How will AI disrupt your business?

In the 46th episode of Why Care? I had the pleasure of talking to serial tech entrepreneur Tarek Kamil. Tarek is the CEO of Cerkl, an AI-powered communication solutions company with a focus on social value and inclusion. During the episode, we explore Tarek’s journey from software engineer to serial founder, his unique personal approach decision-making, and how his company uses AI and personalised communications to enhance inclusion and employee engagement.

During our conversation, Tarek posed a crucial question that he feels leaders often overlook: ‘How will AI disrupt business?". This prompted me to reflect on the consequences of merely responding to AI versus the benefits of proactively engaging with it.

What does AI mean for organisations?

Artificial intelligence is becoming an indispensable part of organisational operations. There has been a sharp uptrend in organisations using AI technologies, which range anywhere from customer service chatbots and virtual assistants to sophisticated data analytics tools and machine learning algorithms.

The landscape of AI is unchartered territory for a lot of us, and can therefore leave us feeling out of our depth. It is important to remember when approaching it that although we cannot control change, we can manage how we approach it.

Passively reacting to AI will limit your business

Why?

First, inefficiency and resource drain can become major issues. When AI malfunctions or biases surface as they sometimes do with up and coming systems, fixing them requires time, money, and resources that could have been better allocated towards innovation and improvement. This slows down growth and leaves organisations lagging behind more forward-thinking competitors.

Moreover, trust—both from employees and clients—is a critical asset. This trust can be compromised when organisations make costly errors. For example, in 2017 Amazon was criticised for using a hiring AI tool that unintentionally favoured applications from men. Reuters, who spoke with five members of the team that developed the AI reported that it was ‘trained to vet applicants by observing patterns in resumes submitted to the company over a 10-year period. Most came from men, a reflection of male dominance across the tech industry’. The AI was later abandoned by Amazon. This reactive response signals that inclusion was unlikely at the forefront of the design process. From a brand perspective, it also raises questions about the organisation’s values and ethics, something which has never been more spotlighted than it is today. For more on brand values read ‘The Brand Behind the Mask’.

Put simply, a reactive, patchwork approach is just too risky.

How can organisations approach AI proactively?

There are a multitude of routes organisations can take. A first imperative step would be to develop clear ethical guidelines for AI usage, particularly in sensitive areas that deal with people like hiring, training, and customer interactions. Curating a diverse team dedicated to monitoring AI is a great way to ensure continuous oversight. For instance, Microsoft has a dedicated interdisciplinary team AETHER (AI and Ethics in Engineering and Research) Committee, composed of engineers, lawyers, and social scientists, that oversees fairness and transparency in AI development. Organisations may collate such teams to gather feedback from a diverse pool of employees who use the AI, investigate the brands behind AI, and implement regular audits, among other things.

Doing this ensures that we make AI work for us, making our processes more ethical, efficient, and empowering.

How can Avenir help?

At Avenir, we offer an Inclusive Leadership Programme, which provides you with the support you need to embody your brand values authentically and sensitively and to navigate the challenges of leadership, both the typical and the unforeseen.

My new book, Beyond Discomfort: Why inclusive leadership is so hard (and what you can do about it) is a great tool for learning how to harness discomfort as a catalyst for positive change and greater returns. You can get your hands on a copy of the book here. It is also available as an audiobook to listen to on the go. Happy reading!