AI as the Key Competitive Advantage: Lessons from Tesla and a Roadmap for Bangladesh

September 4, 2023 by Tashfin Delwar

Introduction

Elon Musk recently tested a new self-driving feature for Tesla cars in a live stream on YouTube. In the live stream, Musk showed the car driving through a variety of different scenarios, including navigating through traffic lights, making turns, and changing lanes. The car seemed to handle the challenges well, but Musk did intervene a few times to correct the car's course.

Self driving feature is not new. So whats so special about it?

It uses a combination of cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors to create a 360-degree view of the car's surroundings.
It can learn from its own experiences and improve over time.
It is constantly being updated with new software that makes it better and safer.
The Full Self-Driving Beta feature does not currently need internet access to learn. However, it does need internet access to download updates and to communicate with Tesla's servers.

In the future, people may choose to buy a Tesla car not just because it's electric or has a good battery, but because it can drive itself. While other car makers can try to make better batteries, it's hard for them to beat Tesla at making self-driving cars.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a fringe technology but a key differentiator in today’s competitive markets. Companies like Tesla are investing heavily in AI to outperform rivals and reshape entire industries. Tesla's recent launch of a $300 million AI computing cluster is geared toward accelerating the development of self-driving technology, a sector that Elon Musk believes will be a massive value addition to Tesla.

As AI continues to evolve, it is crucial for businesses in emerging economies like Bangladesh to understand the significance of early adoption. The focus of this article is to explore how AI can be the key competitive advantage and provide a practical guide for Bangladeshi companies to adopt AI, even with limited resources.

Tesla’s AI Investment: An Example to Follow

Tesla's investment in AI goes beyond self-driving cars. By building a supercomputer that employs 10,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, Tesla aims to make its cars smarter, safer, and more autonomous. This aligns with Elon Musk's vision to turn every Tesla into a ‘robotaxi’, capable of generating additional revenue for car owners and the company. The idea is not just to make driving safer but also to create a whole new business model that leverages AI technology.

In terms of financial investment, Tesla plans to spend over $2 billion on AI training in 2023 alone. This demonstrates a commitment to making AI a cornerstone of their business strategy. As AI continues to evolve, companies that fail to invest in this technology risk falling behind in innovation, efficiency, and profitability.

AI as a Competitive Advantage in Bangladesh

While the scale of investment may differ, the principles of leveraging AI can be equally effective for companies in Bangladesh. Here are some ways AI can offer competitive advantages:

Decision Making & Operations: AI can help automate decision making as well as routine tasks in sectors like manufacturing, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
For example in Garments industry if you train a model with historic data, it can predict and plan for you for next orders. It can help merchandisers to do their job quickly and efficiently since Large language models can now understand human languages. Trained robots can do repetitive job, although its a big risk for semi-skilled workers for Bangladesh. If the robot training part can be done in Bangladesh, it will open new opportunities.
Marketing & Promotion: Any service based company in Bangladesh can leverage AI for marketing and promotion purpose. From marketing plan, image generation, content creation, website building to social media planning and contents to even logo design, AI can help this for you. Many freelancers in Bangladesh are already losing their jobs because of AI.
Accounting and Data Analytics: Businesses can use AI to analyze consumer behavior, optimize supply chains, and make data-driven decisions. Now you can feed data into LLM models and they can provide analysis and graphs for you.
Customer Service: Chatbots and AI-driven customer service can improve customer experiences, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty. Now you can make your own chatbots that can talk on behalf of your website or pdf files.

There are many other applications of AI that Bangladeshi businesses leverage. I will explain more in my other articles with examples and how to.

How to Adopt AI in Bangladesh with Limited Resources

Start Small: Companies do not need to build supercomputers to start with AI. Simple AI applications can offer significant gains. Use ChatGPT, bard or Microsoft copilot.
Leverage Cloud Services: Cloud-based AI services from providers like Google, AWS, and Microsoft offer pay-as-you-go models that make AI accessible even to small businesses. This is the next step where you can self host own open source language models, for example LLAMA 2 by meta and train it for your need.
Collaborate: Form partnerships with companies who are working with AI in Bangladesh. Discuss with them how you can solve your business problem. You can even partner with universities for expertise and data.
Focus on Core Needs: Identify the areas where AI can make the most impact for you and start there. You can simply ask ChatGPT or Bard how you can leverage AI for your specific need.
Upskill Employees: Invest in training programs to help your workforce adapt to new technologies like AI.

Conclusion

The example of Tesla shows that AI investment can be a game-changing strategy for companies looking for a competitive edge. While the scales may differ, the underlying principle remains the same: AI can offer significant advantages in efficiency, innovation, and profitability.

For companies in Bangladesh, the time to act is now. With the right strategy and investment, even businesses with limited resources can leverage AI to compete on a global stage. The key is to start small, focus on core needs, and gradually expand as you see the benefits. By doing so, Bangladesh can not only catch up with global trends but also become a leader in the AI-driven future.

Questions/Comments? tashfin@kotha.app , @tashfind at X