Embracing an AI-First Mindset
by Aris Metin
The COVID-19 pandemic has — without question — changed the business landscape all over the world. Without a doubt, every aspect of our lives have and are still adapting to this change. For traditional companies who were caught in the hailstorm of the COVID-19 pandemic, effects may last for years or may have set them on a course of doom. For modern companies who were partially prepared for the physical closure of buildings and brick-and-mortar establishments by adopting online transactions, the transition to become fully digital was accelerated.
While COVID-19 can be considered the leapfrogging stimulus to embracing digitalization, the movement towards a digital world has already been happening, evolving, rotating, and revolutionizing the way we do things in the past twenty years.
Companies who thought they were industry leaders of their time, but did not foresee the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), did not know what hit them — just like a badly orchestrated birthday surprise.
The digital world is moving so quickly that we don’t have to look far into the future to see the next evolution. In just a few years’ time, the mantra that the most exciting start-ups will be pushing for in their pitches won’t be mobile-first, but artificial intelligence-first.
Digital technology had been adopted by mainstream consumers — and companies that failed to recognize it were left behind.
The Nokia Story
Consider the case of Nokia — yes, the cellphone. At some point in our lives, especially for Generations X and Y, Nokia was the “it” phone. Nokia dominated the cellular phone market because of its cutting-edge design, easy-to-touch keyboard, simplicity, and affordability.
However, the iPhone suddenly comes along with its touch-screen feature. What else — a cellphone that has music, calendar, note pad, organizer, text messaging, chat, Internet connection, and a virtual store where you can buy games and other applications. Within five years of its inception, the iPhone has dislodged the gigantic, seemingly formidable Nokia almost to its bankruptcy.
What life lessons can be learned from the Nokia story?
- Nokia was almost killed in the collision with AI-First companies who envisioned their business models different from that of Nokia’s traditional mindset. Nokia operated in silos, where businesses and subsidiaries operated separately and independently. In a siloed ecosystem, there is a tendency to hide discoveries, to quell creativity, to be complacent because “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
- Apple came up with a single-core operating system platform. This OS, called the iOS, caused an industrial transformation in the field of information technology and communications. New skills, scale, and technology were created.
- Apple rejuvenated creativity and provided a new customer experience that changed the customer expectation as to what a cellphone should be.
- Traditional companies, like Nokia, are product-based; whereas AI-first companies, like Apple, are platform-based. A clear example would be that Nokia offered new cellphone models, with newer, sleeker designs, while the iPhone introduced new functionalities and the App Store. In other words, Apple foresaw that customers would no longer be enamored with a mere gadget. Apple envisioned a new customer experience, through a cellphone, that could change ones mindset and lifestyle.
- Apple used data and artificial intelligence to optimize customer experience with new interfaces.
Traditional Companies vs. AI-Mindset Companies
There are many examples of traditional companies with traditional mindsets that are now slowly moving towards extinction if they are unable to pivot quickly — digitally and exponentially.
Consider automotive companies, which operate by manufacturing through an assembly line — machines that are programmed to put together steel, nuts, and bolts to come up with a car or a vehicle. How can traditional automotive companies transition to an AI-first mindset? They need to determine deeper, more personal reasons why customers want to buy cars. Cars are no longer just a means of transportation — it has become a status symbol, an entertainment hub, even a source of joy. How can a car be re-invented through artificial intelligence?
Nowadays, we hear of intelligent cars that can drive on its own, communicate with gadgets, can decide on the shortest route to a destination, what “mood” and temperature the interior should be; with GPS and Internet — functionalities that now go beyond to the basic driving needs. These functionalities, powered by newer technologies and AI, provide a new driving experience.
From Collision to Disruption
Other examples of traditional companies colliding with AI are more visible today. Some of these are:
- Traditional hotels vs. AirBnB
- Automakers vs. Uber, Lyft
- Traditional TV and cable providers vs. streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video
- Traditional personal freight forwarding vs. Grab, Lalamove
- Company websites vs. Facebook for Business or Instagram
- Phone calls vs. Whatsapp, Viber, or IMO
The AI-First Mindset
An AI-first mindset can be summed up in four ways:
- Working with new platforms (the iPhone’s openness to app developers that created games and tools downloadable from the App Store)
- Re-thinking interfaces (the iPhone’s touch-screen technology and the App Store)
- Making sure communication is scaled to the max (Apps that are alternatives to human communication such as chatbots, Alexa, and Siri, which perform analytics)
- Using invisible technologies (back-end artificial technology algorithms that analyzes your screen time, pulse rate, breathing, walking steps, waking-up and bed-time — collecting data — in order to offer you health-related apps, purchases, and products or services)
The advent of artificial intelligence is no longer just a figment of imagination one can see on sci-fi movies. Artificial intelligence is here, and here to stay. Just like traditional companies who are now struggling to adapt, will you be left behind or are you excited to level up?
References:
The need for an ‘AI first’ mindset to keep up with customer expectations | LinkedIn
How adopting an “AI first” mindset can improve the customer experience | MyCustomer
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About the Author:
Aris Metin is a Group Managing Consultant at EDI-Staffbuilders International. Aris manages a profit center, directs EDI’s Social Media and Website team, develops and trains Millennials and Gen Zeds to become future managers; the designated in-house journalist, and a prayer warrior.
