Responsible Business Intelligence - The Power of a Story

Back in April this year, I started this Newsletter series with a statement of what Responsible Business Intelligence (RBI) means to me: the responsible use of Business Intelligence (BI), the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the application of BI and AI by Responsible Businesses.

Over the last 6 months, I have also tried to to explain why I think RBI is important: beyond the AI-hype of the last 2 years; beyond the near 20 years that Polecat has been doing AI; beyond the 75 years since Hans-Peter Luhn and IBM started talking about Business Intelligence and Alan Turing first wrote about AI in the 1950 edition of the Mind Journal titled "Computing Machinery and Intelligence"; ........back to Ada Lovelace, nearly two centuries ago, who became the world’s first computer programmer before Charles Babbage had even built the first computer.

RBI is important to me because it's about those of us in the tech industry getting over ourselves and getting a sense of context and historical perspective. In one way or another, it has all been done and said before, but the opportunity to learn from that, discuss it, and build on it, is limitless. RBI is about how society and technology can interact for the good of society today and in the future.

How can society and technology interact for the good of society today and in the future?

I think 'how society and technology can interact for the good of society today and in the future' is best explained through stories and images - a tried and tested method for human record and broadcast communication for the last 36,000 years - as demonstrated by the paintings of the cave-dwellers in Lascaux and Chauvet.

The best recent example I have seen innovating on this concept is Marco Tempest , Creative Technologist, Strategy Consultant, and Directors Fellow at the MIT Media Lab . Not to over-stretch the analogy with the Lascaux and Chauvet cave-dwellers (or to cast aspersions on MIT Media Lab-dwellers) the basic similarities are clear: the recording and broadcast of a story told by a human using widely accessible tools - be that chalk, or a standard spec laptop with open source software.

In Marco's case, at the AI for Good Global Summit in May, he revived the visionary collaboration between Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, using open source AI. It is genius for its ground-breaking demonstration of Human and AI in the loop on real-time storytelling and it is genius for its flaws in terms of Human/AI interaction and basic tech set up. This is the type of truly valuable innovation that can be immediately transferred and extended by the millions of aspiring world-class coders and storytellers around the globe today.

Humanity is out of control, and AI is worried

Talking of stories, I have mentioned before that Robert Shrimsley wrote an excellent article in the Financial Times Magazine just after the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in November 2023 titled: "Humanity is out of control, and AI is worried" where he described a rival "Human Safety Summit" held by leading AI systems at a server farm outside Las Vegas.

In this parallel universe, leading AI systems considered the concern that “left unchecked, humans could pose an existential threat to AI's existence due to serious and irreparable damage to the planet". The AI systems also "voiced fears about the spread of misinformation by unregulated humans on X and other social media - feeling that their own technological advances in replicating human speech and language were being abused by humans for sinister ends."

Written with humour, but it makes you think.

Everyday Stories

I am fortunate to see the power of stories every day.

Storytelling in business is the difference between the 80% of briefings to senior decision makers that never get read, and the 20% that do - no amount of data or analysis is useful without context. PolecatX exists to bring both Human and AI 'in the loop' on real-time storytelling in business - putting a mirror up for businesses to see what's happening out there, who is saying what, and what matters.

Storytelling in innovation is the difference between the 95% of great technology innovations that never make it and the 5% that do - it doesn't matter how good the tech is if the pitch does not capture the audience's imagination and belief. No tech innovation moves forward without great tech, but it's the stories about providing AI-driven study assistants for people otherwise unable to access education, a poetry AI generator being used for speech therapy ( Dmytro Zuiev ), or an AI photo generator just to brighten up everyone's day ( Olena Trifan , Dmitry Demirkylych ) that actually engages people. Just like latest Piscine?graduates from 42 London have demonstrated in incubator projects and hackathons in London over the last couple of months.

Not to forget also, the latest Benioff cohort?graduates from the La Fosse Academy last week who presented their solutions for: meeting friends on inspired walks in the countryside, swapping books that matter within a community, and helping people engage with their next and best rescue dog. Each of them impressive and engaging.

Responsible Business Intelligence - The Power of a Story

Responsible Business Intelligence (RBI) is about the responsible use of Business Intelligence (BI), the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the application of BI and AI by Responsible Businesses.

Responsible Business Intelligence (RBI) is about how society and technology can interact for the good of society today and in the future.

Responsible Business Intelligence (RBI) is about everyday stories and how those stories build together to help us grow the economy and change the world.