Everywhere you turn today the chat is about Artificial Intelligence.

If not directly about software or applications, every day brings news about the latest GPT models, advances in robot tech and more celebrities being deep-faked (Scarlett Johansons accusation against OpenAI has just hit the headlines as a write).

The robots are coming

We’re entering a new era where AI technology will be in everyone’s hands. Whether you love it or fear it, there’s no denying it’s happening.

Much of this coverage is done with a hint of doomsday – all our jobs will be redundant; our personal data will be used without our consent; we will lose control of our systems to autonomous unfeeling algorithms; creativity will be lost or stolen by machines.

However, I see a different story

Companies spend hundreds of thousands on IT systems – most of which perform complex duties and support operations to be more effective and efficient. More and more aspects of operations are connected up to relational databases – from supply chains to POS to production lines to warehouses to server stacks to service desks to sales and marketing.  Phew!

Data data everywhere, and not a drop to use

Just think of the amount of data these systems generate.  Remember big data?  Whatever happened to that?  Well, the problem is much of it is redundant unless it’s used as part of larger analysis and study that can deliver meaningful insight.

Step forward machine learning and AI. These technologies can identify patterns and insights that are impossible for humans to detect.

Step forward machine learning and AI. These technologies can identify patterns and insights that are impossible for humans to detect.

So now we have some incredibly powerful tools that can highlight efficiency gains and cost savings throughout an organisation – ones that we work with are in the IBM suite – Turbonomic, Apptio and Maximo to name but a few – but there are many out there.

But we are still left with an issue – and that is the gatekeepers of information.

Democratisation of data

Accessing these insights often requires specific expertise. Yes, reports can be generated for board meeting KPI’s and for specific determined projects – which is fantastic – but it still relies on an interpersonal relationship to deliver information out of the systems to whoever needs it.

Now imagine that data was available to anyone in the organisation (with security and sensitive data protocols in place of course).

And what’s the easiest way to convey information?  A simple conversation of course.

Just ask

If you’re from the UK you will likely be familiar with a series called Red Dwarf – a story of four loveable but clueless survivors of a space catastrophe living 3 million years in the future – ably helped by their computer system “Holly”.  They talked to Holly via a screen, and were able to get themselves out of various scrapes by interrogating her for pertinent information about the ship and its systems.

Imagine a project team brainstorming solutions with instant access to organizational data.

Imagine a project team brainstorming solutions with instant access to organizational data.

This “team member” isn’t a threat but a powerful ally.

From sustainability teams assessing carbon impacts to marketing teams querying top customer service issues, the applications are endless. We’ve started using this tech with clients, and the creative ideas are flowing!

Once someone sees it in action they are immediately inspired as to how and when they could use it – and gain maximum value from those IT systems they have already invested in.

The AI revolution is already here. Let’s harness it to transform our workplaces for the better!

Rob

Rob Paton, CMO, Lighthouse