Should AI Be Part of Your Digital Transformation Strategy? - InformationWeek

AI is seeping into enterprises from all directions. It's being embedded in applications, software tools, devices and equipment. Yet, some organizations still don't have an AI strategy. "The journey to AI having an impact at a firm is challenging and sometimes long," said Nigel Duffy, global artificial intelligence leader at professional services firm EY. "To have an impact with AI you must solve a lot of problems, many of which have nothing to do directly with AI, [such as] how do you deploy solutions? How do you get them into your infrastructure? How do you get people to use them? What are the workforce and change management considerations? What kind of training is required? AI is too disruptive to ignore. If your company lacks an AI strategy by design, then it has one by default. A default strategy is a Wild, Wild West scenario in which AI is popping up in various places within an organization, without orchestration and alignment. The lack of cohesion and direction can result in several issues including governance and security. "[S]ome of those risks may not be well characterized, so they have not been addressed by the appropriate level of governance and review," said Duffy. "Most AI is going to come through procurement or it's going to come through the backdoor or technology you've deployed." Should an AI strategy be part of a digital transformation strategy? One reason some people think an AI strategy should be part of a digital transformation strategy is because the digital transformation strategy is viewed as the overarching business initiative that's facilitated by modern technologies. "If an organization's digital transformation strategy does not already include AI, then there is a real need to revisit the overall approach to transformation, said David Homa, director of the Digital Initiative at Harvard Business School.