University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
AI Bullseye Tactics For Non-Technical Business Leaders
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AI Bullseye Tactics For Non-Technical Business Leaders

Artificial Intelligence to Hit Business Value Targets, Tackle Unsolvable Problems, and Generate Tremendous Returns

Thomas Gilbertson
Thomas Gilbertson, 2023
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

AI gets constant hype. Business leaders are sure it can boost profits – if they only knew how – and that they must start using it before their rivals. Author Thomas Gilbertson, who has completed 20 AI projects and holds several related patents, builds a bypass road around the hype. He offers practical guidance on how you can use AI to achieve positive business results and explains when not to use it, as well as how to think about it, plan for it, and set achievable goals. Gilbertson shows businesspeople how to tap AI’s power, as he inoculates readers against the hype. His cautionary lesson: AI must deliver value, even if it can’t promise just how much.

Summary

People are infatuated with AI – the shiny new thing that seems as if it ought to be able to help.

AI, the newest shiny object for enhancing business value, competes with more common routes to building value, including innovation, cutting costs, and enhancing the customer experience. Other management practices, such as Six Sigma, process re-engineering, and product innovation already address or incorporate those routes.

Historically, business decisions required certainty. Banks defined good or bad lending risks with rules that included empirical requirements, such as credit scores. Someone with a low credit score couldn’t get a loan, but lenders welcomed those whose credit scores beat their cutoff point.

AI doesn’t provide clear-cut certainty. An AI analysis studies numerous data points, so it is more likely to produce an answer that gives a range, such as saying that its analysis suggests, “…86% approval of the loan applicant and a 14% disapproval…” The old rule-driven system answered yes or no, but AI delivers results on a spectrum. Failure to acknowledge the fundamental...

About the Author

Thomas Gilbertson is Optum Technology's senior director of AI delivery and innovation. He focuses on applying AI, advanced technologies, and agile engineering to transform business processes and the customer experience.

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