Be successful with AI at every stage
The power and allure of AI is undeniable. Tapping into that power means understanding the challenges ahead, your organization’s readiness to meet those challenges, and its maturity on the AI continuum. This article shows how your organization can prepare to deploy AI and lock into its benefits.
Can’t wait to see where you organization falls on the readiness spectrum? Go ahead and get started with the personalized assessment now.
Understand your AI maturity
Organizations fall in to four readiness categories, beginning with Foundational (initial investigation), to Approaching (beginning digital transformation), followed by Aspirational (experimenting with the technology), and Mature (full readiness).
Understanding where your organization is in their AI journey will help set the stage for your AI strategy. For recommendations specific to your organization, complete the AI Maturity Assessment.
Lay a foundation with ethical practices
The ethical aspects of AI should precede deployment strategy. The unprecedented potential of this technology comes with concerns about its fair and nondiscriminatory uses, usability, accountability, and governance. Ethical practices and standards lay the foundation for AI transformation.
Find the AI capabilities that are right for you
AI comprises a range of capabilities. First-tier AI conveys the impression of a human interaction—think facial recognition and tagging on social media, or apps that understand human language. Advanced, or “Strong AI,” combines multiple basic AI capabilities that can perceive and reason like human minds.
Digitize and automate your data
The first phase in unlocking the benefits of AI is a three-step digital transformation. It begins with digitization—transferring the organization’s intellectual assets to a digitized form AI can interpret. This is followed by a digitalization milestone, achieved when the digitized data automates AI system processes. In the third phase, full digital transformation, the organization has moved from automated processes to an ongoing program of developing and refining business models based on the evolving data.
Build your AI strategy
Regardless of the extent of investment or capabilities, any organization will benefit from focusing on the four areas below to build its AI strategy.
Strategy
Starting with ethical considerations, balance whether AI can be used in a given situation against whether it should be used. The most effective strategy centers not on AI itself, but on how to use it to create apps and experiences that are fast, smart, and helpful.
Culture
Support an experimental mindset that encourages employees to learn from failure and use historical, predictive, and prescriptive analytics to continually shape strategy.
Organizational Structure
Make lifelong learning the guiding principle for recruiting, nurturing, and retaining talent. You want people who adapt quickly and innovate. Foster collaboration, keeping teams focused on infusing AI into the full range of possibilities, from everyday processes to customer experience.
Capabilities
Ensure that your organization has the technical ability to curate data and ensure that it is optimized for access by AI technology. Avoid “dark data,” extracting and storing data so that AI can use it to train itself to constantly improve processes. With rapid, iterative sprints to push AI evolution in your organization, you stay ahead of the curve.
Although an organization at any level of maturity can deploy an AI-based system, understanding your organization’s readiness and choosing appropriate AI technology to support your overall strategy is key to success.
For recommendations specific to your organization, complete the AI Maturity Assessment.
