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ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE
and its
applications
in the business
world

Working paper
Article for discussion
International Symposium:
Artificial Intelligence and its impacts over companies and careers
September 2018

Prof. Ricardo Britto


PhD in Administration at Universidade de São Paulo - USP
Dean of Americas International College
INTRODUCTION
The notion of replicating free-thinking, human intelligence inside machines has long since existed within a
world of fantasy - until now.
As of today, these ideas that were once only pigments of our imaginations, have materialized and are rapidly
finding practical applications within Companies and Corporations across the globe. The aim of this essay is to
conceptualize Artificial Intelligence by examining existing limitations, envisioning future capabilities and
exploring its uses within a variety of different company profiles.

CAN MACHINES
THINK?
One of the most controversial and highly disputed questions over the last 60 years that was brought to light
by Alan Turing, which launched a major research effort on what became known as Artificial Intelligence or AI.
In the second half of the twentieth century, what was once simply a term, became its own dedicated field of
study which continues to develop each and every day.

To put it simply, AI attempts to capture the use of human intelligence by mechanisms, systems or software to
complete various tasks and make decisions autonomously 1. We tend to relate Artificial Intelligence a
machines' ability to do tasks that would be typically require the cognizance and discernment of an intelligent
being, such as answering questions, recognizing faces, participating in games and describing objects 2,
analyzing large volumes of data while becoming increasingly more efficient.

The use of the term "artificial" to qualify this "intelligence" is controversial, although not biological, the devel-
oped intelligence is real, and ultimately inspired by the functioning of the human logical and natural reasoning
processes. For this reason, the concept of artificial intelligence is often interchanged by "cognitive technology,"
a term that is perhaps less self-explanatory, but carries a more specific connotation.
In the Computer Science sector, Artificial Intelligence - AI is now composed of a variety of areas and
specialties. Some AI applications are dedicated to understanding human language, while others’ purpose is to
recognize patterns in large compilations of data. Certain functions apply to simple decision making, while
artificial neural systems and autonomous learning, called "high level machine intelligence" - HLMI - offer per-
spectives of new, potential applications each day. Most machines possess the ability to perform a combination
of these tasks, making it very difficult for the average user to understand the true limitations and characteris-
tics of AI .

The practical applications of AI have been anticipated & foreshadowed even before its inception in the 1950’s.
One of its great propellers was the English mathematician Alan Turing who, during World War II, developed an
automated way of analyzing communication codes & breaking the paradigms of data analysis that greatly con-
tributed to the victory of the allied forces. This act was laid the foundation for data intelligence to be used in
the development of Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet itself. This was one of the first
and most iconic uses of "non-human" intelligence. Turing, who shortly after the conflict, wrote the article
"Computing Machinery and Intelligence", certainly was able to influence scientists who succeeded him from the
50's.

What has changed since then? Initially, Artificial

WHAT Intelligence aimed to reproduce human thought. Today,


has evolved to take on characteristics of human faculties

HAS
such as creativity, self-improvement and use of language
to efficiently solve problems. Modern computing, derived
from AI, made it possible to extrapolate the initial

CHANGED challenges proposed, allowing it to reach domains of


much higher complexity such as computer vision, voice
and synthesis analysis, diffuse logic, artificial neural
SINCE networks and many others

THEN? It is in the practical applications and methods that


companies and managers better implement them that the
present essay will focus.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
THE CURRENT
REALITY
As much as there is a race for the development and application of this technology and for comparing gains
from this pioneering, a 2017 study conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute among large corporations
shows that only 20 percent of surveyed companies had already adopted Artificial Intelligence significant
Proportions 3. This can be explained by the lack of familiarity with its use by the still scarce availability of
service providers with well-developed expertise and by the difficulty of assimilation and cultural resistance
perceptible to its implementation. The same study suggests that organizations with the highest degree of
digitalization and companies in the financial sector are leading the race for the implementation of cognitive
technologies. Automotive companies, for example, use Artificial Intelligence to develop autonomous cars and
improve their industrial operations, while financial firms rely on AI for duties related to service delivery and
customer experience.

Another interesting aspect of the development of cognitive technologies is that, unlike the context of the
emergence.com companies, AI has not developed in the hands of small companies. Having large volumes of
information and investing heavily in new computational approaches were key elements in the success of key
players in this area 5. And this is a game for big organizations to make the first moves.

How, then has AI manifested itself into the


business reality?

The most diverse applications are observed in many sectors. On a big data, the use of AI resources has
benefited the management of information sharing by groups of companies. In the field of computational
security, the use of AI has revolutionized the way companies protect their data. In health, AI
solutions provide increasing support for medical professionals to attend to their patients, from diagnosis to
post-treatment follow-up, monitoring heterogeneous information as physiological or biometric elements
combined with environmental factors observed through non-invasive techniques 6. In fields usually such as
Education and Entertainment, AI presents possibilities for converging practices. Automation gains new and
unthinkable prospects, with connected machines capable not only of performing repetitive activities, but also
solving unexpected problems its path.
Following the classification proposed by Davenport and Ronanki7, Artificial Intelligence can bring solutions to
three important needs: process automation; generation of knowledge by data analysis; and improved engage-
ment with customers and employees.

The automation of processes, called robotic process automation - RPA refers to the use of Artificial Intelligence
to bring systemic efficiency to processes previously subject to tasks previously performed by a person by oper-
ating quicker, safer, and more predictably. Such automation can be done by exporting data from e-mails or call
centers to storage systems or by reading legal or contractual documents, extracting information and guidelines
using natural language processing.

For Davenport and Ronanki (2018), the RPA is among the cognitive technologies discussed here that is
considered less "intelligent", as they are not necessarily programmed to learn and improve, but instead are
designed to perform a specific task. Without the ability to self-learn they are completely dependent on
developers to provide their updates, which can cause progress to be at a less than desirable pace. This type of
cognitive intelligence is, however, the most accessible to be implemented, both in financial and in terms of
ease of application and provides great returns on investments.

At NASA, for example, cost-cutting pressures led the agency to launch four pilots in payments, receipts, IT
spending and human resources- all managed by a shared services hub. Pilot projects have been successful to
the point, that in human resources, 86 percent of actions are completed without human intervention and are
now being expanded throughout the entire organization 8. The importance of launching projects and imple-
menting technology first in internal areas of the company, as seen in this case of success, will be discussed
later, when we take a step-by-step approach to the practical applications of Artificial Intelligence tools.

The second type of use, classified by the authors, that we approach here is the generation of knowledge by
data analysis. This method uses algorithms to detect patterns in vast volumes of data and to construct
interpretations and meanings to them. In practical terms, such technology has been applied to predict what a
particular customer would be more likely to buy, identify fraud on credit cards and insurance in real time,
analyze warranty usage data by customers to detect quality and safety issues in automobiles and other
industrialized products, and automate personalized targeting of digital advertisements, among others.

This way of generating information by machine learning differs from the traditional procedure of human
analysis in several ways. They tend to be much more data-intensive and analytical than traditional analysis and
can automatically improve performance as it is being used- this allows them to increase their capacity by
working on new data over time, making forecasts or organizing information in different categories.
General Electric used this technology to integrate supplier data and saved about US$80 million in the first year
of implementation by eliminating redundancies and negotiating contracts that were previously dealt with in the
most superficial9 business sphere. Other firms, according to the authors, have also used this technology to
evaluate deliveries from their suppliers, extracting data automatically from contracts and invoices and
comparing the terms contractually established with actual deliveries, often identifying a significant amount of
undelivered goods and services, which would be difficult or expensive to manually verify. Another area in which
the use of this cognitive technology is common is audits, where automation in data extraction generates the
possibility of covering a much larger number of documents within a considerably shorter period and without
much effort of human auditors.

Other innovative applications are surfacing every day. Researchers at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
have developed an image editing system capable of interpreting sports videos and selecting the best moments
of a broadcast, saving studio10 teams hours of manual work.

The third type of application, called cognitive engagement, is employed with projects that encourage the
business/client interface to use natural language processing. Practical ways of doing this can be seen in
intelligent service agents who can offer a 7/24 service, covering a wide range of services, such as password
recovery and technical support - all in the user's natural language and with growing service possibilities. Other
areas that your application can be seen are the internal websites for resolving collaborative issues, from IT to
human resources; product and service recommendation systems to assist resellers' business approach,
increasing customization and resulting in greater conversion into sales. The authors also mention the uses of
cognitive engagement in health care systems, which assesses the individual health status of patients and
previous treatments, allowing treatment recommendations or the creation of a personalized care plan.

To this day, it is more common to find the use of cognitive engagement interacting with internal collaborators
as opposed to the public, most likely as a strategy for assimilating technology and testing its functionality - as
we even recommend doing later. The tendency, however, is for companies to increasingly use direct
interaction with customers via machines as they become more comfortable with these tools and continue to
develop. The traditional models of answering doubts of users relate the question as understood by the AI
system to the answer of greater adherence to this question. However, a more complete response is common
when multiple sources are analyzed. This requires new approaches in the way machines finds answers to
questions asked by humans, bringing exceptional perspectives to the development of this field of application 12.
Technologies based on deep learning, search and qualification systems promise to innovate the way the
machine meets the requirements of human users13.

It is common at the same time to see companies experimenting with intelligent agents in the interaction with
their clients, either interacting with them directly or helping their staff in solving their questions. The Swedish
bank SEB, for example, already uses the Amelia avatar to assist its internal collaborators in supporting IT
issues and has recently made this smart agent available to customers, albeit in a restricted way, in order to
test their performance and response to this type of service14.
As you can see, the range of application of Artificial Intelligence is wide. There are multitudes of various
possibilities, available alternatives, and space for development. Many market players are already applying their
features, although in many cases this is done internally or as part of experimental projects or tests.
EXAMPLES OF
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Applications can be classified into large three types as described in the previous section or use hybrid
functionality to bring practical solutions to companies, employees and customers. Now we will discuss the
more specific examples of the use of cognitive technologies by expanding the reader's frame of reference
and preparing it for the next section, in which we present a structured script for applying the possible
functionalities of Artificial Intelligence.

Automated service

Chatbots use conventional language to communicate with people and transfer their information effectively. In
addition, they recognize names, telephone numbers and other data in order to reproduce human behavior in
meeting the demands. It stores what is essential and can still answer, forward requests or solve problems. If
well-informed and depending on the type of relationship you want to have with the customer, it tends to bring
excellent results, with considerable time and resource savings. From the pioneering systems, whose answers
often disappointed users, to the recent technological developments with progressively improved performance,
was already possible to notice a great development15. The next few years should mark a new era of electronic
service based on AI.

Management facilitators and personal assistants

Artificial Intelligence has the ability to assist in the analysis of organizational data and optimize decision
making by the manager. It can also improve the visibility of employees' actions, helping to verify if they are
performing their tasks efficiently. In other words, artificial intelligence helps companies connect all their
information and communications, favoring decision-making based on critical points and problem solving. And
all this being possible in real time, further enhancing the speed and outcome of the action16.

It can also assist employees in solving simple tasks, such as remembering the tasks of the day, scheduling
meetings, visiting, traveling, more. Moreover, it is able to provide this information in an individualized and
optimized way, without depending on the physical presence and availability of a human assistant, resulting in
increased focus and employee productivity17.
Robotization

The use of robots is not exactly new, but now they are able to work autonomously and even learn real-time as
well as communicate with other machines. This alliance between Artificial Intelligence and Mechatronics
Engineering, supported by IoT (Internet of Things) resources, enables the development of intelligent machines,
capable of building products with enough precision and autonomy, generating and sharing knowledge from
their performance. This modality is being used with prominence in the automotive industry18.

E-commerce

Artificial Intelligence is providing a competitive edge in e-commerce, as it becomes more affordable for
companies of every size or investment capacity. AI software is capable of automatically labeling, organizing
and making accessible commercial information of content present in images or videos. They are also making it
possible for buyers to discover similar products in size, brand and model. As AI's visual capabilities are
developing rapidly and e-commerce is an area of much interaction and fast return on investment, it is
expected that there will be great development in the near future 19.

Human Resources

The functionalities of Artificial Intelligence should radically transform the way of working in the sector of
human resources and recruitment, being an area notably advanced in its use, often supported by the
availability of data, facilitating the development of cognitive solutions. The more stages of the recruitment and
HR work are automated, the more professionals in this area will be able to dedicate themselves to specialized
actions, improving their performance and facilitating participation in the lives of professionals and overall
success of the company. Paradoxical as it may seem, the use of artificial mechanisms in HR can make the
company more human, since professionals in the area would be increasingly relieved of bureaucratic
processes to assist the personal and professional development of employees. It is also an area widely used in
pilot projects to implement cognitive technologies within companies 20.
Mobile Apps

A very practical way to utilize the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence is through mobile applications. With
pioneering voice and facial recognition technologies - notably Siri, Apple, Alexa, Amazon, Cortana and Google
Assistant - applications will be a fertile field of development and cognitive technologies, depending on both the
technological development in terms of programming and data processing, increasingly burdened to account for
the features it proposes.

The possible uses of these applications seem to have no limits. It can, in a very specific and
already available example, assist in the selection of clothes that are most pleasing to the user, considering
their physical and socio-cultural characteristics and the information collected during their interactions with the
application, all connected to the portfolio of the main stores, leveraging consumer-shopping experience and
industry-wide market access.

Other applications are already observed in photo editing, language learning, identifying medical symptoms or
searching for the ideal home. All of them rely on Artificial Intelligence technologies and functionalities,
improving over time with the development of codes, interaction with the market and the use and provision of
data by the user, creating solutions that are increasingly accurate and customized to their needs 21.

Data analysis

Whether in computational data or in the analysis of images for clinical purposes, AI has exhibited remarkable
developments in recent years. The first applications of interpretation of exams have already created a new
wave of optimism among health professionals, as the development of new approaches and the improvement
of methods should lead to quantum leaps in the accuracy levels of the diagnoses aided by AI 22.

Military and police applications

Mechanisms driven by AI systems have become progressively more frequent both in contexts of war and
community policing. By combining image identification capabilities, remote database access, advanced location
systems and other features, surveillance networks and stand -alone devices can perform a more
comprehensive work without endangering the lives of security officers. It is natural that ethical and legal
concerns grow as the use of these resources grows, since society must not accept that fundamental rights
and human lives are subject to machine decisions. This means that the efficiency of the system must be as
important as its mechanisms of social control.23
Remote Health Monitoring

Provide personnel with the ability to monitor the daily activities of elderly people, for example, is one of the
areas that has received the most resources for the application of AI. With the aging of the population and the
growing number of people living alone in their homes, such systems offer benefits to users and their health
care providers 24.

STEP BY STEP FOR APPLICATION

To assist the manager in his decision-making, we have built and presented here a structured script to prepare
and effectively apply the functionalities of Artificial Intelligence, to better take advantage of them, extracting
from them the best possible results. Although they greatly facilitate the understanding of their possibilities, it is
important to emphasize that these actions still present relevant complexity of practical application.

The needs and availabilities to implement the solutions vary among companies, due to their activity, their
momentum and their size. As a result, at each step we leave guidelines considering small and large companies
and their specific advantages and difficulties in implementing each one, with a final comment about
medium-sized organizations.
1. Critically monitor trends
Caution is always needed in the adoption of any innovation. No substantial change can be implemented
simply by fads. It is necessary, therefore, to follow the movements of the market, seeking gains from
pioneering and worrying about not being behind, but knowing that if it is for its own good, it is salutary to
accompany simultaneously the movements of the other actors and to learn with them - including their
mistakes.

The manager must always provide information to use the trends and be a pioneer when he sees obvious
advantages. Being aware of the major publications events, fairs and exhibitions on the use of AI in your
industry, for example, is a very natural way of having access to information. In a large enterprise, this may be
a specific assignment of an area, such as research and development or IT - for the specific case of Artificial
Intelligence. Or, if the potential of gaining value and applicability in various areas of the organization is
perceived, fostering innovation research within each of them and centrally managing and analyzing
information.

Small businesses and startups can hitch-hike other companies and service providers, who use these
technologies to sell services to smaller companies, democratizing their access. In general, the rule is: always
watch the market movements, the information or the relevant service there to be consumed.

2. Understanding technologies and paving the way for their implementation

As we discussed earlier, there are several technological possibilities available and more being developed.
Understanding them is crucial to knowing what kind of solution they can bring to your business. In addition,
depending on the activity of the company or the project, there are technologies that fit better and deliver
better results. A crucial factor is also cultural: the greater the willingness of employees to implement and build
discipline in the use of technological tools, the better their results tend to be. It is very common to see, when
applying new technologies, employees or areas within the company defend the postponement because of the
attachment to the tools with which they are already familiar. Understanding the internal moment of the
company and working it, if necessary, to assimilate the changes and sometimes build a new culture, is the
manager's primary task in applying these technologies.

Mastering this knowledge of technologies will greatly facilitate their dialogue internally, creating a conducive
environment for the idea to develop. It will also facilitate the external relationship with an ecosystem of
partners and service providers, who are often sought to bring solutions in this area. Ultimately the size of the
organization will dictate what approach is best. In larger companies, both the understanding of the
technologies and their communication to the rest of the employees can be assigned to specific areas,
constituting a bigger and better structured project. The IT area, for example, can be responsible for the
research and HR in preparing key employees and there is also the possibility of creating an ad hoc and
inter-sector project so that its success is enhanced. In smaller companies, the identification of employees'
individual potential is of great importance, both in the search for knowledge and in their transmission within
the organization. The identification of a key collaborator, such as more innovative, technological and
communicative profile, can enhance the understanding of functionalities and engagement with them
throughout the company.
3. Share knowledge and co-create solutions
It is also fundamental that knowledge is not restricted to the manager or to a specific area but
develops throughout the organization. That is, it is necessary to master the technology, but to be able to
transmit it to the collaborators, creating adhesion to the project and enhancing its acceptance and results. Due
to the current shortage of specialized talent in these technologies, companies tend to concentrate activities in
a specific area, such as IT, that leads to the implementation and management of technology in other areas or
takes care of the relationship with external collaborators. But the interpersonal relationship is not necessarily a
skill that this area has already developed. (Really necessary?) As the implementation of new technologies
leads to changes in habits - this is not always automatically accepted- a coordinator role that centralizes
implementation

activities and that has a communicative and conciliatory profile can be very useful in the management of both
the projects themselves the careers involved. This can be of fundamental importance in large companies, with
more established bureaucratic processes and with more formally established work areas with dedicated
assignments. Smaller companies tend to have a competitive advantage here. Creating enthusiasm of
employees for the study and implementation of disruptive technology tends to be more tangible in smaller
companies, in case there is an environment of team unity, engagement, a clear understanding of the
advantages of each employee and the results of the company, which would exist with the development of the
project. No Matter how small or large, it is important for the employee to understand the importance of their
participation and the success of the project for themselves and the company's mission rather than seeing their
participation merely as extra work - which is common when the end goal is unclear.

4. Look inside and identify opportunities

Opportunities in which cognitive technologies bring the most out are often in those parts of the company
where knowledge for understanding of the business decision making or solution development is not
accessible. As, for example, they rely on insights from extensive analyzes of data or texts. To identify such
opportunities, it is important to be aware of information bottlenecks: often knowledge exists within the
company, but it is not well distributed or there are human or procedural blockages that hinder its fluidity
throughout the organization.

Other times, knowledge exists but the process for obtaining or using it is too costly to prevent the project
from developing. It is also common for companies to collect much more data than they can analyze because
of a lack of technical knowledge, skilled personnel or because the amount of data is really large, which makes
it difficult to interpret or identify the best strategy. In all these cases, Artificial Intelligence can be very useful
but you must know to what end it will be applied.
Again, there is a special challenge here for large companies. Identifying the bottlenecks and potentials of
information fluidity tends to be costlier in larger enterprises by requiring understanding of the task relevance
by a larger number of people. Engaging people and areas of different skills is not always as natural as people
would like - even more if information bottlenecks are, as is customary, in behavioral habits of specific areas or
collaborators. In smaller companies, there is a greater facility in auditing, internally or relying on external
service providers, the company processes and redesigning them, if necessary, for the best adaptation of a
new technology. However, regardless of the size of the company, building the project to implement cognitive
technology from the first moment in a .participatory manner, making clear the gains and even offering prizes
for the participation and delivery of its employees, seems to be the best way.

5. Prioritize projects and actions

Not everything can be done at the same time. Systematically assessing skills and needs of the company, via
workshops or consulting, for example, helps considerably in the development of a prioritized portfolio of
projects. As the implementation of cognitive technologies changes the way companies conduct their business,
an interesting route would be to phase this implementation or consider preparatory actions to take a
transformational action in the future. The adoption of a chatbot to take care of the relationship with clients can
have its results enhanced if such a measure is implemented within the company, in the solution of human or
IT resources for its employees, adapting them to the coming reality and placing to test the tools used, giving
even scope to improve them over time, before subjecting it to the appreciation - or criticism - of its market.

Here, despite the differences inherent in the size of companies, there is no apparent advantage to larger or
smaller companies - prioritizing projects is equally important and challenging in both scenarios. In large
companies, understanding the priorities of the organization can be more challenging because of the
procedural rigidity that may already exist; however, the existence of structured areas allows the testing of the
solutions, in a preliminary stage, easier to happen - such as dealing with human resources issues by a
reasonable number of employees. In smaller companies, because they are generally associated with core
business activities - improving service delivery to their customers, for example, by reducing their time and
cost. The smaller - and sometimes less qualified - universe of collaborators limits the possibility of testing and
potentials of assimilation of technology before putting it into practice.
.
6. Determine uses and choose technology
It is suggested to methodically evaluate which cases will benefit from the application of AI to
ge ne ra te s u bs ta nti a l res ul ts . Thi s i nc l ud es mea s uri ng the i m pa c ts - both tec hni c a l a nd
organizational - of the implantation and change of culture and comparing them with the short and long-term
results. Thus, one can prioritize cases where the effort is worthwhile, which creates competitive advantages
over time. Also, understanding where it is intended to implement changes, one must carefully choose the
technology to be used.

One must consider whether such technology can bring the required solutions. Chatbots, for example, can
sometimes bring frustrations to companies for failing to meet customer service demands, either because of
the complexity of the information involved or because of the quality or personality that is desired for this
interaction, falling short of conventional human interaction, which meets the delivery requirements albeit less
efficiently or quickly. The understandings of the expected results and of the technological environment used
must move together, to boost the gains of the initiative.

Determining the use and choice of technology should be a natural part of the project implementation process.
Depending on a their ability to invest, some technologies may be impeding the choice of smaller companies,
but more affordable solutions can also serve them in a more complete way than they would in a large
company. Here is an important warning: cognitive technologies are often seen as the transformative factor
that, when adopted, revolutionizes business overnight. Neither the small deadline nor the huge transformation
are beneficial to the project and betting on long shots, that is, projects that focus on technology to radically
change the reality of the business, can incur high risks and great chances of failure. Often, less ambitious
goals, using the same technological framework, can bring more feasible and transformative results; therefore,
it is necessary to understand each company's situation and make decisions based on large amounts of
information and critical sense.

7. Prototyping and measuring results

There is a distance not always well discernible between the desired and available technologies or between the
expected and feasible functionalities, regarding the use of AI. To better understand paths and possibilities, a
very valid alternative is the development of some pilot project in AI before extending its application to the
company as a whole. Such a procedure would be especially appropriate for initiatives with the potential to
generate significant value to the organization - which obviously only occurs if well applied - and to
circumstances where it is interesting to test more than one technology simultaneously, in order to understand
which one - or which aspects of each one of them - is better integrated into the reality of the company or the
project in question.
This caution becomes especially relevant in common cases in which the application drive of this type of
technology is given top-down by senior executives or even by the shareholders of the company, by the mere
desire to innovate or influenced by technology vendors or consultants which sell "innovation for innovation" -
which, as can be seen, can be a relevant issue in the universe of both large and small companies. As with any
project, the objectives and metrics need to be clear to maximize their results, even more so in the use of tools
with a high degree of complexity and impact on the habits of those involved. Creating pilot projects can
validate - or reject - the benefits of adopting a technology.

If a company chooses to launch multiple pilots at the same time, it is worth considering the constitution of a
central AI structure, in order to manage them in an integrated manner, share information, difficulties and
solutions, anticipate needs and build, from of the smaller pilots, more substantial applications that can really
bring significant impact to the organization - which tends to be a common trend in large companies. Smaller
companies would find it more difficult to test pilots on their own employees, because of their smaller number
and the lesser relevance of technology to attend to internal issues - for example, meeting the demands of HR
or IT in an automated way can be the same as it already is in a “human” way or the cost of this pilot may be
incompatible with the reality of the company. However, for large and especially small firms, one interesting
route may be to apply technological innovation to a narrow group of clients - chosen at random or by their
engagement profile - to feedback. In this way, they test the solutions in a practical and interactive way with the
market, reducing the risks and potentiating the success of their future implementation, giving the project a
co-creative character with its clients, which is a value to be communicated when it is available to a larger
universe of people.

8. Match the processes to the new reality


In projects with a lot of uncertainties, expectations and learning, one must be aware of how the
organization's work processes are able to assimilate, contribute and / or not disrupt the development of
cognitive intelligence projects. It tends to be inevitable that conventional processes are pressured by changes
to adapt to the new reality or will be influenced by insights from engaging with these new technologies. Sys-
tematic and conscientious redesign of processes tends to enhance the gains of interaction between humans
and machines, boosting their strengths and compensating their weaknesses and significantly contributing to
the incorporation of technology into the company culture, increasing the interest and engagement of
employees and resistance to change. Some companies, however, do not look at the gains of the adaptation
process and simply automate existing processes, leaving no room for improvement. Such a move can simplify
and streamline the implementation of technologies but tend to not take full advantage of AI. For this use, an
interesting way is to adopt the principles of design thinking: understanding the needs of customers or users,
involvement of employees whose work is on the agenda, construction of pilots to be validated considering
multiple alternatives and explicit consideration of the functionalities of AI in the process design.

Redesigning processes can be easier in smaller companies, often in more dynamic and disruptive processes;
however, the attachment to traditional processes is often perceived and less aligned with the guidelines and
hierarchies of the company as a whole - all depending on the characteristics of the company and the
management model adopted in it. Large companies may have more difficulty initially in redesigning complex
processes, but they may also find it easier, over time, to assimilate them to their reality without depending on
such personal factors. What is important is to understand that processes can and should always be improved
and the adoption of cognitive technologies enhances the possibility and urgency of that.
9. Prepare to scale
Several organizations have succeeded in launching pilot projects in Artificial Intelligence but have failed to
expand the project to the scope of the company. To achieve their goals, companies need to have a detailed
plan to scale these projects, which requires collaboration between the technology experts and those responsi-
ble for the processes to be automated. Typically, cognitive technologies support individual tasks within a
broader process, necessitating integration between their functionalities and the system that encompasses
them. This integration is, in fact, one of the great challenges that companies face in the implementation of
these technologies.

Companies should begin the process of gaining scale by considering whether the necessary integrations are
available or even feasible. If such integration is dependent on special technology that is difficult to obtain, its
scale gain may be limited. Processors should therefore discuss these bottlenecks with the developers of the
technology during or even before the prototyping process.

The challenge is of equal importance to companies large or small, but smaller ones may have an advantage, as
they are more likely to gain scale and prepare for it. The same implementation of cognitive technologies
already has this intrinsic purpose, whereas in larger companies the improvement of specific processes,
regardless of the scale that this gains in the future, is quite recurring objective. The key is to devise the
adoption of these technologies as a path to the future, a structural change in the way the relationships
between the actors of the company and the market are conceived and a continuous and exponential learning
of their potentialities. Being restricted to a present demand and not paying attention to the future gains of
adopting a cognitive solution is not only limiting its functionalities but also putting its success at risk over time.

10. Value information and data quality


A good analogy for AI is to see it, contrary to what the term wants to convey, as a biological organism whose
food is the data. This organism needs food to perform its functions and the more nutrients, the more energy it
takes to do so; however, data such as nutrients are not all the same. The better the data quality, the better the
system will be and the better your performance will be. Throughout the process of implementing and using
cognitive technologies, this mindset is of utmost importance. Mastering relevant knowledge for decision mak-
ing is critical and often this knowledge is already within the company. Artificial Intelligence can analyze a huge
amount of data but is unable to understand - rationally and emotionally - how the market is capable of making
the organization's biological brains. In addition, the implementation of cognitive technologies is a process,
which may have a specific beginning, but does not necessarily have an end and is responsible for stimulating
changes and adaptations in other company processes. Being attentive to the management of these processes
and their information, is fundamental to understand the practical scope of technology and its best use over
time.

This step is a rule, which permeates all previous steps, regardless of the size of the company and will
accompany it throughout the future. In fact, the importance of information and data quality will only increase as
the technology is implemented and new technologies and functionalities are developed. Understanding and
implementing this step is of fundamental importance for all companies and managers who want to understand
the potential of the current technological moment and, in addition, position themselves with pioneering and
assertiveness in the business universe of the future.
As anticipated, we leave a specific guideline for managers of medium-sized companies: the timing of this
company tends to be the ideal for the implementation of cognitive technologies, with great potential to be the
key transformation for the improvement of processes and the gain of what it needs to position itself
prominently in the market. At the same time, it does not have the same budget constraints as small firms, but
have less rigid procedural and hierarchical structures than larger firms; it has more employees - and most like-
ly customers and service providers - than small companies, but not as large as to make it difficult to test,
implement and assimilate change, both internally and externally; and, finally, it has fewer risks linked to dis-
ruptive changes, either due to poorly understood repositioning of large companies in the market or to the loss
of the direction sense of small companies when subjected to high impact changes. And the challenges are the
same: to seek the maximum information and to watch the process, knowing where you are starting and
where you want to go, by participating in these steps and knowing that the game that is starting now has
current impacts, but the results will be collected, substantially and continuously, over a longer period.
FUTURE OF AI
Managers who have experience in implementing cognitive technologies seem to be optimistic about future
projections for AI. While the results so far are still relatively modest, these
technologies will certainly transform the business environment even more than they have done so far. Compa-
nies that adopt it will be well placed to reap the rewards of this work in the future.

Through the application of AI, areas where information has a determining role - such as
marketing, health, finance and education - can become both more valuable and accessible to
society. At the same time, by absorbing the repetitive tasks, the machines will release more
human workers for creative activities, generating a virtuous cycle of innovation and development.
There are, however, caveats to be made. There are, for example, common characteristics
between artificial intelligence and some innovations of the past that can serve as an alert. One is the tendency
to overvaluation - to such an extent that their real possibilities may be hidden or that expectations are raised
so high that the results observed will be frustrating. Davenport and Ronanki describe in their paper the case of
the unsuccessful attempt to apply IBM's Watson system in a hospital. Failure seemed to be more linked to
excessive expectations than to the system itself 25
.

Another point regarding the future expectations of the use of Artificial Intelligence is referring to the ethical is-
sues involved. These are not restricted to the cliché that is driven by works of fiction that always had the core
in this conflict. This concern is also present in academia, government organizations and civil society and
should also be part of the corporate culture when considering AI applications in their practical reality. Several
studies have suggested an attention to the risks and limits of the use of AI in companies due to their immense
potentialities 26.
An alert, perhaps, exaggerated but aligned with historical expectations and to some extent
consistent with the current moment of uncertainty about the development of these technologies.

An article published in January 2018 by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) in London aimed to foster dia-
logue among market players and draw attention to the values considered relevant in the
application and impacts of AI functionalities 27. Its rapid evolution has raised issues beyond the academy and
research centers, prompting governments and other entities, business and civil
society, to demand greater accountability for ways in which AI is used, trying to find solutions to the ethical
and legal issues that stem from the greater integration of these technologies with
people's lives. Within the business world, one concern is the level of control that organizations can retain as
decision-making processes are increasingly subjected to machine logic and how to ensure that they always act
in line with company values. It should not be forgotten that even a decision taken by a machine will have a
possible negative impact on the companies responsible and may undermine the credibility and confidence it
has in the market 28 .
It is often said that Artificial Intelligence is presented not as a tool to make tasks easier and more efficient, but
as a threat and competition factor for jobs because of its application. Since the first industrial revolution,
however, one observes the exact opposite: technological development bringing positive results for the
generation of jobs. With higher productivity, more wealth is produced, the greater the consumption of goods
and services, which generates more jobs. AI applications produce the same positive effect, shifting human
labor to new tasks and generating more value in the market aggregate. Job exchanges and necessary
requalification, however, create real fear in people. Understanding this context and working on communication,
both internally and externally, is a crucial factor for the acceptance and engagement of people - employees
and customers. IBE, in its article, makes a strong statement: technologies are not ethical or unethical,
depending on the uses that people or organizations, controlled by humans, make of them, having to never run
over the human values involved, such as truthfulness of the information generated, respect for privacy,
integrity of actions and transparency towards the community.

This perception of the importance of the ethical question and its understanding by the market - consumer and
professional - is also present in the predictions that PwC made for the development of Artificial Intelligence in
2018. But in its view, Artificial Intelligence will impact employees before it impacts jobs - that is, it will change
the way employees work, rather than merely replacing them with machines.

The same article, however, is emphatic: since technology is complex and developing rapidly, it is impossible to
know precisely how its scenario will be in ten years - just as many of the predictions made ten years ago have
missed much of what is observed in practice today; however, this is how to analyze its trends and build
scenarios, an activity that is very important to understand this evolution over time and aim for a pioneer in the
use of its benefits. The fact is that cognitive technologies will not only be part of the future but will help build
and understand the future reality. To understand it and take a prominent position in it, one must prepare
adequately for its challenges and opportunities.
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