Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a driving force across industries, and the insights from this week’s SAS Explore event in Las Vegas are illuminating a fascinating journey of innovation, ethics and responsible AI integration.

Over the past 25 years, SAS Institute Inc. has been actively implementing neural networks in practical applications with its customers. As the broader market increasingly recognizes the potential of AI, the company’s focus has shifted toward enhancing productivity and efficiency.

“The cloud computing paradigm is what has enabled us to ultimately achieve these new outcomes, no question,” said Bryan Harris (pictured, right), executive vice president and chief technology officer of SAS. “Cloud compute has been a big part of that … whoever unlocks value fast enough to make the best decision the fastest is going to win.”

Harris and Reggie Townsend (left), vice president for data ethics at SAS, spoke with theCUBE industry analysts John Furrier and Dave Vellante at SAS Explore, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed SAS’ role in the development of AI and the pivotal concept of the AI lifecycle that sets it apart in a world where AI has become more than just a buzzword. (* Disclosure below.)

SAS’ journey in AI

While the global community has more recently awakened to the vast possibilities of AI, SAS has been diligently and quietly advancing the frontier of AI integration.

SAS follows the concept of the “AI lifecycle.” This approach underscores the idea that AI is not just a shiny new toy, but a long-term strategy that spans productivity, performance and trust, according to Townsend.

“First thing is, start with a set of principles. We are going to see some regulatory activity throughout the world,” he said. “We’re focused on making sure that we’ve got risk controls in place … and make sure that all of our people within the company are able to be fluent on matters associated with trustworthy AI.”

The path forward in AI

SAS’ focus on productivity, performance, trust and responsible innovation sets a benchmark for the industry. As AI continues to shape the enterprise world, the insights provided by SAS provide valuable guidance on navigating the evolving AI landscape.

One example is the AppFactory, just introduced by SAS, which is poised to expand the total addressable market significantly. It aims to provide a repository of reliable data apps, making it easier for developers to build models. Furthermore, SAS is developing tools such as the model card to assess and govern the health of models over time, addressing concerns related to model degradation and unpredictability, according to Townsend.

“I want to make sure that as we are building out AppFactory, that it’s full of apps that folks can rely on,” he said. “I want to make sure that we’re building out an application factory that is full of trustworthy applications that developers can feel confident that they can go and grab and utilize with full confidence.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of SAS Explore:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the SAS Explore event. Neither SAS Institute Inc., the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE