Learning To Trust Artificial Intelligence: An Optimist's View

Should business leaders learn to trust decisions being delivered via artificial intelligence? It's inevitable that AI-based decisions will be accepted and trusted for many decisions, large and small, in the very near future -- as people and enterprises learn and experiment with the technology to the point they are comfortable. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Agrawal at Fractal's recent AI confab held in New York, in which he explained how AI is taking decision-making to a whole new level. "Business leaders are there for the purpose of driving better outcomes for their customers, for their employees and their shareholders," he says. "They don't have to trust the algorithms, they just have to trust the results. I think the philosophy of the enlightened ones follow is one of experimentation. Experiment, and look at the results. With such experimentation, what happens in due course is as you find more success, he continues. "The belief becomes stronger, and then you're willing to experiment or infuse analytics, AI even into areas where you can't necessarily measure impact because your belief in AI is strengthened." The key to gaining trust and acceptance with AI is education and understanding its potential, Agrawal believes. "Understanding how it can help us grow, as well as learning around its pitfalls and risks." Ultimately, he believes, AI "is all going to be infused into all our processes -- it's not going to be visible.