There's a popular saying in the sales industry: "Don't sell steak, sell flavor!" ”
This is a concept proposed by Elmer Wheeler in the mid-30s to draw the attention of potential customers to the flashy feature of a product, the "wow" factor.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has brought us a lot of surprises lately, and although this technology has been proposed for years, leaders are now increasingly focusing on the "why" behind "wow".
Unlock value
According to a recent global study by McKinsey, 55% of companies report that their organizations have applied AI technology, primarily for product development or service operations. For many, AI has nearly become the engine of transformation across industries, providing previously unimaginable insights, automation, and decision-making capabilities.
However, McKinsey gives an interesting caveat in their advice on AI applications:
One of our consistent findings is that people who are more capable of doing the job are more optimistic about the AI needed to succeed. They are particularly focused on the application value of AI and reinventing their organizations to gain that value. They are evaluating and testing the efficiency and speed that comes with using existing AI services and developing capabilities to create competitive advantage, such as tweaking models and training them by using their own proprietary data. ”
This value is a key mindset shift that redefines data and AI as tools waiting for human intelligence to unleash its true potential. Creativity and empathy are unique characteristics of human beings, which are also the key silver clusters that distinguish humans from machines.
Take Airbnb, for example, which has been hugely successful by focusing on the human desire to connect as it has grown from a startup to an industry giant. They use data to understand travelers' preferences and combine them with human-driven experiences to create their own uniqueness.
Human-machine collaboration
For some leaders, it may be so clear that the future is so clear that the success of the company depends on the company's managers, not just products and processes.
That said, truly forward-thinking managers always put themselves at the center of their business strategy, viewing technology as an enabler rather than a solution. The real magic comes into play when we create synergies between data, artificial intelligence, and human creativity, the new triangle of sustainable innovation.
Sustainable innovation doesn't mean that you manage to keep an innovative idea going for a while, but rather a process of continuous improvement. Communication across industries and domains is an important part of this process, and by sharing insights and best practices, we can create solutions that are in the interest of all. The Open Data Initiative, led by Microsoft, Adobe, and SAP, exemplifies this collaborative spirit, empowering organizations to get more value from their data and foster a more connected data landscape.
Here are other ways human creativity adds value to sustainable innovation:
First, resilience and adaptability.
According to Accenture, 90% of business leaders are applying AI to address the challenges of operational resilience, including leveraging technology market changes, optimizing chains, and aligning business strategies.
In addition to these forward-looking capabilities, AI also improves a company's current business resilience by helping to maintain operations during events such as cyberattacks, software failures, or extreme weather.
However, there is a difference between resilience and adaptability, and even AI will not be able to **future. While it excels at scenario modeling based on "known-known" and "known-unknown" models, AI lacks data inputs to deal with "unknown-unknown", i.e., requiring human imagination to solve random complex problems.
By combining the power of AI with human interpretation of results in unique ways, organizations will be better equipped to meet the challenges of the future.
Second, environmental protection.
Big data and artificial intelligence offer transformative opportunities to reduce harmful emissions and shrink companies' carbon footprints.
Companies across the globe have made significant progress in analyzing energy consumption patterns and improving resource allocation. For example, Google has optimized the way it uses water, Nestlé is turning CO2 into green products, and Walmart is using AI technology to help reduce food waste, all through data and artificial intelligence.
However, the New York Times notes that AI servers could consume 85-134 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year by 2027, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Argentina, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
So, while AI has the ability to optimize energy use, the energy required may negate any positive effects, and this is where humans come into play, primarily through a restrained mindset.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has just signed two important climate disclosure laws that require private companies to report their carbon emissions and energy use annually, setting the tone for more regulation. This is a key example of how humanity must continue to be involved if innovation is to be sustainable in the long term.
Third, responsible innovation.
When we apply big data and AI technologies, we must not only pursue business growth, but also achieve growth in a way that respects individuals, society, and the environment in which we live.
UNESCO, the global standard setter for AI ethics, noted that rapid changes stemming from AI could reinforce bias, threaten human rights, and cause further harm to already marginalized groups.
Our best defense against these threats is our own human empathy, ensuring that we always strive to focus on goals rather than profits.
Other ways humans can help promote responsible AI innovation include:
hire a diverse pool of leaders and experts to help identify subconscious biases in your data;
monitor generative AI content to ensure it does not contain any offensive material or harmful guidance;
Validate data** to ensure AI learns from trusted inputs;
Establish clear guidelines and governance (top-down) with shared responsibility for protecting sensitive customer information;
Upskill our workforce, bridge the digital divide, and protect them from being replaced by automation at scale.
Continue to innovate and maintain the original intention
In many ways, innovation happens gradually, then bursts out of nowhere, going through a process of release, demo, update, faster, better.
It's easy for humans to get distracted by flashy features, but as leaders, it's important to remember that it's our responsibility to filter through the noise and focus on substance.
The real challenge is not our ability to get the technology right, but how we combine it with the timeless qualities that define us as human beings.
It is in this balance that we will forge a path to sustainable innovation – one that continues to enrich our industry, empower us, and leave a legacy for future generations.