I could wrap up the AI topic with the same message as on business automation. Use in moderation as everything is a medicine and a poison depending on the dosage.
AI implementation is a totally different Pandora’s box though. It mixes hopes and phobias in equal measure. It’s a highly explosive combination. The history of AI knows periods of optimism followed by “winters”, when enthusiasm slowed down and criticism piled up.
In his absurdist poem “The Hunting of the Snark”, Lewis Carroll describes the highly sought for creature called Snark. But he also warns of its dark doppelganger, the Boojum, who can make a soul vanish without a trace.
Some argued that Snark might have been an allegory for some new technology. It’s really attractive but has a dark side. Like an atomic bomb. But it can also be AI. Actually, as Carroll was a mathematician, this could be a more plausible hypothesis.
Speculations aside, what is a healthy dose of AI? Is there a healthy dose? Let’s discuss.
“If your Snark be a Snark… fetch it home by all means”
The more I think of it, the more I’m sure that AI is the Snark. (And please do read the poem, you’ll never stop quoting from it!) It takes a lot of forms, it possesses multiple mutually exclusive qualities, it holds different meaning for each part of the crew.
The head of a hunting party — the Bellman — just wants a Snark, and for the rest of the team to witness his glory. One of tech founders obsessed with developing THE AI product? There are entrepreneurs and investors whose strategy is to straddle a promising trend. I’ve seen it already with blockchain.
Other team members have different motivations for finding the Snark. Well, some of them aren’t even sure they’re on the right ship! Some aren’t equipped for the ride at all. Some feel excited and disturbed in equal measure.
Funny enough (not), it’s also the case when we look at the situation in the companies. AI penetration there is quite uneven, from 34% in Sales & Marketing to 4% in Manufacturing, according to “State of AI” report. Risk & legal are more reluctant — inaccuracy, cybersecurity and compliance are in the top-5 of risks with 63%, 51% and 42% respectively, notes the same report.
“If your Snark be a Boojum! …you will softly and suddenly vanish away”
Existential fears aside, AI is still too much of a black box to rely on it completely. Even after having gone through multiple Gartner hype cycle iterations, this technology still tends to surprise — and overpromise — on each turn.
The phobia of a technology suddenly turning into its evil twin reveals lack of governance. KPMG survey highlights that 66% respondents don’t have a dedicated AI risk management role in place. At the same time, legislators in US and EU are introducing more requirements, which might unpleasantly surprise those who don’t tend to get too involved.
Another common fear is AI squeezing people out from — now redundant — jobs. Goldman Sachs research expects up to 60% jobs be affected due to automation, which could lead to 300 mln jobs being lost. Think the Barrister’s dream of a Snark taking his role in a court and proclaiming the its own defendant guilty instead. A real nightmare.
Some experts go further and warn about catastrophic scenarios, like AI going rogue or companies failing to control its development in search for more profits. Putting a cap on rapid AI advancement was a topic of a widely known open letter supported by some big names. Whoever’s business interests are entangled in this, such concerns cannot be simply brushed aside.
You may seek it with thimbles — and seek it with care
The Snark hunters had different fates in the end of the poem. The Bellman lost part of its crew — the Baker, who was the most fearful of a Boojum — got exactly that and vanished without a trace. Two sworn enemies — the Butcher and the Beaver — face a mutual danger and end up friends for life. The company implementing AI might not end up intact but definitely not destroyed.
AI is here to stay. It keeps coming, stronger each time, after much disappointment, offering the new hope. There’s no avoiding it. It has the power of accelerating the business and bringing advantage to different functions. “Fetch it home by all means — you may serve it with greens, and it’s handy for striking a light”, the poem suggests.
In letting the ignorance control the narrative, however, AI runs amok. Putting palms over one’s eyes to pretend not to see the concerns any developing technology poses is a terrible strategy. Snark became a Boojum for the Baker because it was what he had always expected.
Organisations need to set up controls for AI development and implementation. Clear definitions, risk assessment, structured process and governance can help mitigate multiple very tangible risks associated with AI and reap the benefits, KPMG rightfully notes. Maybe such instruments would prove inadequate and have to be replaced. But for now we can be as prepared as possible, pursue “it with forks and hope” and learn along the way.
The article uses quotes from “The Hunting of the Snark”, a poem by Lewis Carroll
