Now that the results of the US presidential election and the Senate and House races are known, the Trump administration is widely expected to rescind Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence (AI). As the drumbeat of AI news continues, with major investments and acquisitions making headlines, it’s important to stop and appreciate the revolution.
The coming months will likely bring more changes. The Biden order was intended to put guardrails around the technology in the absence of congressional action. Even without enacting laws, governments at all levels should think about how the utility of using AI can enable them to better serve the public, especially when staff budgets are tight.
However, our international professional survey found that 57% of people in government are not using AI because they are waiting for more clarity on the technology’s capabilities and security. And yet, there is a compelling case for the potential benefits of AI, if budget-constrained government workforces can serve the public more quickly and efficiently.
In any case, this technology transition is happening too quickly for responsible businesses to wait for comprehensive government guidance. In fact, it is much more than technology transfer. The advent of accessible AI represents a business transformation with enormous potential benefits for organizations that recognize and seize this opportunity. And because AI is not simply a plug-and-play technology, organizations must be prepared to manage the changes in staffing and processes required to implement, adopt, and derive value from AI tools.
Looking for new business models
At our company, we are both users of some of the AI products on the market and partners in developing AI technologies for our customers. From our vantage point, we know that the AI revolution is already well underway in the corporate world.
As the business world navigates this technological transition, we would be wise to learn from previous information technology revolutions. Over the course of my career, I have seen the advent of the PC on every desk, the Internet as a business medium, mobile computing, social media, cloud computing, and now generative AI. Generative AI will be as disruptive and transformative for any profession as any of these previous technology shifts. But it’s happening even faster.
Yet, every previous revolution has taught us something about the business opportunities of thoughtfully adopting new, transformative technologies. One lesson, whatever the profession: the need to adjust management practices, including recruiting and training on the most appropriate use of new technologies.
Past revolutions also have lessons to be aware of the dangers that can arise too quickly from blindly accepting the next new thing, and the even greater danger of choosing to end the revolution altogether. danger
Adopting AI opens up substantial business opportunities: saving time on routine administrative tasks that generative AI can do precisely but much faster.
In our international survey of people in law, accounting and other professional services, we found that many respondents expect AI to take them up to 4 hours a week in the next year and up to 12 hours a week in the next 5 years. will save For lawyers, for example, this equates to one additional associate for every 10 team members, increasing their firm’s ability to take on more clients.
This type of change may mean that it’s time for law firms to rethink their revenue model. Instead of billing primarily by man-hour, they want to consider new forms of value-based pricing. AI can open up new lines of business while requiring firms to reassess their tech budgets and talent needs. And since AI may soon enable first-year associates to do the work of a fourth-year member of practice, law firms may need to rethink their approach and pace to their apprenticeship models. can
In fact, no matter the profession or industry, the AI revolution could lead to entirely new types of business models. Consider how Uber, a startup 15 years ago, took advantage of the smartphone-based mobile computing revolution to create a new type of transportation service that is now part of everyday life in more than 10,000 cities around the world. Has become a part.
It’s not just startups that can benefit from tech revolutions. Big-box retailer Walmart remains a dominant force in brick-and-mortar shopping, but it has also effectively used the scale of the Internet, mobile apps, and cloud computing to become second only to Amazon in the U.S. e-commerce market. can come
Caution may be understandable, but there is an even greater risk.
Certainly, there are risks in riding a tech trend without a clearly defined and well-thought-out strategy. As the World Wide Web fueled the Internet revolution of the mid-1990s, the so-called dot-com boom—fueled by extraordinary investments in many ill-fated business concepts—ended in a stock market crash.
For many organizations today, a slow approach to AI is understandable. This is true for many government professionals, given budget constraints and the potential for negative unintended consequences.
However, with the AI transition already well underway, people and organizations that do not adapt and adopt will risk being left behind. Young talent will avoid job offers from organizations that don’t embrace the latest technologies, while new lines of business will emerge that give early adopters an early advantage. High-performing organizations will benefit from the steep learning curve associated with adopting new generative AI technologies, creating sustainable competitive advantages.
Again, earlier technological revolutions can teach us this important lesson. Consider how Nokia, the world leader in mobile phones in the early 2000s, failed to adapt to the smartphone revolution. Countless unknown companies in various fields have similarly sealed their fate by failing to stay technologically relevant.
This is a lesson for all of us. When it comes to the AI revolution, all organizations — whether moving aggressively or thoughtfully — must think strategically. And they must work in partnership with their suppliers, customers, and constituents to quickly navigate this transformational transition.
Sitting down is simply not an option for the technological revolution.
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