Balancing risk and reward of AI in a connected world

The high-profile IT outage this week serves as a stark reminder of how connected we are as a technology ecosystem, and how concentrated the risks really are. It also highlights how dependent we have become of our digital infrastructure. It wasn't that long ago that some were predicting the extinction of cash as everything becomes digital. But as we have learned (again), that while we may be using less cash, we won't be cashless.

After all, it's always good to have a fallback strategy.

“It’s up to individual businesses, but we think it’s good to give people a choice. Most businesses still do offer cash.” —?UK Finance

Oh, and while we are at it, it's probably a good idea to revisit your disaster recovery plan. If the past teaches us anything, this won't be the last outage that we'd experience.

Speaking of platforms and connectivity, have you read the latest analysis from Goldman Sachs on AI —?with the heading: "Gen AI: Too much spend, too little benefit?"

It was only a little over a year ago when the Wall Street firm wrote that breakthroughs in generative AI could ‘drive a 7% (or almost $7 trillion) increase in global GDP and lift productivity growth by 1.5 percentage points over a 10-year period.'

As recent as May this year, the firm predicted that generative AI is expected to start having a measurable impact on US GDP in 2027 and begin affecting growth in other economies around the world in the years that follow.

However, as adoption remains somewhat muted, some may wonder, is it time to revisit the outlook?

"AI’s potential productivity impacts do not matter if the enabling economic and legal environment cannot be put in place to take advantage of it — the AI transition relies on more than just the AI innovators," wrote Tej Parikh for the Financial Times.

Building out the AI infrastructure is costly; it is inevitably a journey that can be undertaken only by those with resources. But using AI to replace the lower-age tasks is akin to using a Lamborghini to deliver pizza — an analogy that I learned from a Wall Street Journal article a while back that stuck with me.

So what trillion-dollar problem will AI be able to solve to make the investment worthwhile? And will our society be ready to adapt — given the resource-intensive operations, the regulatory environment, and the talent gap?

Only time will tell.

What else I am reading ...

"AI companies are generally secretive about their sources of training data, but an investigation by Proof News found some of the wealthiest AI companies in the world have used material from thousands of YouTube videos to train AI."

Honestly, I can't say I am surprised, and impacts all of us who write and create content. And beyond the lack of consent (and recourse), the challenge is that once the data is learned, it cannot be "unlearned" by the AI.

Meanwhile ... on the opposite spectrum of (lack of) regulations:

"Meta says it won’t be launching its upcoming multimodal AI model — capable of handling video, audio, images, and text — in the European Union, citing regulatory concerns. The decision will prevent European companies from using the multimodal model, despite it being released under an open license."

This follows a similar move by Apple, which recently said it would likely exclude the EU from its Apple Intelligence rollout due to concerns surrounding the Digital Markets Act .

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Sometimes the most useful things are unassuming and not new. They weave themselves into the fabric of our daily routines to the point we barely notice them. But success never happens overnight – rather, it is always built on top of prior innovations and lessons learned.

Reflecting on technology past, present, and future, I wrote about the unassuming technology that powers our day-to-day lives in this month's op-ed for FinTech Futures .

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As the technology continues to evolve, understanding its ethical implications is crucial. In this webinar, we will explore the intersection of AI and ethics in B2B influencer marketing, discuss how to leverage AI technologies responsibly while enhancing business efficiency and customer experience.

Join Ashley Zeckman , Christopher Penn , and myself as we discuss the best practices for integrating AI into your influencer marketing strategy. Learn how to navigate the ethical challenges and harness AI's potential to drive impactful and responsible marketing campaigns in 2024.

Register here ? https://bit.ly/4d0zMpS

More details ? https://lnkd.in/eSWhFpQ5

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This week on One Vision podcast ...

Just as the pandemic has accelerated the acceptance of digital payments in retail for consumers, it has sped up similar changes in the financial operations of organizations, enabling improved compliance and spending controls while reducing complexities.

In this episode of One Vision, Theo chats with Chris Juneau , SVP, Head of SAP Concur Product Marketing, on the future of payments and expense reporting, powered by AI and mobile connectivity. We cannot create more time, but we can streamline processes so that we can spend more time focusing on what matters —?at moments that matter.?

And don't miss my latest blog where I wrote about reimagining the expense management process with the help of AI.

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