Elizabeth Foughty
You don’t need an “AI Strategy”
Wait what?
What you need is an *innovation strategy* focused on leveraging the best new technology tools available for the problems you are trying to solve as a business and how you will integrate them. This strategy should also thoroughly consider the implications of these tools, from social issues to environmental impact to how your employees will leverage them. Many of these will be AI tools, but not all of them! If you don’t start harnessing these tools, you’ll be left in the dust when your competition does. But if you’re also only focused on “AI” at the moment, you’ll miss the bigger picture.
I’ve been working in and around “AI” since 2007, when it was primarily done by research organizations with access to a lot of compute power. Since it has exploded from something in science fiction movies and computer science labs to something anyone can use every day, I’ve been fascinated to watch the evolution of business strategy with regard to AI.
Here’s the thing: there’s more to AI than generative AI. You’ve had access to AI you can and should use in your place of business for years. It’s just that people like me (sales engineering/marketing people) very carefully crafted the messaging so it didn’t sound like the Terminator was coming to life.
AI is really just a collection of capabilities that allow computers to mimic (or in some cases, surpass), human abilities. These tools include things like machine learning, natural language processing, and, of course, generative AI. Generative AI took a big leap forward in the last year, but that’s just one type of AI and in some ways not even the coolest (to me).
AI that already existed and was well in use before “Generative AI” became the IT thing (I really hope you appreciate my pun there).
-An insurer can leverage computer vision to do better underwriting at scale. (https://capeanalytics.com/blog/3-ways-computer-vision-is-transforming-pc-insurance-in-2022/)
-A drug development company can leverage machine learning to scan through extremely large data sets and discern new applications or interactions for medicines. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41573-019-0024-5)
-ADAS (Advanced Drivers Assistance Systems) use AI to turn sensor data into driving insights. (https://semiengineering.com/ai-mls-role-in-adas/)
-Climate modelers were and are using AI (https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/news/noaa-scientists-harness-machine-learning-to-advance-climate-models/).
But guess what?
-An insurer can also leverage satellite data for more insights into their portfolio both with and without AI!
-A hospital system can capture patient records electronically to allow for easy knowledge sharing between a patient’s doctors (and to leverage in the future for data analytics and AI).
-Advanced battery technology can extend the range of EV and Hybrid vehicles.
These are just all recent(ish) technology developments that can be harnessed to improve your business! On the flip side, some of these technologies have the same ethical quandaries that AI does, and should also be scrutinized robustly.
AI is just one more cool thing happening right now. Don’t miss the forest for the AI trees! And especially keep an eye on the interwoven implications of AI and other types of technology.
Elizabeth Foughty 