According to experts, Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to both improve and destroy the world: we are all eager to understand how to implement improvements in our lives, but the possibility of AI unleashing the apocalypse upon us is extremely worrying. One of the most concerning effects, according to some, is that, after relying on humans to carry out tasks, AI may gain physical agency and manipulate humans for its own purposes, leading to the extinction of humanity. While this would make for an intriguing and dystopian science fiction story, you wonder if, as humans, we will be destroyed by AI, or if we will self-extinguish ourselves with our collective behaviour (wars, violence, pollution and other human-made disasters certainly do not help preserving our lives…).
Another point that may lead to the takeover of AI, is the fact that in the last two decades we have consistently reduced our language skills: social media are mainly visual means of communication and we all prefer to write concise messages in which we truncate words in barbarous ways, reduce sentence to acronyms or express our feelings with emojis. It is therefore not surprising that we struggle to retain new words and expand our vocabularies or seem to have difficulties in reading complex sentences (yet, it would be worth noting how, already 23 years ago in journalism courses at university level, lecturers would encourage you to write features using simple and basic sentences and discouraged you to use subordinate clauses – something extremely frustrating…).
As highlighted in a previous post, probably the most serious (and immediate) threat posed by AI is the fact that algorithmic technologies, such as those used for welfare benefit provision, but also those ones used by banks to determine if you're worthy of getting a loan, a mortgage or a credit card, often perpetuate biases and discrimination against marginalized individuals. These consequences are probably more worrying as they (already) affect people's rights, dignity, and ability to exist in society. Yet, stopping the advent of AI may be impossible.
As AI is evolving, quite a few companies have already implemented it into their practices. A recent study entitled "CEO decision-making in the age of AI" conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, revealed significant insights into the evolving landscape of decision-making in the age of AI.
IBM interviewed 3,000 CEOs from more than 30 countries and 24 industries. The interviews were completed in April 2023 and focused on executives' perspectives on leadership and business; their changing roles and responsibilities; and CEO decision-making today, including key challenges and opportunities, their use of technology, data, and metrics, and their visions for the future. Insights were also drawn from numerous client conversations and further interviews with CEOs conducted through May 2023.
The study highlights how factors influencing CEOs and their organizations have shifted since 2004: technology emerged as a top factor, but, while earlier on CEOs would base their decisions primarily on financial results and operational reports, combined with intuition and experience, now taking decisions in all sorts of industries (fashion included) have made CEO challenges even more complex and often fast-changing. Indeed, decision-making now implies considering other factors, including climate change and sustainability, diversity, equity, inclusion (ethical and moral components that quite often, just a few years ago, were completely ignored), health (think about the challenges posed by COVID-19), cybersecurity and AI.
The study reveals that generative AI (whether officially approved or not) is already being used in decision-making and workforce planning: 43% of CEOs stated indeed that their enterprises are already using generative AI to inform strategic decisions; 36% for operational decisions, and 50% are integrating it into their products and services. Besides, and 75% of the interviewed CEOs believe that the enterprise with the most advanced generative AI will win and they say competitive advantage depends upon it.
Yet, while implementing generative AI can accelerate speed to insight and improve organizational agility, AI systems must provide transparency into their decision-making process. There is indeed still a lack of comprehensive organizational plans and 56% of CEOs are currently delaying major investments in the technology pending greater clarity around standards, regulations and guidelines for the ethical and responsible use of generative AI while addressing workforce disruptions caused by AI adoption.
Serious potential dangers such as bias, ethics, and safety must be taken into consideration, but the majority of CEOs (57%) seem to be more concerned about the security of data (48% worry instead about bias or data accuracy).
Another concerning trend is that two out of three CEOs are making decisions regarding AI and workforce disruption without a clear understanding of how to support their employees through the inevitable transitions. Less than a third of CEOs have conducted assessments on the potential impact of generative AI on their workforce, yet they are already using it.
So it feels as if CEOs are navigating the transformative power of generative AI, recognizing its potential benefits but grappling with the need for expertise, workforce adaptation (only 29% of the CEO's executive teams believe that they currently have the in-house expertise to adopt generative AI…), and the establishment of consistent standards.
The study mentions a grocery franchisee (United Arab Emirates-based Majid Al Futtaim) that committed to more sophisticated data-driven decision-making to enable faster real-time adjustments at retail level. But to make such shifts, companies need to acquire team members and digital experts with AI skills. They also need to realise that the best decisions result from collaborative efforts and in particular from collecting input from diverse groups, from data analysts and business leaders to frontline employees.
Creating integration at scale is a critical aspect of successfully leveraging AI: leaders should indeed invest in their teams (rather than firing them to cut costs), providing targeted training to make everyone smart on technology and data. Yet investing in teams remains an ambiguous prospect for some companies: the study shows indeed that, compared with a year ago, productivity/profitability has moved to the top of the list of companies' goals, pushing customer experience from the top position to third and product and service innovation, from second to second to last.
In conclusion, the emergence of generative AI as a business and decision-making tool is a defining moment, but to take better decision means to consider the human aspect and experience as well. IBM's research doesn't mention fashion specifically (hopefully, they will work on a report based entirely on fashion companies already integrating AI, because that would offer us interesting perspectives), but there are suggestions in the report that may be applied to this industry as well.
In the Action Guidelines section entitled "Talent and Workforces" there are valuable recommendations for leaders across diverse industries for their workforce. These suggestions – from assessing the potential impact of generative AI on one's workforce, adopting "digital-first" approaches to enhance efficiency and engage talented individuals, to fostering skill development, and identifying and addressing potential skill gaps – can assist executives in navigating the impact of generative AI models in all sorts of industries. It is important to recognize that these AI models have the potential to be more than just awe-inspiring and intimidating, as expressed by one CEO in an interview for this study. They can also serve as valuable assistants, revolutionizing various sectors, including the fashion industry.
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