How AI and Blockchain can level the playing field for business.

First published in Yorkshire Post Business 9th May 2024.

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The world of business seems to have been in a constant state of flux in recent years - and with the general election anticipated to be around January 2025, can business expect to see more change? Or maybe the question ought to be what kind of change are you looking for? This all depends on what type of boat we are all sitting in and whether it’s our sails we are adjusting or changing speed with our engines.

But what if the playing field was levelled out a little? In today’s world, with so much technology around us, should we not be moving at a quicker pace to understand the advantages and possible pitfalls? Many larger businesses have already taken this step but small to medium sized businesses are still struggling to grapple with the change that is occurring before them.

In this instance, having good advisors ought to help develop a strategy to achieve goals that will make your organisation nimbler in the coming years.

Why is there such an urgency to adapt, plan and prepare? It is simple. We as a society and as businesses have become over reliant upon the internet and they way it has been operating and growing since conception. However, the internet was not designed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) /machine learning.

AI has many abilities. We can see bubbling to the surface stories of its ability to, for instance, generate fake content or create situations around fraudulent claims over content/patents/designs.

Businesses need to look at how the very near future will be looking and critically consider how things such as design can be authenticated. In a world of increased fakes and false claims being made, what tools can be used to trace the origins of content? One solution lines within blockchain. In a nutshell, blockchain is “a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records called blocks”.?

Take the Fashion industry for example. I t can reduce operating costs substitutionally by enhancing supply management and reducing the risk of counterfeit.

For any business today there has to be an urgency by the board of directors around the conversations they are having around the change of the internet and AI. The impact on the future of business and society means we can no longer sit on the side-lines and “go with the flow” or, as we often think, decide “we will change when we need to, we have time”.

Maybe there is an argument to be had that the development of AI ought to be combined with blockchain and the decentralisation of AI as it can result in a better and more accurate model. This will benefit society and business overall. If a business adopts a centralised AI model, it can hallucinate – that is to say it creates something that has never existed and for the business, that can lead to greater reputational, financial and legal risks. Imagine a medical organisation creating the wrong diagnosis because of the gaps within the data that created the AI. Equally can a pharmaceutical company release a new drug if it has borrowed from others because of the access of information by AI?

Understanding blockchain and AI will be the most critically components to any business, regardless of the size. The traceability of data shared across a business network, plus delivering cost savings through new efficiencies, can lead to a better bottom line for business.