Turning Technology Into An Enabler With Human + AI Collaboration

As AI advances and rapidly changes our working environment, businesses must understand the importance of integrating data with people. This symbiotic relationship between technology and human expertise can generate tremendous opportunities as it enables more efficient workflows to elevate productivity gains.???

An example of this is seen in a GIF created by SAP which has gained over 26K views on social media - illustrating how creative combinations of tech solutions have become powerful enablers for those who leverage them correctly.??

The challenge now lies in developing an ecosystem built from multiple vendors that will integrate seamlessly into current workflows while remaining people-centric – ultimately leading us towards an era of collaborative ‘AI-in-the loop’ instead of traditional ‘human-in-the-loop’ technologies.

SAP is launching a series of billboard ads that exemplify the new paradigm, human + AI teaming and collaboration. For the next 10 days, they’ll use generative AI to showcase how putting people at the center, not technology, will lead to better outcomes.

An image-to-text model will be prompted with each day’s top headlines. The generative model will create an image that an illustrator takes as inspiration. Instead of a blank canvas, the illustrator has a starting point that acts as a springboard for their productivity.

What the generative AI model delivers will be far from perfect. When the model is given complete control of the workflow, the results don’t live up to the hype. Businesses that turn critical workflows over to unstable AI tools will learn this hard lesson firsthand. However, with the illustrator at the center of the workflow, a person maintains autonomy and oversight.?

This is the teaming paradigm. The text-to-image model optimizes the starting point so the illustrator can be more adaptive and respond to change faster. AI-powered tools provide an opportunity to improve the illustrator’s workflow, making them more productive. But that illustrator still needs to maintain autonomy so they’re ready for whatever job is thrown their way. AI can assist them and accelerate their work.?

What Does It Take To Make People + AI Seamless??

SAP is launching this campaign to show how it can partner with businesses and help them through their journey to seamless integration. SAP’s campaign gives people a view of what it takes to go from hype and potential to realizing productivity gains.?

In SAP’s words, “More than ever, businesses and the people who run them must be ready for anything.” That’s a kind way of saying that business leaders are accountable for understanding volatility and uncertainty as it unfolds around them. SAP wants to position its platform and partnership ecosystem as a collaborator that business leaders can turn to for help.?

Leaders have a stream of opportunities to seize a critical moment as it happens and before someone else steps in front of them. People and technology must work quickly and responsibly together. That’s the promise of the Human + AI collaboration paradigm.

SAP isn’t targeting a single niche or narrow need. SAP’s vision is for a single platform that’s capable of servicing a range of businesses.?

To deliver that platform, SAP’s building an ecosystem of best-in-class solutions on an industry-leading platform. SAP’s first goal is ambitious, and the company is taking a pragmatic approach. SAP’s leadership understands that no single solution will fill that broad mandate. They’re partnering with companies like Databricks, Collibra, and IBM to curate an ecosystem.?

The platform and ecosystem must deliver ready-to-run solutions so businesses can transform rapidly from whatever maturity level they are at today. SAP’s vision defines speed and agility as critical success factors for businesses. As a result, the platform must enable both. SAP is building solutions that accelerate transformation and maturity with low overhead.?

This generative AI ad campaign is one step SAP is taking to demonstrate its vision is viable. Generative AI tools will gain traction when senior leaders see them in action. It’s one thing to explain paradigms and talk about vision. There’s already been plenty of that. We’re in the “prove it” phase of adoption.??

Grandiose promises require implementations to back them up. SAP’s ad campaign is one of the few implementations anyone has put forward. They’re building in public and showing businesses what’s feasible today.?

Join with me each day to see what the AI generates from the top headlines. I’ll explain how the illustrator and generative model demonstrates Human + AI teaming and collaboration. You can check out all the images from this 10-day campaign here .?