THE ERA OF AI IS AS MUCH ABOUT SHIFTS IN STRATEGY AND COMPANY CULTURE AS IT IS A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION. DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION HAVE THE TRAITS AND PRIORITIES THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO MAXIMIZE YOUR AI INVESTMENT?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just a buzzword or a technology trend. It is a powerful force that is reshaping the way we work, live, and interact. AI can help us solve complex problems, enhance productivity, improve customer experience, and create new opportunities, but to fully harness the potential of AI, we need more than just technology. Our organizations need a company culture and leadership mindset that embraces the potential of AI.
Facilitate trust and transparency
AI is not a technology that can be used or adopted without trust and transparency. Stakeholder buy-in is required at every level – particularly from executive sponsors, and there is an inherent need for investing in the technology knowing it may take some time to realize ROI. There must be buy-in that AI is an augmentation tool, not a threat meant to replace human intelligence, creativity, or judgment.
Commit to ethics and responsible utilization
Organizations need to ensure that their AI solutions are fair, transparent, accountable, and respectful of human rights and values. By recognizing the potential risks and challenges of AI (bias, discrimination, privacy, security, and accountability, and to take proactive measures to mitigate and address them.
Move fast and be willing to accept risk
Organizations seeking to maximize their investment into AI, ML and FMs need some tolerance of failure. The steps of “build, deploy, test, improve, retest” inherent to model development requires constant experimentation, testing, and improvement. AI is in its infancy, and solutions may not work as expected, or encounter unforeseen problems or errors. The adoption of a “fail-fast and learn-fast” mindset is critical to success.
Embrace a design thinking mindset
Never stop asking…“what haven’t we asked yet?”. What is the problem or opportunity that we are trying to address with AI? What if we try different solutions or scenarios with AI? What wows our customers or stakeholders with AI? What works best for our organization and our context with AI? By asking these questions, organizations can ensure that their AI solutions are user-centric, value-driven, and fit-for-purpose.
Explore “white spaces” and “blue oceans”
It would be a shame for the potential of AI to be limited by existing boundaries or paradigms. It is a technology with the potential to disrupt the status quo, break boundaries, challenge paradigms, create opportunities, and develop new markets. Organizations that aren’t willing to transform themselves and their industries won’t maximize their AI investments. You must be prepared to go big or stay home.
Empower an adaptable, reskilled workforce
AI must be embraced at every level of the organization, and while there must be executive champions, it can’t be imposed as solely a top-down directive. AI has changed the nature and demand of work, requiring new roles, skills and opportunities. All stakeholders need ongoing training, and the autonomy to make decisions, take action and experiment without being micromanaged or controlled. Organizations also need to provide their workforce with the necessary resources, protections, tools, and support, to enable them to use AI safely, effectively and efficiently.
Invest not just in data…but in data fluency
Digital transformation was all about harnessing the power of data, but in the era of AI, understanding what the data means and how it can be used is imperative. Data is the fuel and AI is the tool to unlock is value and insights. Leaders must be able to collect, store, manage, analyze, and use data in a strategic and systematic way, and communicate, understand, and interpret data in a clear and meaningful way.
Embrace agile frameworks
Digital transformation highlighted the perils of slow, rigid decision making; the era of AI is making fast, flexible environments imperative. Leaders must be adaptable, responsive and capable of responding to rapidly evolving ecosystems. The good news is that AI facilitates agile mindsets with data and insights that support and enhance human judgment and intuition
Invest in change management
AI inevitably equates to change – positive and negative, intended and unintended, incremental and radical. Organizations must invest heavily in change management so that the people and process can keep pace with the technology driving it.
Develop a growth mindset
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Success with AI requires organizations and people open to new possibilities and opportunities. Challenge the status quo, learn from EVERYTHING (including failures), provide feedback and recognition, enable training…and never stop learning.
These are some of the traits companies need to embrace in their culture and strategy if they want to transform their business through AI. At Escalate Solutions, we are passionate and committed to helping our clients to embrace AI based on these foundations.
If you are interested in learning more contact us via [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on your AI journey.
GenAI resources were used in the drafting of this article.