Austin Ambrozi is the Co-Founder and COO of Doxci, an AI company that helps organizations put their paperwork on autopilot.
As we stand on the cusp of a new technological era, the integration of artificial intelligence into organizations has become not merely an option but a necessity for maintaining competitiveness and efficiency. However, this transition is far from seamless, as leaders encounter a myriad of challenges when adopting AI within their organizations. From concerns about over-reliance on third-party integrations to losing a human element in customer service, these obstacles can appear daunting.
However, the path to successfully implementing AI in an organization is not insurmountable. To help other leaders, I ask 11 members of Forbes Business Council’s AI Group, a community I lead, to not only share challenges that leaders can anticipate when adopting AI but also how they can address them head-on.
1. Effectively Bridging The Skills Gap
A challenge of adopting AI is bridging the skills gap. Regardless of industry, understanding AI’s complexities is crucial. A practical step to improve AI adoption is investing in relevant training for your team. This empowers your staff, accelerates AI implementation and drives business innovation. – Andrei Neacsu, HyperSense Software Inc
2. Leaders Not Addressing Employees’ Fear Of Job Displacement
A challenge of adopting AI technology is the fear of job displacement or employee resistance. To combat this, leaders can foster a culture of collaboration and communication, emphasizing that AI augments human capabilities and provides assistance. This approach promotes employee involvement, addresses concerns, and highlights the benefits of AI, which improves adoption and creates support. – Kellie Rastegar, Rastegar Property Company
3. Needing Critical Thinkers
We’re finding ways AI can help streamline processes but recognize this technology doesn’t replace our need for critical thinkers. The majority who o are afraid of implementing AI have concerns that the technology will eliminate their job. Right now, we’re laser-focused on training our team on ways to scale productivity by leveraging AI to get more done in a shorter amount of time. – Joe Trusty, Pool Magazine
4. Knowing Which Tasks Are Best Left To People
The pace of technology is evolving so quickly it becomes difficult to know where to start, which programs to use and what to use them for. Employees can be hesitant to adopt automation when they feel there is a loss of humanity and control. Besides focusing on where there is redundancy, I recommend focusing on what tasks need more depth and detail. – Elke Sudin, Drawing Booth
5. Over-Relying On Third-Party Integrations
A challenge I see in adopting AI technologies is the reliance on third-party integrations, like OpenAI. This dependence can introduce risks like technical glitches and limitations, while updates remain out of our control. To mitigate this, leaders can promote diversification in their AI strategies. As new AI technologies emerge, ensure your applications allow adaptability across various platforms. – Tamas Ham-Szabo, SAAS First
6. Losing Empathetic Customer Service
AI has the potential to empower customer service. The AI-trained chatbots now can handle 80% of inquiries to support, thus reducing operational costs. We’ve developed our own AI tool for content moderation but it’s not clear yet whether AI is capable of empathy, which is essential in customer service. More testing and data are needed to evaluate the quality of interactions so as not to lose customers. – Michael Podolsky, PissedConsumer.com
7. Leaders Not Having A Clear Understanding Of How AI Is Being Used In Their Organization
AI can create efficiencies and gains in productivity, but not without risk. Flawed data sets often lead to flawed results which ultimately can harm your organization and your customers. Leaders should have a clear understanding of what technology is being deployed, what business problem or process is being addressed, what datasets are being used and what the risks are. – Jason Foodman, Leaf.page
8. Identifying The Correct Problem To Address
One concern I observe is the tendency of organizations to adopt AI as a solution without fully comprehending the problem it aims to address. As responsible leaders, it is imperative for us to take a step back and delve into the true nature of the problem and the specific requirements of the solution. If AI is then applied as the most suitable tool, then the impact and adoption will be higher. – Pooja Kohli, Indr
9. Finding AI Applications That Stand The Test Of Time
The biggest challenge is implementing AI in a meaningful way that will still prove useful a year from now. Technology is advancing at such a rate that what seemed innovative 90 days ago is already becoming obsolete. – George Kocher, Brand North
10. Not Adding A Human Element
The best way to implement AI is to jump in and do it. We’re currently using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to speed up our production of social media and blog content. We also use it to develop outlines for blog posts and help edit marketing materials. It’s a great tool and can save you a lot of time. However, we never copy and paste it, and we remember to add a human element. It’s important to ensure the info is accurate and resonates. Try it out! – Allen Kopelman, Nationwide Payment Systems Inc
11. Finding Developed Services To Manage AI
The AI-powered Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is rapidly developing, and AI service offerings will expand exponentially over the next two to three years. There are still significant challenges in the business implementation of many AI systems because of hallucinations and other control issues. The key will be to find services that have developed solid functionality to corral AI for desired results. – Chris Boudreau, RipeMetrics
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