Artificial intelligence is now all around us in household gadgets as well as business workflows. AI adoption is rampant across sectors; the global artificial intelligence market is expected to reach $ 266.92 billion by 20271 at a CAGR of 33.2% during 2019-2027. Nearly half of the respondents who had participated in a survey confessed to being interested in AI implementation and machine learning to improve data quality.
No doubt, artificial intelligence is the proverbial genie that does everything we want it to do without even rubbing the magic lamp. But the lack of nuance and failure to spell out caveats can result in AI systems that will make us think twice before we wish for anything.
Believe it or not, misaligned AI can be a nightmare.
A classic case is YouTube2, with its AI-based content recommendation algorithms that led to users accusing it of radicalization. Its constant upping-the-ante approach led users to extreme content in a bid to maximize viewing time. So videos on vegetarianism led to veganism, and jogging searches resulted in ultramarathons. This unintentional polarizing and radicalizing highlights one significant challenge: we have yet to define the goals accurately for our AI systems!
The sad truth is that we don\’t even know what we want, at least not from our autonomous systems and gadgets and other possessions. For instance, a self-driving car may be too slow and brake too often just the way it was designed to prevent itself from colliding with nearby objects. But the object could be as insignificant as a paper bag that was blown away by the wind.
What we need is goal-oriented AI born with a solid sense of purpose with excellent human-machine coordination. But only after you have answered the question- Do I really need AI?
Here’s is your ultimate AI implementation checklist
AI has ample scope in many sectors. AI can interact on your behalf with customers, as in the case of chatbots, or help healthcare providers diagnose cancer and other ailments. If leveraged well, it can help you turn a new leaf in critical interactions with your customers. Understanding the potential of AI and applying it to enhance critical business values can make a world of difference to your business. The key is to know where you stand and whether AI can help you attain your business goals.
Identify the purpose
Organizations with successful AI implementations are usually the ones that have assessed its financial impact or conducted a thorough risk analysis for AI projects. Having the right metrics in place gives you a sneak peek into the risks and benefits of AI implementation and how it would perform in those chosen areas. While it may not guarantee a positive ROI, it gives you a fair idea about what to expect.
Accuracy, for instance, is an important metric, but it’s not enough to understand how well your AI systems are performing. You need to correlate AI metrics to business outcomes to ensure you get the most out of your investments.
The smart pricing tool created by Airbnb to eliminate pricing disparities between black hosts and white hosts presents a classic example. While the AI-based system performed the assigned tasks with precision, the business results fell short – widening the gap further by 20%.
Appoint mixed-role teams for all AI initiatives
Those who have implemented AI successfully will tell you how crucial it is to build mixed-role teams comprising project managers, strategists, application designers, AI researchers, and data scientists to ensure a diversity of thought and skillsets. As per a Garnet Research Circle survey3, skills are the first barrier to AI adoption, and 56 percent of respondents believed new skills are required for new and existing jobs.
AI needs experts for it to evolve to its best version. TayTweets, a promising chatbot by Microsoft, was nothing but fun, and people loved talking to her. Until, of course, she became the nastiest chatbot ever in less than 24 hours, responding with offensive tweets. It demonstrates how horribly things can go wrong when AI and ML go awry when left unchecked.
Diversity in technical acumen enhances the value of AI to customers since the people working with AI know-how and where it should be used to have the most significant impact. Whether you want to hire new people or train existing ones for newer roles and responsibilities is something you will have to decide based on the business initiatives you have in mind.
Make a business case for AI
Businesses need AI for different reasons ranging from data security and fraud detection to supply chain management and customer support. You need to identify the use cases and applications to determine how AI can be effectively used. Organizations depend on AI to analyze contextual interaction data in real-time and compare it with historical data to get insights and recommendations.
Data plays a pivotal role in every aspect of a business. While a lot of emphases is placed on coding, math, and algorithms, many organizations are not able to apply the data acquired effectively in a business context. You will have to understand who you are building these solutions for and what technology framework you will require to do so.
As Moutusi Sau, principal research analyst at Gartner4, points out, \”Business cases for AI projects are complex to develop as the costs and benefits are harder to predict than for most other IT projects. Challenges particular to AI projects include additional layers of complexity, opaqueness, and unpredictability that just aren’t found in other standard technology.”
Assess your AI maturity
It is impossible to arrive at a strategy without evaluating where you stand against the AI maturity model. Once you know it, you can decide the next steps. Typically, the AI maturity model has five levels:
- Level 1 – There is awareness in the organization, and AI implementation is being considered, but no concrete steps have been taken in that direction.
- Level 2 – AI is actively present in proofs of concept and pilot projects.
- Level 3 – AI is operational, and at least one AI project has made its way to production with a dedicated team and budget.
- Level 4 – AI is part of new digital projects, and AI-powered applications are now an essential part of the business ecosystem.
- Level 5 – This should be the ultimate goal where AI is now ingrained in the organizational DNA and plays a transformative role for your business.
Look beyond the hype
AI can cause ‘cultural anxiety’ as a significant shift in thought and behavior is necessary for successful AI adoption. A compelling story to help employees understand how AI would be beneficial to all is necessary to ease the resistance they might feel towards the change. CIOs should recognize their fears and anxiety of the possibility of being replaced by machines and encourage an open dialogue with team members. This will build trust and help determine if the organization is ready for AI.
The hype around AI itself can sometimes be the biggest problem as organizations hurry to hop onto the AI bandwagon with insufficient understanding of its impact. Explains Whit Andrews, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner, “AI projects face unique obstacles due to their scope and popularity, misperceptions about their value, the nature of the data they touch, and cultural concerns. To surmount these hurdles, CIOs should set realistic expectations, identify suitable use cases and create new organizational structures.”
AI to Impact
The biggest mistake organizations make when they invest in AI is that they have too many expectations and little understanding of AI capabilities. Rather than getting caught in the hype, you have to be realistic and evaluate its role critically in furthering your business objectives.
AI is an expensive investment that will give you good returns if you know how to use it. A lot of tools are good, but not every AI tool is suitable for your business. What you need is the right AI implementation strategy created with professional help from those who know AI like the back of their hand.
Adopt AI with Trigent
Artificial intelligence is a defining technology that can be successfully integrated into business workflows and applications. We at Trigent have been helping organizations from diverse sectors, including healthcare, retail, BFSI, and logistics, create AI operating models that are optimized for faster and effective outcomes.
We can help you, too, with everything from strategy and implementation to maintenance and support.
Call us today to book a business consultation
References
- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/artificial-intelligence-market-100114
- https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/10419/9404
- https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/3-barriers-to-ai-adoption/
- https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/how-to-build-a-business-case-for-artificial-intelligence/
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