Join the AI Revolution

How can founders join the AI revolution?

It’s official–Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gone mainstream. Most of us don’t imagine genius space robots when we hear the term AI anymore, we’re thinking more along the lines of Amazon’s warehouse robots or automated customer service experiences. As the high profile AI success stories pile up, the buzz is reaching beyond the boardrooms and the offices of C-Suite executives, and into common business practices. Its influence is only predicted to swell as venture capital funding for AI startups recently hit record amounts.

The Robots are Coming, Start Now

As Founders and CEOs, you know you need to consider the business implications of AI and take action, but where do you begin when you’re ready?

If AI has an infinite number of applications, and the only limit is our imagination, then that leaves a lot of vast space to float around in. Luckily, AI isn’t a black-box nascent technology anymore, and we can learn from those who have come before us. Today, AI solutions differ along a spectrum that ranges from tried-and-true models with broad utility to relatively new and rare models with limited high-potential utility. This distribution suggests that we could approach implementing AI in different ways over to reduce risk and ensure value.

Now:

• Start small. Start small. Start small. (Yeah, we said it 3x on purpose…it’s important!)
• Accept that your first attempt, like most first attempts, might fail.
• Develop your team’s knowledge and skills gradually.
• Implement your first AI model in an area of low risk. Focus on uses cases that have proven solutions

Near future:

• Experiment with more small, low-risk AI projects to prove value
• Scale successful models across the organization to drive value

End Goal:

• Work with a development firm to tackle a high-impact use case

The Easiest Way for Your AI Project to Fail

Without support across an organization’s leadership, any foray into AI can easily fall short. Not only is it important that leadership use their perspective to help identify key uses cases, it’s critical that they support their newly changing organization.

When it comes to incorporating AI into your business’ processes and decision making, change management demands far more effort and attention than the technical implementation does.

How you handle your first AI projects matters more than you think. As AI continues to merge with visualization, collaboration, and design thinking, business leadership will need to adapt to focus on decision-management effectiveness rather than process efficiency. Successful companies will have leaders that create a culture of learning and continuous improvement.

Don’t Let the Disruptions Get You Down

The onslaught of digital disruptions is never ending, and so we have all the more reason to face them head on. There is no perfect path to follow when it comes to optimizing for the coming impacts of AI on your business. The true AI opportunity lies in the exploration, experimentation, and growth that come along with trying something new and adapting to a shifting landscape. And in that case, all that matters is if you give it a go.

Give it a go.