Dr. Steven Gustafson is Noonum's CTO and an AI scientist, passionate about solving hard problems while having fun and building great teams. Organizations often begin their AI journeys with the expectation that technology can augment their existing processes. While this is sometimes true, more often, organizational processes and business operations need to change to leverage AI. This article is the first step of a process I've used for many years to help businesses architect AI solutions to help make better decisions and achieve a positive return on their AI investments. The goal of this step is to answer the following question: Are we ready to invest in AI? Decide: What decision in your business do you need to use AI for? Organizations make decisions all the time that can be improved using AI -- for example, who to hire, what sales lead to approach or what products to offer for a discount.

As interesting as understanding what AI is and how it works, the most relevant and compelling question for any business is answering the question if and why they should use it. Whilst the specifics will vary for each business according to industry, vision and goal, there are some key aspects that form the basis for every answer. For any organisation, the foundation of the business case for AI will be based on three elements: the business objectives and the decisions made to achieve them, the predictions that inform decision-making and the value realised by acting on those decisions faster, more accurately and consistently over time than existing methods or by unlocking some new capability. This foundation must then be built upon, addressing factors such as data, technology that presents a viable solution plus the human and financial resources to develop and implement. By following this approach, business leaders will ensure they establish a clear business imperative that is agnostic and will form the basis for each of the other domains, allowing needs to direct AI initiatives rather than preconceptions based on technology or data. The simplest themes for most organisations will involve cost reduction or revenue growth and applying AI to support this by optimising and automating a key business task, such as automating back office tasks, demand forecasting and inventory management or pricing strategy.

Wait, the artificial intelligence (AI) advantage is already here and gone? That's what Deloitte warns in the report "Future in the balance? How countries are pursuing an AI advantage." "There are indications that the window for competitive differentiation with AI is rapidly closing. As AI technologies become easier to consume and get embedded in an increasing number of products and services, the early-mover advantage will rapidly diminish."

Wait, the AI advantage is already here and gone? That's what Deloitte warns in their report "Future in the balance? How countries are pursuing an AI advantage".A noteworthy quote: "There are indications that the window for competitive differentiation with AI is rapidly closing. As AI technologies become easier to consume and get embedded in an increasing number of products and services, the early-mover advantage will rapidly diminish" (see Figure 1). How Countries are Pursuing an AI Advantage". But of course, it's not too late to benefit from the digital transformation potential of AI! Because having AI capabilities is not the same thing as exploiting AI capabilities. "AI success depends on getting the execution right.