Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its world-changing revolutionary applications are all the rage in today’s world. It is made use of in each and every sector of the society in companies ranging from technology to commerce and banking to even medicine and other consumer products. The 21st century is all about the amalgamation of machines with computers and their advancements to provide them the ability to think like humans. The possibilities are limitless as are its applications, many of which are widespread in the world we live in. AI-enabled chatbots are very popular applications of AI that are taking the place of customer care executives and provide quick response to any queries. Other popular applications include AI enabled games that make the gaming experience more interactive.
All this and much more goes in to reinvent our world and make our lives better and easier.
Since the demand for artificial intelligence has skyrocketed in recent times as companies rush in to utilize the promising technology, it is only natural to wonder how much does it cost to invest in and get the best out of artificial intelligence technology.
THE BASICS:
Since Artificial Intelligence is such a hit due to its success with big banners like Google, Apple, and the likes, many other companies are not shying away from spending a premium on the cutting-edge technologies that enable Artificial Intelligence to be a reality. Not only does it automate a plethora of processes spread across a variety of industries, but also paves for accelerating the ones not completely dependent on machinery. Artificial Intelligence is like a second brain at work. What’s more? Artificial Intelligence is now mobile! You can use it simply and effectively on your mobile phones. But here is how much artificial intelligence costs, in phases.
PHASE 1 – FOUNDATION OF ANALYSIS AND OBJECTIVES:
The first phase in knowing how much the costs of the project that is to be undertaken for any artificial intelligence program is to discover the scope of what is possible and what the particular business wishes to achieve with the technology. Cost estimates greatly depend on the work being done to develop a particular product or service by a company.
Delving into the company or customer’s preferences and business processes, data metrics, as well as assets, give a kickstart to the whole project.
Then the team allocated for the project determines if the success of the work is possible with the given factors of budget, timeline and technological sources available. This paves way for documentation and if the AI concept is possible, steps are undertaken to initiate the planning of a prototype. Keep in mind however, that cost of developing artificial intelligence cannot be easily evaluated until and unless a company discusses its vision and future with the team of developers and they test for its viability. Once that phase is cleared, estimates are given at each and every stage. The bigger the project, more will be its cost.
PHASE 2 – PROTOTYPE PLANNING AND BACKEND DEVELOPMENT:
The next step in knowing how much artificial intelligence costs includes working on and improving on a prototype model.
Depending on the budget, project complexity, and availability of resources, a prototype can be either drawing or text-based mock, or even a sophisticated, fully coded one.
For example, while developing an Artificial Intelligence enabled chatbot, the work starts with coding out the starting setup. It requires a few tools like Node.js or Microsoft’s bot framework.
The consequent processes add brand specific integrations and understanding of the chatbot system. Conversational intelligence is the core of all chatbots and takes up quite a while and efforts to accomplish. This is followed by the control panel and viola! you have a prototype chatbot. It takes anywhere around 550-600 hours on an average to build a simple chatbot prototype.
This model is the lab rat that is used to run all tests and processes in order to ensure that the final product comes out to be smooth and perfect. A prototype is that business model which cements the chances and proof of concept. Prototypes are a great idea to check design choices and programming. They are comparatively cheaper to create and make changes to, as compared to the final product. Changes to be made on a prototype can be done with great flexibility as the risks involved are zero to minimal.
Providers of Artificial Intelligence and their teams always maintain this phase to be as budget friendly as possible and an average prototype costs between $25,000 to $30,000.
PHASE 3 – WORKING ON AN MVP:
MVP, or a Minimum Viable Product, is the pre-production post prototype model, which is essentially the real product itself and is developed as a result of the findings made through the prototype. Since the minimum viable product is a pre-final production model, it is available to only a select few knowledgeable customers who are the ones to test it in real time. Their feedback and real-time use have huge importance in shaping the final product that is to be ultimately rolled out in the market. The client’s actual data is entered in the Minimum Viable Product which makes it more reliable. Although changes made at this stage to the MVP model would cost more than they would in a prototype, these are an unavoidable necessity. However, modifications at this stage would still cost much less expensive than when it is fully developed. Again, a precise cost for the making and completion of a Minimum Viable Product is not possible as it varies with the project size and complexity of its nature, but can be estimated at anywhere between $35,000 to $100,000.
PHASE 4 – PRODUCT RELEASE:
The product is finally launched in the market after making the necessary changes if any, to the Minimum Viable Product and installing a set of predefined features in it. Since care is taken to minimize risks and failures in earlier stages, the end product is produced with great caution. The final costs are usually estimated in previous stages of production.
OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT AFFECT COSTS:
Other than the project itself, there are some important factors that play a major role in determining the overall cost.
ALGORITHMS:
Algorithms are the core of building any program. The algorithms generated for the AI project to be undertaken should be cost-effective while being of good quality at the same time which is difficult to achieve as higher the quality, higher is the cost of tuning sessions for the algorithm.
However, it is a matter of perception and nature of business as well as an application when it comes to quality and perfection of the algorithms. A gaming AI would require less accuracy than say, a lie detecting program based on AI.
DATA PROCESSING:
Data is king when it comes to AI programming. Coding and data processes go hand in hand to make a program successful.
The data required is in huge quantities while being of top quality at the same time. It needs to be easy to work with and manipulate as per requirement. Well-organized data sets that are well stored and structured are always appreciated.
WRAP UP:
Keeping in mind the current trend and hourly costs of AI consultants and software developers, the current wage is approximately $40-$150/ hour exclusive of onsite gigs and varying with individuals as per experience and popularity. So, an organization or client wishing to get the consultants or software developers onsite would require to shell out extra for that. While typically, the work gets completed in the stipulated time, one should keep a fair scope for accounting slippage as well.
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