Artificial intelligence (AI) is hot property right now. Many organisations are embracing it to propel their business into a new realm of innovation. However, while these organisations look forward to doing business on AI steroids, others are holding back. The reasons for this do not present themselves as that obvious – who wouldn't want to see their business's AI alter ego? – but, for some, there are very legitimate hesitations stifling any AI initiatives.
Lacking the right assets
What most of it boils down to is what the business lacks. Firstly, the digital skills gap – a very well-known crisis – makes it particularly difficult for companies without internal expertise. Finding a suitable and experienced hire is tricky, and retaining them against poaching by other companies is even trickier. Unfortunately, there's only so much an organisation can do; what it ultimately calls for is schools and universities to encourage more students to undertake STEM studies.
On the other hand, even with the right staff in place, organisations may not have the right setup. Data is a particularly important consideration. If you don't have the right amount of data of the right quality, you can forget about training your AI. Erroneous data is not going to help you achieve your business goals. Thus, until you do a data cleanse, AI initiatives are out of the question.
Furthermore, for many organisations, legacy software needs overcoming. Often, these software just don't have the modern-day capabilities necessary to execute AI. However, tearing up the software and starting again is easier said than done. Legacy systems, in many cases, are so ingrained into a business that ripping it from the roots is not a welcome idea. Rejuvenation can be an option, but is not always applicable.
What we are left with is a number of organisations who wonder if AI is even worth it. However, a word of caution: if you don't catch up now, you may never be able to in the future. Not only that, but nobody said it would be easy; AI was never going to be a matter of plug-and-go. In our humble opinion, the future is worth the fight.
If you enjoyed this article, you'll love this opinion piece about the AI skills gap by Dr Greg Benson at SnapLogic.
