The generative- / general-purpose AI model buzz (part 3) 

By Tim Beswick

We are often asked whether becoming an AI-driven enterprise requires something different than becoming a data-driven enterprise. In this series of blog posts, Anderson MacGyver shares her point of view on this topic. For those who want to start from the beginning, you can read part 1: How do we become an AI-driven enterprise? and part 2: Data-to-AI-to-Value journey. Now, let’s dive into part 3 in this blog: the first underestimated theme. 

1. The generative / general-purpose AI model buzz 

Theme one of the four underestimated themes

It is hard to escape the buzz around AI. To a large extent, this is caused by the tremendous advances in and uptake of freely and commercially available generative and/or general-purpose AI solutions, which kicked off in a big way with ChatGPT. On one side, this is helping data professionals to get attention from business and executives. The advancement and potential value are real. On the other, more negative side it is leading to short-sighted perspectives on what AI can be for an organization. 

Many technology and data teams are being pushed by business users into focussing their, often scarce, resources towards fulfilling business demand for the obvious generic and probably not most impactful use cases for generative- and / or general-purpose AI. Often without accurately assessing where the highest yield of efforts would be. Exactly in these situations, it is important to take a step back. Structurally engage to understand business priorities and create a common view on where and how data and AI contribute most to business value. Not in abstract terms, but in tangible wording, such as: The marketing manager uses a generative AI solution to reduce effort in redirecting marketing communications messages, reducing human effort and, with that, saving €200K per year. 

If this €200K per year efficiency gain is a strategic priority, go for it! If it is merely a nice to have and there are other more transformational opportunities to create value with data and AI, go for those! We are not aiming to debunk the value potential of generative- and / or general-purpose AI; we believe it can be real. We are cautioning for getting distracted by the buzz and becoming shortsighted. Engage with your businesses and flush out true business value beyond the buzz and prioritize.

We discuss the other 3 themes separately in the next three blog posts. So, stay tuned! 

Interested in further insights into this topic? Join our CIO Masterclass on becoming a scalable, AI driven enterprise on the 13^th of November.