AI will become its own consultant.

Integrators often get business because of their experience in a vertical market — sometimes they know more about the business result of an installation than the procurer. We often think that our advice is unique and irreplaceable. And it was — before AI.

The rainbow bridge of AI will bring automatic experience and relevant advice to all business decisions. AI will be even better than the internet that brings anyone and everyone an encyclopedic knowledge of everything because AI will be all about accuracy not quantity.

Maybe business advice will come down to “Our AI vs. Yours.” Whatever happens, you can be sure AI will be the new authority answering the questions.

Thirdly, the PCs we use will radically change.

We work with IT tools, and we work mostly in an IT environment. The AI rainbow will change the computer paradigm, and subsequently the networking environment.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia (and superstar of the computing industry) told a recent audience: all current PCs are obsolete.

All the big makers of personal computers realize this and are scrambling to launch “AI PCs.” Al PCs won’t look different than the one now sitting on your desk. But on the inside, they’ll have a system-on-a-chip that includes three important elements: a more powerful CPU (computer processing unit), GPU (graphics processing unit) and now NPU (neural processing unit).

Neural processing is a way of processing very large data sets efficiently. And the NPU will pick up most of the Al-specific computing requirements.

While the new age of AI PCs has already started in 2024, the AI PCs launching now are like Model T Fords compared to the race cars you will find in by 2025.

Fourth, the IT and IP networks we use will be changing.

While your computing tools will be changing, AI will transform the IT networks we work within. Think about every network on steroids.

By leveraging AI and machine learning, network managers can offload routine, low-level tasks. This includes AV tasks.

Through machine learning, the network itself will learn to work more efficiently. By analyzing network patterns and detecting abnormalities, AI can optimize traffic, perform automatic troubleshooting and engage self-healing capabilities. This has implications for AV traffic that we can only imagine. But bear in mind that AI is a tool, so you only get out what you put in. If the AI is built by the “data-first” IT department, then AV needs may be plowed under, which will only exacerbate the AV-IT conflicts of today.

And with the proliferation of IoT devices connecting to networks, AI’s intelligence and capabilities will match this complexity, providing advanced tools to manage and secure these intricate networks. That may spell out more opportunities to provide specialized services.

Working under the AI Rainbow

You can be sure this rainbow won’t offer a new pot of gold to anyone but the most successful AI providers. Yet if we are not careful and if we are not closely watching the external developments, the downpour of AI solutions could deprive us of the pot of gold we already have.

Embrace the future; buy an AI PC. Use the different flavors of AI in your business and in different departments as much as you can. If you are serving vertical markets, know more than your clients about the AI options which will soon rain down on each industry. Follow the rainbow.

After all, every rainbow holds the promise of sunshine after the rain.