How did we get here?

As Robert Oppenheimer, “father of the atomic bomb”, once said: “Technology happens because it is possible”. The rapid development of AI between 2012 and 2022 shows just how the technology has grown. 

Within this ten-year timeframe computers became more powerful by a factor of 100 million. This increased processing power enabled AI models to become better trained, and to process a great deal more data. What’s more, in 2012 AI models were trained on specific data sets, covering around 150GB of data in total. In 2022, they were able to access the entire Internet: an estimated 10,000GB of data to work with. 

In the same timeframe, AI models have gone from being able to match beginner human level in image recognition to being able to pass the Bar Exam and the US Medical Licensing Exam – and even to display behaviours like power-seeking and deceiving humans. Investment has also grown tenfold in this period: investment not just from business entities, but also from governments keen to develop the technology. 

“You can’t slow AI down”, says Somayeh. “These developments are going to keep happening. Business leaders need to take advantage of AI in the right way, and try and create a positive impact”. 

How will AI change the business world?

“AI will change the business world at a pace beyond your imagination – a serious challenge for business leaders”, stated Somayeh. She believes there are nine key ways in which AI will impact businesses: 

1. Improved efficiency. “If you don’t engage with AI and your competitors do, you’ll see a massive gap affecting both your bottom line AND innovation”, she says. 
2. Content creation. With access to every resource on the Internet, AI is an incredibly powerful copywriter that can create equally powerful content of all types. 
3. Enhanced customer support. AI is being integrated into creating a truly personalised customer experience, particularly by brands with large swathes of customer data. 
4. Wider generational gap. Different generations engage with technology in different ways – and have different feelings about it. AI is likely to exaggerate this gap even more. 
5. AI-blended teams. “Business leaders have to start thinking about AI as an employee”, says Somayeh. This includes the challenges of getting AI and human employees to work together, and of justifying the investment in AI compared with the investment in people. 
6. Supply chain optimisation. Being data-heavy and incredibly complex, supply chain optimisation is the perfect environment for AI to thrive and make a strong impact. 
7. Data-driven decision making. “The more you use AI, the easier it will be to use AI to make decisions”, Somayeh says. “But how do you make sure you have the right data, that AI is trained on the right data, and that you trust what AI is helping you with?”
8. Decentralised innovation. Many companies have innovation labs, innovation centres or dedicated innovation teams. Somayeh believes that keeping innovation centralised in such a way could impact negatively on a business, stifling growth. 
9. New business models. “Things will be possible that weren’t possible before”, she adds – paving the way for brand new business models. 

Somayeh recommends understanding your Digital Appetite profile to establish your current digital transformation profile, where you want to be and where to start your digital transformation journey to make the best possible use of AI. 

Your vision, your strategy and AI

“Digital evolution isn’t a one-off event, it’s an attitude”, says Somayeh. To drive enduring success, business leaders need to consider the four pillars of digital evolution. 

The first of these is an infinite vision: one that goes beyond stated revenue targets to make long-term change. You’ll also need a spry strategy: one that’s agile enough to assess, align and act when opportunities arise. These opportunities, says Somayeh, are fast-moving: it could be that new opportunities emerge every three to four months. 

The third pillar is the adoption of a liminal spaces culture. Because of the constant change that AI brings, it may be that what you were doing before is no longer applicable, viable or possible. “How do we create a culture that constantly brings clarity, develops a growth mindset and fosters strong collaborations so we can grow in this digital evolution cycle?”, she asks.

Finally, businesses also need evergreen investment. They need to be able to invest in a way that allows this evolution to continue as AI technology advances. “Technology won’t stop: it will continue to change, grow and advance”, she says. “If you can’t keep investing in an evergreen way, giving you a return on what you invest, then it will be problematic”. 

“Digital evolution for AI isn’t easy, it can’t be done quickly”, stresses Somayeh. “Like going to the gym, it needs consistency – but it also needs people who are on the same page as you and want to progress”. 

Growth goes one way, but change takes you anywhere, she says. For businesses of all sizes and across all sectors, that’s what technology – and specifically AI – is currently doing, and will continue to do at a rapid pace. Are you ready? 
Watch Somayeh’s Vistage webinar in full here.

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