The state of the working world suggests the importance of staying up-to-date with technology and innovation. As a Chief Information Officer (CIO), you’re in charge of developing and implementing your company’s entire IT strategy. This means that it’s vital for you to be knowledgeable about the latest tech shifts within your industry, such as the use of artificial intelligence.
To aid your business’s growth, this article will explore 8 critical questions you need to ask to fully maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) within your organization.
Recognizing AI Capabilities
Before you even consider the practical applications of using AI to enhance business operations, you must first understand what it can offer. This requires understanding the current landscape of AI.
To begin your research, you can ask the following questions:
What are the capabilities and limitations of different AI technologies?
AI generally powers a set of tools that can perform many different tasks. Each one has its own capabilities that offer distinct benefits.
For example, let’s contrast AI-powered machine learning with its language processing capabilities. Machine learning would be more useful in optimizing supply chain logistics, while language processing would be more helpful to improve customer-facing interactions such as customer service.
Familiarizing yourself with artificial intelligence’s capacity will make it easier for you to use it to improve your business.
Meanwhile, knowing the limitations of these technologies can aid you in creating realistic plans and expectations throughout its utilization. It can also prevent overreliance on technology as well as help you strike a balanced approach in AI usage.
What are the current AI trends relevant to my company’s industry?
Once you understand the capabilities and limitations of AI, shift your research to more specific topics. The next focus can be learning about the latest AI trends that are relevant to your industry.
Start by reading the latest news and articles regarding your line of business. Gain information about what tools bring the most benefits to both your partners and competitors. Learn which tools are making waves and which are quickly becoming obsolete. Evaluate this information to help you capitalize on new technologies. This can also help you gain new ideas for AI-powered solutions.
Assessing Current Business Strategies
The next step to utilizing AI in your company is to evaluate the different aspects of your business. Identify how AI can be integrated to address the specific challenges you experience. To perform a critical analysis, it’s necessary to focus on both your operations and goals. Consider asking the following questions:
What specific problems can AI solve for us?
Think about each step that goes into creating your final product or service. Identify precise issues and problems that need to be resolved.
What if there is no glaring issue? Even if your business is running smoothly, it’s always wise to take note of processes that can be improved.
Once you have your list of steps, issues, or areas to improve, consider the AI programs available on the market. Which ones can provide you with the solutions you need? Asking these questions is important to ensure that the AI initiatives you adopt can offer your business value.
More than following trends, it’s vital to utilize tools you can actually benefit from.
How can AI align with and enhance our current business strategies to drive more value?
Even if a well-known AI tool is widely used in your industry, don’t feel pressured to adopt it. Similarly, you don’t need to use specific tools in the same way your competitors do.
For example, other businesses may use generative AI to create codes for their new programs. If this doesn’t fit into your business strategy, you can use it for other tasks like generating marketing campaigns.
As a leader, you most likely already have a future-forward mindset. Maximize it! Consider which AI tools can align with your strategies and which ones can enhance them. This ensures that your business isn’t simply going with market trends. Instead, it is moving towards its long-term goals and objectives.
Read More: Exploring The Impact of Generative AI and Automation on IT Workflows
Evaluating Technological Infrastructure
Adopting artificial intelligence goes beyond purchasing the tools or partnering with the right experts. It requires having the right technological infrastructure that will serve as your foundation in implementing AI.
It falls to the CIO to assess whether your organization’s current system can support the computational demands and data processing requirements of advanced AI applications.
The following questions may help with your assessment.
Is our current tech infrastructure capable of supporting AI implementation?
Consider your business’s processing power objectively. Can your existing servers and CPUs handle the intensive demands of AI algorithms? For example, consider whether your technology can implement deep learning tools and machine learning model training.
If you are doubtful, it may be time to consider upgrades to your systems. From graphics processing units to data storage capacity, what upgrades does your infrastructure need? Updates are vital to avoid delays, inefficiencies, or suboptimal performance of the AI tools you want to adopt.
Do we have the right data management practices in place?
Another aspect to consider is your data management practices. AI relies heavily on data. That said, the quality and availability of your information can directly impact the effectiveness of artificial intelligence tools.
Let’s use predictive analytics as an example. If this tool is fed inaccurate or incomplete information, the insights generated will not be helpful to your business. In fact, they could even be misleading.
Proper data governance is crucial for positive AI outcomes. This includes data cleansing, data integration, and security. As a general rule, it’s good to ensure your organization is up to date when it comes to data management practices.
Read More: Streamlined and Secured: Building a Sustainable Agile Data Management System
Analyzing Workforce Capabilities
The success of AI initiatives heavily depends on the organization’s human capital. For CIOs like you, this translates to the need to evaluate the current level of AI expertise among your teams. Begin by asking the following:
What is the level of AI expertise within our organization?
Understand the skill set of your people. Conduct comprehensive assessments of their technical skills and domain-specific knowledge. You can also analyze their qualifications and past experiences to gauge their familiarity with AI usage.
As a leader, this is an important question to ask to gain an overview of your organization’s existing capabilities. It can also help you identify whether your current workforce has the skills needed for implementation.
What if you conclude that your current teams are unequipped with the necessary skills to implement AI? Consider your next step. You may need to upskill your existing teams to raise the AI expertise level. In addition, don’t disregard the option of hiring new talent to fill essential gaps.
Depending on your decision, you can plan for the future endeavors needed by your business, whether this involves recruitment efforts or training programs.
Read More: An Executive’s Guide to Leaning into Technology: Exploring the Divide Between Humans and Machines
How can we foster a culture of AI literacy and innovation?
Artificial intelligence technologies are only effective when they are utilized properly. More than training and experience, it’s important to establish a culture that values AI literacy and innovation. When you have a workforce that’s open to AI, you’re more likely to see innovation and experimentation within your operations. This can result in your business gaining a competitive edge within your industry.
To foster such a culture, begin by promoting AI education. Help your people be more aware and accepting of the AI initiatives you plan to implement. You can also encourage collaboration and experimentation among your teams. Encourage them to innovate by giving them both the means and incentives to do so.
Remember that a culture should affect everyone regardless of their role. To motivate people to be more innovative and AI-literate, it’s important that you yourself reflect these traits.
