LOVE, RISK, AND FAITH: ADOPTING AI IS LIKE HAVING KIDS

Have you ever considered how choosing to adopt AI is similar to the decision to have children? Both are leaps into the unknown, filled with great potential and some scary, yet unavoidable, risks. And yes, I've got firsthand experience in both departments—I'm a dad navigating the ups and downs of raising two amazing kids, a boy (18) and a girl (11), and somehow, I still had the energy to build a successful AI company! Of course, children are a loving adventure that AI will never be, but remember, this is just an analogy.

1 - Your risk appetite. When we consider having kids, we can’t predict the outcome of that decision, but we know we want it, and we believe that the end result will be purposeful and rewarding. So what we do is think about all the risks, make sure we have as much covered as possible before making that decision, and decide on our risk appetite for the potential outcomes.

2 - Kids or AI; education is an act of faith. Once our baby is born, we try to give them a lot of unbiased education and teach them several social cues in the hope that they can adapt well to environmental stimuli, changes, and challenges. And whenever we are together at a restaurant with other people around, we pray that they will follow the prompts we taught them and won’t bring up our worst family biases and stories at the table or hallucinate in behavior.

3 - Baby boom benefits. And just like having a baby, we also should look around at our friends and make sure we are not the last ones deciding on it, otherwise, we might fall behind and miss out on a lot of synergy opportunities and understanding among our friends. But act quickly—the baby boom is already here, and all your friends are either expecting or considering it. As you read this, thousands of proofs of concept (POCs) are running in enterprises worldwide. According to IBM, 42% of enterprise-scale organizations (over 1,000 employees) surveyed have AI actively in use in their businesses. Early adopters are leading the way, with 59% of responding enterprises already working with AI intending to accelerate and increase investment in the technology. But, If you're not ready, that's okay. More important than introducing another AI into the world and joining the baby boom is ensuring that you do it at the right time and for the right reasons.

4 - Sex is good, but it's better with love. In my analogy, proofs of concept (POCs) are like the 'sex' step needed to conceive a baby. However, many POCs fail to evolve into long-term relationships and a stable family environment for nurturing AI. This often happens because most POCs are driven by a 'must have AI' mindset rather than a genuine passion for the challenge, where AI is the best solution. This 'must have' approach leads to unnecessary risks, wasted resources, and abandoned projects that never thrive in a healthy environment. This pattern mirrors the failed digitization era when companies rushed to digitize just because everyone else was, without assessing if or how it would add value to their business. According to a 2018 Genpact report, nearly $900 billion of the $1.3 trillion spent was wasted on digital transformation efforts that did not achieve their goals. Similarly, in relationships, deep and meaningful connections yield more lasting and fruitful outcomes than superficial ones. AI implementation should be thoughtful and purpose-driven, not just trendy. Ensure your POCs are purposeful.

5 - Family support; valuable to everyone. Essentially, even in the AI era, business is fundamentally about people. According to Deloitte, two of the most critical challenges for scaling are building trust—making Generative AI both more trusted and trustworthy—and evolving the workforce to address Generative AI’s potentially massive impact on worker skills, roles, and headcount. We need to ensure that our AI efforts serve a clear, valuable purpose for people; otherwise, these efforts are unlikely to endure. In a nutshell, think of your AI and those it serves as if they were family. It's not just about having the most advanced AI or the best team; it’s about ensuring they work well together and support each other. Whether it's your customers or your team, the best AI is the one that people use, support, and value. Focus your AI on solving real problems and serving people well, and you'll be on the right track.

6 - Don't overthink it; embrace it. Whenever there's a fit for an AI-based solution to a problem you're facing, conduct your risk assessment, prepare as thoroughly as possible, and embrace the journey. Just as you would with your children, teach and learn alongside it, help it grow, perform, and operate independently so that it can deliver excellent results, make you proud, and fulfill its purpose beautifully.

Disclosure: This text was proofread and underwent a grammar review powered by AI. As I said, embrace it.

Guilherme Cerqueira

Founder/CEO at Worthix

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