The human side of implementing AI

What’s keeping the company where you work from implementing AI?

Larry Lefkowitz, chief scientist for AI practice at tech consultancy Sapient, says only 20 percent of businesses use AI at scale. “AI adoption is in its infancy,” he explains. “Clearly AI is hot … but it’s also clear that it’s not being adapted and adopted as quickly as we’d like.” The issues that hold implementation back, though, often aren’t technical — they’re human: Unrealistic expectations from the C-suite, difficulties in change management, uncooperative employees. So how can IT make onboarding artificial intelligence easier for people?

Lefkowitz says some people “are confused by what [AI] means. They don’t understand what AI they should use or how they can use it best.” Michael Jabbara, senior director of global product for Visa, agrees. AI is so hot right now that Jabbara’s biggest challenge is convincing management that it can’t solve everything. He compares public perception to “the father from My Big Fat Greek Wedding [who] believes the solution to any malady you have is a little Windex.” From AI that fights speeding tickets to AI-driven sexbots, trendy applications of the tech have given laypeople the impression that it can do anything. “So from a business perspective,” Jabbara continues, management thinks, “‘Oh, you have a problem? Just spray a little AI on it.’”

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