Oracle CEO Mark Hurd: AI shouldn't be a standalone application

At the annual OpenWorld conference in San Francisco, Calif., this week, Oracle is introducing a slew of artificial intelligence-enabled products and capabilities across its portfolio, including an autonomous database and automated cybersecurity system, as well as AI-enhanced SaaS applications.

In his keynote address Monday, Oracle CEO Mark Hurd reiterated the company's philosophy on AI: it shouldn't be a standalone application.

"In the end, what you're really going to see is AI built directly into each of these user cases," he said. For instance, an enterprise would want to build AI directly into their customer retention tools, "as opposed to exporting data to some AI solution."

His remarks followed Oracle founder and CTO Larry Ellison's keynote address, which focused on automation and the revolutionary nature of machine learning.

Hurd also reiterated Oracle's cloud strategy, which he said is to "get the apps right first." The next priority is to "get our platform rewritten and built for the cloud," he said, "then really rebuild our infrastructure strategy... [to] enable customers to be able to shift to the cloud or start in the cloud."

Hurd added, "This movement to cloud, this is an inevitable destination as opposed to an interesting turn."

The company's most recent financial results suggest Oracle is executing its cloud strategy well: In first quarter results posted earlier this month, Oracle topped both earnings and revenue expectations, with its cloud business up 51 percent.

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