There is not much of a middle ground when it comes to opinions on the use of AI in business. On one side you have those who evangelise about generative AI and believe it will be essential for future success. On the other, the people who constantly warn that AI offers easy solutions but, when you look under the hood for more than a moment, it’s found wanting on a number of fronts. In truth, that middle ground should probably be larger, because there is space for enthusiasm and caution alike when it comes to AI’s place in the market.
AI is not, and never will be, a cure-all
If you are, or have ever been, of the belief that AI can simply be pointed at a problem and will fix it, that’s an illusion you need to shake right now. AI undeniably has its uses, but it needs to be managed well. For example, there is a clear benefit to the use of intelligent AI chatbots, which can provide customer service around the clock even when you don’t have human operatives to manage the feed. It does depend, however, on the information you provide to the AI, and the expectations you communicate to customers. An AI cannot, and never will, think on its feet like a human does, and this is why it will remain a first-line solution with the need for human contributions in complex situations.
AI is better at some things than others
You may well by now have seen some AI-generated videos and read some AI fiction. Let’s be clear about both of these forms of media. They are terrible. Real films and TV shows aren’t just written by humans. They are staged, lit and cast by humans too. Many hours of footage are filmed by expert teams in order just to make 30 minutes of TV action. AI videos are readily identifiable as such because the AI will always miss little details a human would notice immediately. And that’s never going to change, because they can only ever replicate. Now, for some things, like coding an app script or searching for information, that ability to replicate is brilliant because AI does it so fast. Just don’t expect these results on everything.
AI does make mistakes
Some of the more enthusiastic backers of AI, and particularly the generative form of it, talk about how it is better than human employees because it doesn’t have lapses of focus and concentration, and won’t make sloppy mistakes. That’s not true. Anyone who has used AI to a considerable extent will have noticed that it has blind spots. Ask an AI to generate 500 words of content, and you may find that what it delivers is 250 words, 450 words, or maybe not even that much. Ask an AI to explain how a certain invention works, and it may well pull information from a non-authority site which is utterly wrong. AI is brilliant at bulk work, but it will always need to be checked for accuracy.
People who believe that AI is a game-changer and will make business easier in the long run are correct. But people who recognise that it is at its best when managed by people and supported in its problem-solving are the ones who will get the best results from it, and it’s worth remembering that.
