The Invaluable Geeks In Your AI Program

"Every company is a software company". (Watts Humphrey, 2001)

This gets truer by the day.

And the heroes in this revolution are the geeks.

Jaspreet Bindra and I are studying what allows some organisations to leapfrog ahead of others to implement AI projects and tools.

And what we are discovering is that key to the success of your program is the presence of at least one (and ideally more than one) person who through their depth of expertise in technology can see possibilities far more clearly than others.

This is typically someone with a genuine passion for technology. 

Someone who  gets a thrill from discovering 'possibilities'. Or better still 'imagining possibilities'.        

1. As Educators and AI Team Leaders

Take Ajay (not his real name) an AI team lead, at a leading global consulting company:

"I used to be part of the emerging technology practices where I used to help our clients understand what the new technologies mean for them and what opportunities open up for them through the use of these new technologies.

Two years ago I was working on the Web 3 and Metaverse agenda, and had started programming on GPT 3. So one day I rushed into our Chief Digital officer's room and I said: I want to show you something that will have a huge influence on the work that our office is doing. In fact it will render many of our existing projects useless. We will have to understand this disruption and pro-actively work with it. This was an over-arching statement that I made.

Later I got a one hour meeting to take him through what can be done by this technology. The things that we are spending our resources on, will not be needed in the future. That was the starting point that sparked the conversation around disruption.

We then made a presentation to the India leadership team on Gen AI and what it might mean for us in January 2023. We explored how it will impact our world and the AI opportunity.

We had a few asks wanted a firm-wide sponsorship for AI as a 'high priority' agenda.

We wanted an AI task-force across our lines of services. To understand the impact and opportunity of AI to their work."

While today, it is difficult for an organisation to not at least be semi-aware of the disruption AI will bring to their work, the earliest responders were often ahead of the curve simply because there was at least one person who was passionate about technology enough to be able to see where it was going.

2. As Business Problem Solvers

Or let's take the example of a a health-tech company that has been so successful in integrating AI tools that it has been featured on Open AI's website. Their AI lead, is a Stanford graduate who operates out of the bay area to make sure that they are at the cutting edge of technological possibilities.

"Back in 2017, when we started with AI it was with the intention of integrating with the business in order to make it successful. (We offer nutrition and exercise guidance to our customers).

We have always been tech evangelists in the way. It is coded into the DNA of our company.

Our CEO has always believed that technology is there to solve a lot of problems. We are always working on the cutting edge of technology. Our people have always been fearless around AI. So we are always pushing the boundaries of what we can use technology for and learning along the way.

We are in the bay area where so much AI innovation is happening so that we can quickly port ideas from there and make sure that we are able to really drive innovation."

In some organisations the CEO is themselves the Tech Geek, and therefore recognises others who share a similar passion and hires them for their AI agenda.

"Top down push can come. But the only way you can get really good products is if this is shared by people who are themselves technology evangelists.

3. As Talent Magnets

We actively look for people who are as crazy about technology as we are when we are hiring in the AI cell. People who have experimented, built things themselves.

Did you just read about AI or did you actually build something yourself?
(key interview question)        

Like, attracts like. And over time a few AI leaders, when strong becomes a talent magnet for others.

"There were just about 3 other companies in the country who are doing such cutting edge work. That's why I joined."

"There is AI spoken about on the floor all day long. When one person discovers something new. It is not just kept to themselves. It is shared with everyone."

"I was in college with (the team leader). When he was starting the AI program he reached out to me, and said that we do not have enough women in tech. I loved what they were doing, and so I joined. Today we have won so many awards for the products we gave built."

Our take-away

As more and more companies realise just how critical technology is to them achieving their business goals (whatever be their sector), it will become super-important to have at least a handful of Geeks on the team.

By this we mean people who not just have studied AI, but have the imagination to see possibilities, the skills to build solutions, and the capacity to inspire and attract others like themselves.         

About this research: My research partner Jaspreet Bindra and I are studying cultural factors that are behind the successful implementation of AI and Gen AI solutions in organisations at scale. This is a new and emerging field and we hope to contribute to the body of knowledge by helping leaders know what is essential to focus on. Expect to read many such articles from us through the course of the year.

If you know of any organisation that is implementing AI at scale and would like to participate in our research project, please reach out.

And if you would like us to come and share our emerging findings in a leadership talk, DM us.

Unqbe , and my partner Papiya Banerjee , work with leadership teams to identify competencies that are specifically oriented to a fast changing world.

DM us if you would like to find out more.

-----

(About me: I lead Unqbe, a think-tank and advisory firm around building future organisations, and building future careers. We track change through commissioned and primary research. We help leadership teams build the new workplace through a culture that supports change and people practices for the future.)