Take a Stand on A.I. Where It Matters Most

• "Let's create AI that transforms business." That's IBM's ad campaign introducing their new watsonx platform. We all know how powerful a tool AI is and history is rich with tools that have truly transformed not just business but society as a whole. Think the printing press, steam engine, money, telephone, and internet to name a few. 

AI is a tool, inherently neither good nor evil, and still subject to our decisions about how it will be used. Recognizing its tremendous potential, the issue for you as a leader is how you will design and deploy the tool we call AI. This is where you can take a stand.

• What first comes to mind when you think about AI and your business?

• How does AI fit your business philosophy?

• What is your stance on AI for your organization right now?

How to Take a Stand on AI Through Principled Leadership

Visualize the use of AI on a spectrum, ranging from low-level, tactical applications to high-level, principle-driven deployments. What aspects of AI you adopt and how you deploy it right now is up to you.

Here are examples of how you can elevate AI as a transformative tool by being highly principled in your deployments at every level. This is taking a stand through your leadership actions.

1. Low-Level (Tactical). Specific tasks like data entry automation or deploying basic chatbots. 

   1. Communicate internally how even the simplest AI tasks, like data entry automation, align with the larger goals of the department or company. 

   2. Demonstrate that you value customers by ensuring that chatbots transparently identify themselves as bots to users to maintain genuine interactions.

2. Intermediate-Level (Operational Efficiency): Enhancing operational processes, like supply chain optimization and HR resume screening.

   1. Make sure the optimization models align with your sustainability and ethical sourcing goals.

   2. Foster deep collaboration between AI developers and operational teams to ensure the AI tools meet real-world needs and challenges.

3. Advanced-Level (Strategic Decision-Making). Informing broader business decisions, e.g. product development priorities through market trend analysis, and financial modeling for investment decisions.

   1. Ensure insights from market trend analysis align with your  long-term vision and not just short-term profits. This is taking the long view!

   2. Be transparent with stakeholders about how AI influences strategic decisions, building trust in your decision-making process.

4. High-Level (Principle-Driven & Purpose-Guided). Beyond efficiency and strategy, using AI to advance your company values and long-term vision.

   1. Implement AI in ways that prioritize ethical considerations, like ensuring data privacy and reducing algorithmic bias.

   2. Engage with external experts, communities, and even competitors to collaboratively drive principle-guided AI initiatives, fostering broader industry and societal progress.

The integration of AI in business is not just a technological shift but a philosophical one. As a love-powered business leader, you get to take a stand on AI as a tool. You get to help shape the rules in your business to ensure that AI serves as a tool for positive transformation, resonating with deeper human values and advancing societal progress.