Hardly any topic occupies companies as much at the moment as artificial intelligence. Some fear being left behind, others are unsettled by risks, legal questions and exaggerated promises. In practice, a similar picture often emerges: individual employees use AI tools on their own initiative, pilot projects are started that never get beyond the test, and a clear line is missing. Yet the decisive question is not whether a company uses AI, but how it does so in a way that creates real benefit.
Think from the problem, not from the tool
The most common mistake when getting started is to begin with the technology and then look for applications. The reverse approach is more effective: where do we lose time today? Where do errors occur, where does knowledge lie unused in documents, where are people waiting for information?
Good starting points are often found in the unspectacular: documentation and reporting, the evaluation of test and quality data, research in standards and regulations, the preparation of audits or translation in international projects. Here AI provides noticeable relief and creates space for the work that requires experience and judgement.
AI amplifies what is already there
Artificial intelligence is not a substitute for working processes, but an amplifier. Where processes are clear, data is maintained and responsibilities are defined, AI makes an organisation faster and better. Where processes are unclear and data is incomplete, it multiplies the confusion.
Before a company invests in tools, it is therefore worth taking an honest look at the foundation: are the processes described, the data reliable, the responsibilities clear? Often it is precisely this groundwork that is the greatest gain of the entire project.
Responsibility remains with people
AI can create drafts, recognise patterns and make suggestions. Responsibility for decisions remains with people. Results must be checked, limits understood and errors recognised. In addition, clear rules on data protection, confidentiality and intellectual property are needed.
With the European AI Act, responsible use is also no longer a voluntary matter. Among other things, it obliges companies to ensure that their employees have sufficient AI literacy. Those who create binding guidelines early prevent uncontrolled shadow use and create certainty for everyone involved.
The decisive capabilities are organisational
Whether AI has an impact depends less on the software than on the organisation. It takes people who know what AI can and cannot do, clear responsibility for selecting, approving and developing the applications, and a culture in which trying things out is allowed and learning is welcome.
A step-by-step approach has proven itself: start small, measure the impact, learn from experience and roll out successful applications in a targeted way. This way, AI does not become a project of an IT department, but a capability of the whole company.
Conclusion
AI is not an IT question, but a leadership task. Those who start from concrete benefits, create clear rules and enable their people turn a technology into real progress.
Finally, with a wink
The fear of cybercrime and of fraud with the help of AI is logical. But remember: the best protection against such damage still lies between the ears and behind the eyes. It is free of charge, needs no update and may expressly continue to be used in the age of AI.
An article by Johann Spies, SPIES CONSULT. More about our approach: Digitalisation & AI and Stewardship.
Image credits
- Cover image, industrial robot in a production facility: photo by Homa Appliances on Unsplash
- Laboratory automation for test and quality data: photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash
- Checking remains the work of people: photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
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