- What opportunities and challenges do you see as organizations increasingly use AI in their strategy and decision-making?
The AI toolbox contains a wide range of technologies, tools, and techniques. The number of opportunities is vast, and we have probably only scratched the surface of this treasure trove. Within generative AI in particular, the architecture, or harness, around the model itself is of high importance for each particular use case. The challenge is that most decision-makers I meet think of AI as one thing, and then they look for problems where this one thing can be applied to create massive return on investment. That’s like buying a drill to do housekeeping. Yes, the drill may enable you to install shelves so that you can tidy stuff away from the floor and hence make floor mopping more efficient, but you would not approach every and any chore with the drill. Wise adoption unfortunately requires a certain level of competence around both the technology itself, the components of the relevant business processes, the data involved, regulation, and information security. This is a significant competence hurdle, and the decision-makers ignoring the needs to skill up fast are most likely going to make unwise, and expensive, decisions. - Your work brings together technology, business strategy, and societal issues. How do you stay curious and discover perspectives others might miss?
I read a lot, every day. Not so much tech news, but rather topics related to strategy, risk, information security, human psychology, geopolitics, and regulation. The more I learn, the more curious I become. I mostly stay away from commercial consultant reports, as they have too much self-serving flavour. I spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting while walking my dog in the forest. I do use AI for research, but I always read the sources. I never use AI to write for me. Writing is a process of structuring my thoughts. That has to remain my human prerogative. - What are you most looking forward to about meeting the audience at Oslo Tech Show, and what conversations do you hope to spark?
Clients often ask me to “inspire, but don’t talk about risk”. They are concerned that discussions around risk will feed the inherent unwillingness to change. We need to change that. We need to talk about AI strategy and AI risks in the same conversation. In the AI space, there is no such thing as innovation without risk. The risks, particularly those related to information security, can kill your company/organisation within days and as board director or C-suite, you may even become personally liable. Therefore, wise risk management should be considered as a strategic superpower and a competitive advantage. However, the hurdle remains: competence. That’s solvable, for those who are willing to do what is needed to acquire the knowledge.
Elin Hauge, Data & Business Strategist
