🌟 Exciting Insight from "The Power of Talent: Unlocking AI's Potential" 🌟
This morning, we had the incredible opportunity to engage with leading minds in AI at "The Power of Talent: Unlocking the Power of AI" during the Eggs & Issues presentation at the University of Southern Maine. Here are some key takeaways and learnings that resonated with me:
🚀 **Defining AI**: Panelist Dan Koloski, Head of Learning Programs at The Roux Institute, was asked to begin the presentation to define AI. Paraphrasing Dan's excellent definition of AI: "AI is really just the application of mathematical algorithms to large data sets. The techniques have existed since the 1950s, and the revolution we're seeing today boils down to increases in computational power. Now, when we feed large data sets into machine learning models, we can get results almost instantaneously instead of waiting days or even weeks for the calculations to complete. But underneath everything, it's really just math."
📈 **Elevating Business Processes with AI**: Kirsten Piancentini, Chief Supply Chain Officer at L.L.Bean, described what inventory forecasting looked like 15 years ago and how much it has evolved as L.L.Bean has grown. Kirsten explained how AI can sharpen forecasting capabilities and significantly improve business performance.
The output from AI is most useful when we know how to interact with it and how to introduce it to existing processes. It is always best to know what we hope to gain from the AI output and use prompts to help us tailor the output to suit the user's needs. As one of the panelists stated, "Your people are your best allies in adapting to AI." It is people who will form the guidelines around AI and determine how to implement AI processes into businesses. Lean on your employees, clients, and community partners to determine how it fits into existing processes and workflows and how to make it work best for you.
💡 **Harnessing AI Responsibly**: Amidst AI's numerous advantages, we should remember that it is not bias-proof. As Shaun Meredith, CEO of Omnic.AI, stated, "Biases are inserted into AI, both intentionally and unintentionally. You need high-quality people to fight these biases. As we all engage with AI, we must apply critical thought and analysis to the output and consider how AI came to the answer." Humans will always need to be on the receiving end, ready to analyze, challenge, and optimize what comes out of AI.
Thank you to the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce for pulling together an incredible line-up of panelists who shed light on these crucial topics. Their expertise instills a deep curiosity about the relationship between AI and human input and how we can steer it in positive directions.
- Margaret Angell & Dan Koloski - The Roux Institute at Northeastern University
- Kirsten Piacentini & Nick Mastors - L.L.Bean
- Shaun Meredith - Omnic.AI
- Dipti Kulkarni - Summer Co-Op at MaineHealth
