Tag: Artificial intelligence

innovation

AI, Disruption, and Automation: Is the Academic World the Next Kodak?

In public discourse, the emergence of large language models is typically discussed in terms of its implications for for knowledge workers such as programmers, lawyers, and accountants. However, little is said about the effects of this technology on the producers of knowledge themselves—those whose profession has consisted of reading, synthesizing, conceptualizing, and transmitting for centuries. Yet, the disruption is profound. The academic world is currently experiencing its own “Kodak” crisis but does not seem to be aware of it.

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Economy and society, innovation, Management

AI and Productivity: The Key Lesson from the Textile Industry

The rapid advances in artificial intelligence should lead to significant productivity gains. Yet, this is not always the case. Why? Technology alone is not enough. There is no direct, linear relationship between technological use and performance gains. In some cases, technology can hinder productivity. It all depends on how technology is integrated and used. To better understand the challenges of AI, it is helpful to look back at the introduction of mechanical looms in the 19th century.

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innovation

Are mental models the key to the next stage of AI?

Despite its spectacular results, particularly since ChatGPT’s release in 2022, AI faces a significant structural limitation today: it relies on superficial statistical correlations rather than a profound comprehension of the laws of reality. AI is incapable of true causal reasoning, resulting in logical hallucinations and an inability to plan complex tasks over the long term. This lack of internal structure renders learning extremely inefficient, necessitating vast amounts of data when a human would require only a few examples to comprehend and predict a new situation. It is precisely this idea of “internal structure” that could enable the next big step in AI: the use of mental models.

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decision making, Strategic surprise

Resolving uncertainty with AI, or the scientist illusion of management

“With AI, it’s now easier to resolve uncertainty,” a business leader recently told me with confidence, arguing that with the mass of data now available and the almost infinite capacity to analyze it, the subject was more or less closed. This is a widespread, long-held belief… and a very false one at that, a scientistic illusion of management that refuses to die. The link between data and uncertainty is much more complex. Without a thorough understanding of this link, decision-making in uncertainty is based on flawed models, with catastrophic consequences.

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innovation, Society

The Navy’s star lesson: Why fundamental skills matter more than ever in the age of AI

When discussing the rapid advance of technologies such as AI, two opposing reactions emerge: a strong fear of the consequences (“The accounting profession will disappear”) and unbridled enthusiasm (“Everyone can be a Michelangelo now!”). Both reactions assume that professional skills will become less important in the face of machines. However, this is far from certain. An interesting decision made by the US Navy sheds light on this issue.

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innovation, Society

When innovators are wrong about the impact of their innovation: the case of AI and employment

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is sparking widespread fears, and not just among the general public—some of the very innovators driving AI forward are sounding the alarms too, in particular regarding employment. Mustafa Suleyman, a leading figure in AI, recently declared, “AI is fundamentally a tool to replace human labor.” Is this cause for concern? Not necessarily.

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innovation

Assessing the Potential of ChatGPT: Lessons from the History of Innovation

[Version in French here]

Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the past few weeks, you couldn’t escape news about ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence tool that answers all your questions: summarizing an article, informing you about the economic crisis, writing a poem, etc. As with any new technology, it is presented as revolutionary by some and futile, useless, or even dangerous by others. While it will take time for the dust to settle, we can nevertheless avoid some of the pitfalls, and above all, the clear-cut positions, by relying on the history of innovation, which offers at least seven lessons for a more nuanced approach to the debate.

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