AI Doesn't Fail, Implementation Plans Do

As we begin a new year the AI stories and news headlines reveal a needed collective message of transition in thinking and practice.

AI represents transformative power that cuts across all segments of business and industries. The power of AI is transformative, to say the least. Jumping into AI without the right thinking and support systems is akin to giving a young teenager the keys to a new Ferrari and saying, “Have fun”.

Modern AI has a high IQ but low EQ, says Dr. Jerry A. Smith, vice president of data sciences, machine learning, and AI at Cognizant. True intelligence requires both. “If you get data and use AI to analyze it and learn from it without emotion and do it at scale, you’re basically turning a psychopath loose in [the] system.”

Execs often want AI to save them, Smith adds. “But in the end, if they don’t set up the right framework and strategy, it actually harms them.” To see an example of a good framework to discover the right AI strategy, follow this link .

AI is a Transformative Agent of Change

Consider the following: Robert Half recently explored both the fears and benefits swirling around our increasingly AI-fueled workplaces with its Future of Work: Jobs and AI Anxiety report. “[AI is] dramatically transforming the skills and experience needed by employers today. What we’re seeing now as far as the effect of AI on the workplace is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Jim Johnson, senior vice president of Robert Half Technology. “AI is paving the way for tremendous opportunities, both for companies and employees. However, change is disruptive, and some workers are wondering where they’ll stand in the workplace of the future.”

A study by MIT Sloan found that 58% of all organizations foresee modifications to their business models due to AI within five years. The focus of AI adoption in 2021 will not be simply to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of operations. There has been a visible shift towards leveraging AI to improve stakeholder experience owing to the pandemic.

According to McKinsey’s State of AI survey published in November 2020, half of the respondents say their organizations have adopted AI in at least one function. The focus of AI adoption in 2021 will not be simply to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of operations. There has been a visible shift towards leveraging AI to improve stakeholder experience owing to the pandemic

AI talent will remain tight: Talent supply is expected to be a key issue accompanying the accelerated adoption of AI going into 2021. “Enterprises have started realizing the importance of democratizing AI to address this persistent AI talent gap,”

AI Is Systemic

Artificial intelligence (AI) has officially entered the enterprise, quickly evolving from a pipe dream to reality. Indeed, the majority of organizations (85 percent) are either adopting or evaluating AI, according to a recent O’Reilly survey, with more than half using AI in production or for analysis.

 “Whether it’s controlling for common risk factors – bias in model development, missing or poorly conditioned data, the tendency of models to degrade in production – or instantiating formal processes to promote data governance, adopters will have their work cut out for them as they work to establish reliable AI production lines.”

AI does not fit neatly into the same processes and approaches that the IT organization has used in the past. The best practices and common-sense approaches that apply to evaluating, testing, implementing, and scaling non-learning systems may not always translate. In many cases, they may backfire.

The competitive intensity surrounding the technology suggests that a wait-and-see strategy could be a costly mistake. To get a share of the global profit pool of $1 trillion that AI will produce by 2030, the McKinsey Global Institute says companies should begin adopting it at scale with a clear path to victory.

For further insight on this matter read "Why AI Underperforms and What Companies Can Do About It"