How can companies go beyond small efficiency improvements through AI and achieve truly transformational change? This question is being addressed by a growing number of executives around the world. It is also currently being intensely debated at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where the heads of the largest companies have gathered to look for ways to use AI for growth.
Experiments are not enough, we need to change the whole workflow
Many companies are trying to introduce AI in the form of small experimental projects that are created from the bottom up - individual teams testing new tools and looking for ways to use them. However, this approach often fails to deliver substantial economic results. The real benefits only come when businesses rethink their entire workflow and change the way the steps work together from start to finish.
Banking example: a loan in ten minutes
A typical example is the approval process for bank loans. This usually involves several separate phases: marketing, application, pre-approval, final check and the actual closing of the contract.
In the past, many of these steps were performed manually. For example, pre-approval of an application could require approximately one hour of work by a staff member. However, new agent AI systems can handle the same process automatically in about ten minutes. If a bank simply replaced human control with AI, but left the rest of the process unchanged, it would only bring minor improvements in efficiency.
The real revolution comes when the client does not have to wait a week for a decision, but gets it in minutes. Such a change significantly increases the attractiveness of the product. A better customer experience can attract more applicants and enable banks to provide more loans.
Transformation requires a change in the entire strategy
But to offer, for example, a „loan in ten minutes“, it is not enough to deploy new technology. The bank also needs to change its marketing, digitise applications, streamline processing and adjust final checking and execution processes to handle a higher volume of clients.
Although AI is only used in one part of the process, the result is a complete redesign of the workflow and a fundamental transformation of the product itself.
Connecting innovation from below and above
The experience of consultancies shows that innovations that originate directly from employees solving everyday problems are very important. But for these ideas to have a major impact, they need to be complemented by strategic management from the top. It is the combination of both approaches that allows AI to be used to transform entire work processes, not just individual steps.
Main topics of discussion about AI in the world
As in previous years, this year's WEF meeting brought intense debates on the future of technology. Among the most common topics were agent AI, i.e. systems capable of autonomous planning and execution of tasks, so-called sovereign AI, which addresses how individual countries can control their own access to AI, education and labour market issues, or building data centres and addressing shortages of power, experts, graphics chips and storage capacity.
AI as a tool for global collaboration
At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty, the need for international cooperation in the development of artificial intelligence is increasingly emphasised. Sharing technology through open source projects and building solutions that benefit all countries and people can help ensure that AI serves as a tool for progress, not division.
Andrew Ng/deplearning.ai/gnews.cz - GH
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