The Third Eye: A Revolutionary Approach for the Corporate Sector

New Delhi: The initiative for Digital India championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi serves as a crucial impetus for business operations by motivating companies to transition to online frameworks, leverage computerization for faster delivery, and enhance customer engagement that was previously challenging.

The profound evolution of Information Technology, epitomized by Artificial Intelligence (AI), is currently transforming the corporate landscape, necessitating a word of caution against the assumption that AI is a universal solution for all challenges, both minor and significant.

It's crucial to recognize that India, on its trajectory to becoming the third largest economy globally in the near future, is reaping substantial benefits from the strategic drive towards digitisation.

This initiative, originating from the highest levels of government, has endowed the nation with a noteworthy competitive edge in the current globalized environment, allowing it to advance in the knowledge economy. India stands as a leading force and a reservoir of talent in IT, and it is reasonable to assert that it will also steer the world in the realm of AI applications.

Such applications will accelerate growth, enhance efficiency, and address the security challenges that digitisation may pose for all stakeholders involved.

No single strategy suffices, however, and a thoughtful comprehension of an organization’s specific requirements is vital for granting that business a competitive advantage.

AI will not completely replace human roles; rather, it can relieve employees from mundane tasks that do not rely on creativity, strategic thought, or leadership skills.

A company that enables its workforce to execute tasks more effectively or more quickly is contributing to their efficiency by maximizing output per unit of time—a commodity now recognized as a vital resource.

This does not inherently mean downsizing the workforce; the focus is on enhancing the productivity of existing personnel.

Achieving this is not a simple endeavor, as it necessitates in-depth planning to customize AI applications to align with employee responsibilities.

AI is adopted to generate business value, and this must be carried out in an innovative and ethical manner to cultivate customer trust.

Human intelligence and creativity are essential when strategizing an AI application—thus, AI should be viewed as a product, not a replacement for human intellect.

AI aims to improve operational efficiency and should be integrated into the relevant processes.

Its validation requires time and cannot be accomplished instantaneously.

AI applications also often necessitate a potential organizational overhaul, training programs, and a commitment of time since they work best for long-term benefits—frequently redefining decision-making structures.

It's advisable to initiate AI applications within small management projects, gradually incorporating them into broader organizational growth.

It’s crucial to understand that AI paves the way for gradual advancement and cannot be commanded to yield immediate results, except in the field of data analytics, where algorithms can be formulated to discern patterns for further insights, and machine learning can be deployed to facilitate a degree of automation.

While AI is significant, there is an unnatural pressure in the business realm to adopt it as a blind pathway to success, particularly in terms of achieving instant improvements in productivity and return on investment.

When the Information Technology revolution emerged in 1991, the world transitioned from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, ushering in a new era of globalization fueled by instantaneous communication across borders, leading to an unprecedented level of competitiveness.

Businesses found new avenues to engage with customers, and opportunities for diversification, mergers, and acquisitions proliferated.

The introduction of AI has made it feasible to analyze vast amounts of data that were previously impractical to assess manually.

Furthermore, machine learning can enhance processes and make transactions more cost-effective in terms of time usage, boosting productivity and, consequently, profitability. There is a genuine transformation from the Age of Information to the Age of Intelligence, as AI augments businesses' ability to foresee future risks and opportunities.

Public domain analysis has always contributed to producing intelligence that grants such insights.

Analysis serves as the tool that incorporates human creativity and foresight into AI applications.

Digitisation in general, and AI in particular, have fostered a new socio-economic environment that encourages the launch of start-ups and the innovation of products and services. Conversely, in a strategic context, it has facilitated proxy wars in place of open military confrontations, with social media emerging as a potent instrument of conflict.

Misinformation, deepfakes, and indoctrination are leveraged for narrative construction against regimes.

They have impacted lives by exposing individuals to novel forms of cyber fraud and creating new risk profiles for businesses.

Just as IT fundamentally transformed lifestyles, AI is poised to influence societal cultural perspectives, establishing new norms for businesses, interpersonal relationships, and even social values.

The Information Age mandated that being well-informed is crucial for success in any domain, and Artificial Intelligence has further emphasized the need to remain cognizant of societal happenings and global dynamics.

Business-customer interactions, public sentiment towards leadership, and university experiences are all influenced by AI innovations.

Writing assistants are aiding in the cost-effective management of organizations.

What has become paramount is the discipline of acting solely on credible information.

One must not fall into the misguided belief that all information available on the internet is trustworthy.

AI carries both promises and perils, a sobering reality for all informed individuals.

It is noteworthy to mention that the recipients of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics include two trailblazers in Information Technology—John Hopfield from Princeton University and Geoffrey Hinton from the University of Toronto.

Hinton cautioned that AI—comparable to another Industrial Revolution—might lead to unforeseen consequences, resulting in a scenario where things could spiral out of control.

Hopfield was even more explicit at a university conclave, stating that AI could create an apocalypse. Hinton lauded GPT-4—an AI tool—asserting that if he seeks answers, he would simply inquire, but he added a caveat that he does not fully trust it due to its potential for hallucination.

AI is governed by the principle of garbage in, garbage out, a principle not applicable to human intelligence, which can invoke logic, memory, and creativity that AI lacks during information processing.

AI applications are tailored to specific situations, rooted in processes, and designed to yield long-term benefits for organizations. They are implemented after thorough consideration and planning, possessing a strategic outlook—nothing tactical about them.

In the future, successful CEOs will be leaders proficient in AI, and their teams will consist of individuals who have been upskilled in AI applications, even if they are not technologists themselves.

The new-age businesses will differ significantly from traditional ones in their competence and assertiveness in exploring opportunities and mitigating risks.

(The writer is a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau. Views are personal)