Listen closely and pay attention as our menu has changed.
The frustration to the automated phone operator are legend. All of us have had our issues with this form of (non) customer service.
Recently this pundit placed a call at a number provided by the vendor and went though all the (voice) menu items, only to hit the ‘other’ button. At this point, I was advised to dial the number I already had. So much for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and welcome to the era of Artificial Stupidity.
Firms are all jumping on the AI bandwagon, even though the technology is immature at best. Sound like the dot.com bomb of a quarter of a century ago. One wonders, what damage to their brand are the organizations incurring?
Enter the MVP Mindset
In recent years the software development sector has ‘Dumbing Down’ the level of product commerciality. Minimum Viable Product or MVP can be defined as, “The version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.” Used to be called BETA in the good old days. Now MVP is often seen as THE commercially released product. Dah, hence the issues, frustration and lack of credibility in so-called AI solutions.
All Things AI
As mentioned, AI is all the rage. Much like a fashion statement. everyone is jumping on that bandwagon. But does it work? Moreover, it encompasses a large spectrum of operations.
Basically, anything that need big data crunching. Yet crunching numbers is only interesting at best. What problem is being solved? This is where the weakness continues. Algorithms are only as good as their author. Some argue machines will take over this task, but one doubts anytime soon. For example, jet engine commercial airlines are over 65 years old but increasingly seem to have construction/maintenance issues. What makes us think this technology will be any different? The Technology Adoption curve can be very lengthy and full of potholes.
The judicious use of commercial quality software makes the most sense. Just because every one is doing it is not a shareholder value added. In many cases a sloppy approach actually decreases equity value.
What is your organization’s approach to new technology and how does it add value?
For More Information
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See our Economic Value Proposition Matrix® (EVPM) for additional information and a free version to build your own EVPM.
The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page. Moreover, Dr. Shemwell is a coauthor of the just published book, “Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability.” His focus is on Operational Technologies.
“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962). For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game. You can contact this author as well.
For more details regarding climate change models, check out Bjorn Lomborg ands his latest book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.
Regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our blog, Crippling Green.
For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author can put you in touch with Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts. If interested, check it out and give me a shout.