Guide. Guard. Grow.
There is a natural tendency to be suspicious of the current AI hype cycle. The single most important thing firms should realize is that there are massively disruptive forces at play, and existential risks to doing nothing. Inaction is not an option.
An AI Strategy for Early Adopters
There is a natural tendency to be suspicious of the current AI hype cycle. And with good reason, as oft-hyped technologies are generally early on the maturity curve and filled with inherent risks. As the coverage grows, and media outlets proclaim a second coming, the more reticent among us will retrench against the hype. We’ve been there before: crypto, VR, the drumbeat toward cloud migrations, endless cycles of programming frameworks – surely AI is just another in a long line of technologies that are never fully realized?
But something’s different this time. Yes, there may be a ceiling as to how far transformer technology and generative AI can take us down the road toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), but that doesn’t mean that there’s not value in what’s available now, and it’s only getting better by the month. Don’t expect funding to dry up. Individual firms may go bust, but research and product development will proceed apace, and the industry will plow ahead.
So how can non-tech native firms best make sense of what to do next? The single most important thing firms should realize is that there are massively disruptive forces at play, and existential risks to doing nothing. Inaction is not an option. Once past that mental hurdle, I would advise leadership teams to concentrate on three themes:
Guide. Guard. Grow.
Guide
Guard
Grow
Keep in mind, this is merely a mantra, not an action plan. There are real challenges to implementation, ethical deployment, and business transformation that must be considered at every step along the way. And remember, while the benefits of AI are somewhat manifest now, in many ways, investments in AI are still bets on the future, no less than investments in infrastructure and training. Some will pay off, some will fail.
All I know is that in five years, I don’t want to be the one betting from behind.