Over the past year, there have been significant advancements in the field of AI, leading to an increased interest in working with AI technologies. Videos and posts showcasing AI’s ability to create perfect images, respond intelligently to questions, or speak like a human being have spread widely. But amidst all this novelty, it’s worth pausing to reflect on the true value being created by AI, and for whom.
A simple way to gauge this value is to directly ask your customers. “We are in the process of creating an AI service that can assist you; what would you be willing to pay for it?” People are usually positive when we ask for feedback but we are brutally honest in how we spend our money. Actions can’t lie.
It’s undeniable that AI offers great human value by enhancing the ability to create images, text, or music. However, when working for a company, we need to think further and ask how this directly creates value for our customers. In what ways can our organization make money or save money using AI?
Saving money with AI often involves automating processes. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, but recent advancements in AI have made automation faster, making it more cost-effective to automate even more tasks.
How to earn money with AI is more of an open question. Beyond directly offering AI services like OpenAI, Github Copilot, or Midjourney, I believe it is good to be honest about the fact that we don’t precisely know how businesses will profit from AI.
The simplest way to make money with AI is to increase productivity. Instead of an employee responding to 10 emails per hour, they can respond to 100. Instead of a developer taking 10 hours to create a product, it now takes only 1.
Another way to profit is to create an AI solution within your industry by training custom models or using existing solutions to meet your customers’ needs. Instead of aiming to become a leader in AI consider becoming a leader in AI within your field. By creating a product that doesn’t yet exist and holds value you might be able to create a monopoly within your niche. The solution might also be relatively easy to improve, and as long as you have access to good data, you can remain a leader within your field.
How much AI will affect your industry and your company depends on how digital the industry is. Plumbers will likely be minimally affected, whereas developers will see more significant changes.
In an era where specialization has long been ideal, AI will enable more people to become generalists. Since we can easily ask AI how to write a good sales script or edit a video, the boundaries between professions will blur, leading to broader roles with more responsibility.
With the aid of AI, it is now easier than ever for an individual to create a business that serves thousands of customers. In the digital landscape, AI becomes an excellent companion, even though the analog world is still largely populated by humans.
One thing is certain: AI is now a part of our society. Just like the Internet was not a passing fad, AI will continue to be a natural part of our present and future society.
Credit: Birger Moell.
Ps: If you are interested in coding AI and use it to improve your craft: Join “AI for developers” Sept 21-22.nd
