There has been much written (an understatement to be sure) lately about how AI will change the world and, specifically, how it will change businesses and companies. As this article makes clear, the difference between success and failure will rest on, in part, the ability of a company to effectively adopt and use AI throughout their business. We are already seeing companies diverging in their abilities to experiment with the technology and apply it to their business. As the authors state:
… this new era will have winners and losers … if current patterns continue, the separation between the two could be especially dramatic and unforgiving …The data revealed markedly different levels of AI understanding and adoption even within the same industry.
One of the problems, however, is that AI is not an off-the-shelf solution; it is not ‘plug and play’. Companies cannot simply “buy intelligence” and apply it to their problems. It takes effort and talent. Only a small fraction of companies understand the knowledge and skills that future AI will require. And the companies that do have advanced AI capabilities often struggle to hire and retain AI-savvy data scientists.
The article goes into some detail about how AI can be (and is) used in different areas of a company and is worth reading. Ultimately though, it is up to company leadership to ensure that the company will not be left behind. To this end, the authors recommend the following:
Executives need to know the basics of AI and have an intuitive understanding of what is possible. At their core, algorithms are simple; and beyond the mysterious jargon, the field is quite accessible … executives should be able to develop a functional understanding of the topic.
The clear conclusion is, if you haven’t already, get started now.