Many folks think the artificial intelligence is something we’ll see in the future. That’s true. AI will be employed in a broader variety of more sophisticated applications in the future. But, at ITEXPO last week, IBM’s Jeff Eckard emphasized we don’t have to wait for AI’s arrival. AI is available and in use today, said IBM’s vice president of cloud data solutions.

During his ITEXPO keynote, Eckard explained that AI has progressed from proof of concepts to pilots. IBM now has hundreds of clients using its AI technology, he said. And he highlighted a few of them.

For example, KONE is using the Watson IoT platform to provide predictive maintenance on elevators, Eckard noted. They have defined heuristics on the Watson tool. That way, when technicians arrive to work on elevators, they bring the right tools. The system also enables KONE to collect, aggregate, and analyze elevator performance data over time to improve the availability and safety of these assets, and to enable innovation, Eckard added.

BlocPower is another company employing IBM Watson technology. This customer rehabs New York City buildings to make them more energy efficient, Eckard explained. That way owners and tenants can save money on heating and cooling.

In this case, IBM Data Science Experience allows it to aggregate data to determine factors impacting the energy efficiency of buildings. BlocPower’s engineering team also uses a mobile app to collect information during interviews they do around the city. And that feeds the collected data into the database BlocPower database.

Eckard rounded out his presentation by discussing how health care company Blueprint Genetics is using Watson. This gene sequencing company works with 200 hospitals and health providers around world.

This customer uses Watson Explorer, a content analysis system. It pulls information from gene sequencing efforts and various sources, including medical journal, to allow for faster diagnoses.