Navigating and Winning with AI: A Business Perspective

Author: Eyrun Bernhardsdottir, Senior Client Executive

As someone from a non-technical background, it has been fascinating following the discourse surrounding AI, Generative AI and the potential use and uptake of AI technology over the last year or so. And, as a non-technical person, it has taken me a long time, many re-writes and even more cups of coffee to get this blog off the ground.

The conversations about AI are frequent – I would go as far to say that almost every conversation I have with clients and contacts touches upon AI, usually Generative AI, in some way. This is also where impostor syndrome kicks in and I began doubting my merit for having strong opinions on AI and its potential to disrupt the workforce and perhaps society more generally. The workforce disruption is probably a topic for another blog, as it’s becoming clear that reskilling and upskilling the workforce due to AI will be necessary[1].

For this blog, I’d like to focus on the broader conversation. AI comes up in discussions about innovation, potential risks and challenges, and simply when discussing technology and its progress more generally. It’s therefore perhaps not surprising that according to this article from Consultancy.uk[2], Leaders and Executives in Financial Services have already embraced AI.

So far, almost half of financial services operators worldwide are investing in AI and AI-driven innovation. What’s interesting is that although leaders clearly plan on investing in AI, a large majority also has concerns regarding its ethical implications, privacy impact, and potential security risk[3].

To me, the publicity (one could say hype?) AI technology has received over the last year or so has been largely driven by the rapid advancement of AI, particularly Generative AI. We need to remember that AI technology has been around for a while, and we already use it in our day-to-day. Many of us have played chess against a computer – with the computer often winning. Duolingo, the language-learning app, is powered by AI technology. In terms of Generative AI, we are all familiar with chatbots supporting us with customer service-related queries across a range of organisations. However, over the years, AI systems have grown from being able to recognise speech and images to being able to generate images[4]. Similarly, language recognition has evolved rapidly, and ChatGPT and other Generative AI models are now able to create human-like dialogue.

What has changed? It feels like the clear disruptor here is the advancement of Generative AI. Already, by April 2023, 79% of respondents to a survey by McKinsey had some exposure to Generative AI, and 22% said they use it regularly in their work[5]. The speed of change has been the focus of the media narrative, and alongside it, there is fear of its potential and its potential to disrupt society. A large majority of people believe there needs to be strong regulation regarding deep fakes, digital content, artistic infringement, and inaccurate information[6], which tallies with the concerns of leaders in financial services. It is also worth mentioning that only 21% of companies surveyed by McKinsey have established processes or policies governing employee use of AI[7].

So, how does this all look to someone who is unlikely to go beyond being a general user of AI technology and Generative AI? There are, perhaps, parallels between the Dotcom Bubble and the discourse surrounding AI. As usage of the internet and the world wide web grew rapidly, and alongside it, excitement over the economic growth potential, the Dotcom Bubble expanded – and burst. However, we have to remember that despite its collapse, it actually left an important legacy, as millions of pounds had been invested in infrastructure and systems which helped shape the ecommerce world of today[8].

Similarly, the excitement surrounding Generative AI in particular may decelerate. There is a lot of hype surrounding Generative AI, both positive and negative. We may come to realise that actually, our jobs, our communications, and our art, remain present, be that in their current form or not. However, the fact that organisations are embracing AI, and spending on AI innovation, shows that regardless of where AI will go, it will leave a legacy. Let’s not forget that there are still ongoing global conversations regarding internet regulation and governance, yet most of us would struggle to imagine working without access to the Web and the internet. Similarly, we will need to discuss the potential to regulate AI technology. These conversations are happening, and moving fast, most recently with the UK AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park and President Biden signing an Executive Order to ensure companies using AI models share how they ensure the safety of their tools. However, those uncertainties and risks certainly don’t mean that we can’t embrace its potential for now.

So, my question is – if you are spending, or planning to spend, on AI innovation and Generative AI, do you know why? Do you know how you would like to utilise this rapidly changing technology to drive business value?

[1]  The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year | McKinsey

[2] Financial services CEOs embrace AI in spite of concerns (consultancy.uk)

[3] Financial services CEOs embrace AI in spite of concerns (consultancy.uk)

[4] The brief history of artificial intelligence: The world has changed fast – what might be next? – Our World in Data

[5] The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year | McKinsey

[6] How people are really using AI (and what they’re afraid of) (theverge.com)

[7] The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year | McKinsey

[8] A short history of the internet | National Science and Media Museum