VALUE FROM AI REQUIRES INVESTMENT
Capturing the value artificial intelligence (AI) offers is a crucial part of staying innovative and competitive in today’s dynamic business environment. Smart leaders understand that simply throwing more money at AI adoption is not enough.
Instead, they must take a strategic approach that involves understanding AI and all of its complementary assets. This exploits and encompasses the beneficial synergy that AI can offer by maximising corporate potential and making it specifically advantageous for the organisation.
Technology demands expansive investment
Whenever a new technology or innovation is integrated into an organisation, complementary assets are indispensable in extracting value from the technology. For example, consider the process of investing in a robotic tool. The tool comes with inbuilt safety features to ensure its safe use, such as force and torque sensors which detect objects or people. This streamlines the movement of parts in a company, but the initial investment is just the beginning.
To truly capitalise on this technological addition, the organisation needs to make further investments in complementary assets. These could include specific appendages on the robotic tool, tailored to move set parts, sensors to monitor the tool’s actions, and a robust computing system and software to oversee and optimise the entire process.
In addition, there is a need to spend on human capital, which can mean hiring workers with the expertise to navigate new processes, troubleshoot the robotic tool and understand the intricacies of associated software. Without all of these complementary assets, the robotic tool remains a dormant piece of machinery, with little or no value to the organisation.
Apr-Jun 2024 Issue
Henley Business School