Redefining Intelligence

The Foundation of Artificial Intelligence in Business

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my thoughts on how artificial intelligence can be integrated into our daily business operations. As someone who’s navigating the challenges and opportunities of AI in business, I believe it’s important to discuss how we can leverage this technology in practical, meaningful ways. This series isn’t about grand theories—it's about exploring how AI can help us solve real problems and achieve our goals. I look forward to sharing these insights with you and hearing your perspectives as well.

What is Intelligence

As business owners, understanding the core concept of intelligence is crucial when leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in daily operations. Before we dive into the specifics of how AI can transform your business, let's take a moment to rethink what intelligence truly means.

Traditionally, intelligence has been seen as the ability to learn, adapt, and solve problems.

However, as we integrate AI into our businesses, we need a definition that reflects the dynamic, iterative, and goal-oriented nature of intelligence in both humans and machines.

Here’s how I define intelligence:

Intelligence is the capability to synthesize abstract knowledge from available information to achieve goals or acquire new knowledge when dealing with new information.

This definition emphasizes three key aspects that are vital for both AI and human intelligence:

1. Synthesis: The ability to combine and integrate knowledge, which is crucial for making informed decisions.
2. Adaptation: Intelligence isn’t static; it evolves as new information becomes available, allowing us (and AI systems) to continuously learn and grow.
3. Goal Orientation: Whether we’re solving a problem or pursuing an opportunity, intelligence is always focused on achieving specific outcomes.

In the context of AI, we often talk about creating systems that can learn, adapt, and continuously improve...

But let’s take a step back and consider this:

AI, humans, and businesses are all systems, each with its capacities and behaviors.

So, today’s question is:

What makes you think that your business can’t be “intelligent” as a system?

The question isn’t about the form of the system—whether it’s a machine, a person, or an organization—but rather about the capabilities and behaviors that define it. If we can harness AI to enhance these capabilities within our businesses, there’s no reason why our organizations can’t evolve to be as adaptive and intelligent as any other system we or nature create.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be diving deeper into how AI embodies this definition of intelligence and how you and I, as business owners, can apply these capabilities to drive growth, efficiency, and innovation in our operations.

Stay tuned as we explore the practical applications of AI in business and unlock new possibilities for your company’s future.

Serge