AI and Management
Artificial intelligence has enormous potential to help managers make better decisions. And in the face of rapidly evolving science, it is probably worth learning how to use it for all senior executives. After all, the benefits of AI simply cannot be overstated. Let’s look at 4 key practices that will be useful to every successful manager.
Put administration into AI. Managers at all levels spend more than half their time on administrative coordination and control tasks. AI can automate many of these tasks. For example, such technology can compile your next management report while wielding purely natural language.
Take help with decision-making. Many decisions require insight that goes beyond what AI can squeeze out of data alone. Managers apply information about an organization’s history and culture, as well as empathy and ethical reflection. But at the same time, neural networks can help with data collection, data interpretation, and strategy development. We should think of AI technology as designed to support, not replace, managers.
Not a competitor, but a colleague. Managers who view AI as a kind of colleague understand that technology cannot automate human judgment, but it can become indispensable in supporting data-driven decision-making and modeling, as well as search and discovery activities. One company already using these technologies is Kensho Technologies, a provider of next-generation investment analytics. Its system allows investment managers to ask investment-related questions and get answers within minutes. For example: “Which sectors and industries are performing best in the 3 months before and after the rate hike?” Such techniques can be very helpful to managers in evaluating the implications of decisions and exploring scenarios.
Work like a designer. A modern and successful manager needs to be able to do much more, to use creativity, because AI is increasingly taking over administrative activities. And the path to success becomes the ability to combine diverse ideas into complex, workable, practical, and attractive solutions.
