The Future Unicorns Must Offer Much More Than AI Solutions

The global leadership agenda is discussing the new era of AI. If one thing is clear, our great challenge as humanity today is not about technology or speed. Instead, it pushes us to the edge of rethinking business, KPIs, and OKRs. It is time for business people and entrepreneurs to take a step back, pause to reflect, unlearn, and re-define the meaning of progress.

Let's consider the following. Can we move forward with old concepts if AI has started a new paradigm? This sums up our conversations at “AI Talks” in Buenos Aires, an event organized by Kalei Ventures and AWS, which brought together entrepreneurs from different industries who are scaling their projects to one day become a unicorn. As one of the speakers, here are the main ideas I shared:

#1 Slow down and learn from the disruptors. Be attentive to the new ideas emerging worldwide from thought leaders vital to shifting the mindset to the AI paradigm. They pave the way, highlighting problems, solutions, and strategies to prove that we are in a new paradigm, creating new products and services unlike before, and inviting us to change habits, beliefs, and concepts to think and act from this new vision.

The first inspiration comes from Alex Sandy Pentland. He is an American computer scientist, entrepreneur, and professor. Forbes declared him among the "7 most powerful data scientists in the world." He is a member of the United Nations, OECD, Google, AT&T, and the World Economic Forum advisory board. He created the first facial recognition system, created the MIT Media Lab, and contributed to the design of the first self-driving cars. In his latest book, "Building the New Economy: Data as Capital," Pentland developed the Sustainable Digital Ecology Theory, which, in broad terms, states that: "The big problem of the economic model based on data is that the user, who is the generator of the data, does not capitalize on the transaction of his data on the platforms. The solution must include the end user, who is the true owner of the data in the business model. This will lead to a fairer and more democratic transactional model". In simpler terms, Pentland's main point is “that the new capital is data, and users should be able to benefit from it.” In the words of Thomas Piketty,?

“It should not remain in "few hands."

A concrete example of why we need to evolve our vision of the economic model is what happened in December 2023—the New York Times sued OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, and Microsoft, its commercial ally, alleging that these companies illegally used millions of articles from the media to train ChatGPT and other information services that now compete with the newspaper's original content. This lawsuit joins many other objections from writers, journalists, actors, and content creators who publish their work online and fear that generative AI will leverage their output to compete against them.

The second role model is Michael Sandel. He is a professor of political philosophy at Harvard who explores the most controversial moral and political issues. For example, his TED talk explores "Why we should not trust our civic life to markets." It touches on how we are transforming from a society with a market economy to a market society, where absolutely everything, including personal life, work, entertainment, health, and education, is for sale. The question that Sandel asks us is:?

Do we want a society where everything is for sale, or are there certain moral and civic goods that markets do not honor and that money cannot buy?

The third thought leader is Michael Porter. He is also a Harvard Business School professor, heads the Institute on Strategy and Competitiveness, and founded numerous non-profit organizations. Fortune magazine says he is "the most famous and influential business professor who ever lived." I particularly resonate with his views on the role of entrepreneurs.?

"Porter believes that businessmen should be agents of change, investigating the most challenging problems of society at a global level."?

For example, issues like the climate crisis and the need for sustainable solutions. Why does Porter suggest that this should not only be the territory of NGOs or governments? Precisely because companies make a profit when they solve a problem, which allows the solution to grow exponentially.

#2 Slow down to ask the right questions. The passion for innovation, disruption, and the search for differentiation often allows us to find multiple projects in the market that possibly started without asking basic questions about their future sustainability. I want to share five essential questions to evaluate the impact of an upcoming project here: https://aileagueforgood.ai/ . Consider:

1/ Evaluating Impact and Risks

Understanding the potential impact of failures and the associated risks is crucial in developing AI projects. Considering the implications of technological advancements on society and the environment can help mitigate negative consequences.

Are we clear about the potential impact of failures with our developments?

2/ How familiar are you with regulations in different jurisdictions??

Researchers predict that by 2026, up to 90% of online content could be synthetically generated. With this future in mind, technologies like Worldcoin are emerging to identify humans from machines while preserving privacy. Around this development, there is no concrete regulatory framework; it is necessary to build it, and for that, it is essential to know and understand the regulations of both local and international AI.

3/ Who is responsible? For example, are we clear about who should respond to irregularities in the New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft?

4/ Ensuring Fairness and Inclusivity

Addressing biases and ensuring that AI solutions benefit everyone equally is paramount. Developers can create more ethical and effective AI systems by actively working to eliminate biases and promote inclusivity.

Are we leaving behind biases in our development?

5/ Is it the most energy-efficient solution? Given the significant energy consumption of AI systems, prioritizing energy efficiency is essential. Developing sustainable AI solutions that minimize environmental impact can help mitigate the growing energy demands of AI technologies. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, noted during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that future generations of generative AI systems will require considerably more energy than anticipated, which could overwhelm the capacity of existing energy systems. For example, ChatGPT is estimated to consume the energy equivalent of 33,000 U.S. homes. A generative AI-driven search is estimated to use four to five times more energy than a conventional web search, and large AI systems could soon require as much energy as entire nations.

The artificial intelligence industry is going through a critical time in terms of its energy consumption and water use.

All in all, embracing change and asking essential questions are vital in navigating the AI era. Businesses can harness the power of AI responsibly by learning from thought leaders, evaluating impact, addressing biases, and prioritizing energy efficiency.?

Are you ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities of the AI revolution?