Using AI in Your Organization: Proceed with Caution
There’s an old argument between parents and children that goes something like this: the child wants to do some new activity or buy a new item, and the parent says, “No.”
Child: “But everybody’s doing it!”
Parent: “If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?”
This is a classic example of the use of hyperbole to prove a point. Though it’s a favorite tool of parents, it applies to many circumstances – including jumping on technology trends in the business world.
Artificial intelligence is a huge trend right now, as it deserves to be. AI holds massive potential to transform business, medicine, law enforcement, finance, transportation and almost every other sector of society. However, AI is not a magic pill that will solve all problems, and business decision makers need to be wise when approaching this technology.
AI capabilities, especially when combined with automation, can bring significant benefits to the organization. But decision makers need to clearly identify what business pain points need to be addressed and then do their due diligence to make sure that AI is able to address those points. This will help organizations avoid the “Everybody’s doing it” mindset and make choices that will work best for their specific needs.
One critical step to take is to learn what AI actually is and does so you can avoid marketing hype. A recent article in Financial Times revealed that a significant percentage of companies claiming to use AI capabilities in their product and service offerings do not, in fact, have any AI at all.
That’s why you need to have in-depth discussions with current and potential software vendors to better understand how they use AI in the tools and services they provide to you.
To help you navigate the route to effectively using AI in your organization, our CPO, Dr. Akhil Sahai has written a new piece for IT Toolbox that lays out five key points to consider. You’ll find it here: A Pragmatic Approach to Starting Your AI Journey
