AI: A Wave to Get in Front Of

There’s a reason why new technology is called disruptive. It can make your company change plans—quickly and unexpectedly. These changes can be less disruptive if you learn about them ahead of time, prepare for them and embrace them.

Take artificial intelligence (AI). It is now being used by organizations to aid decision making and make teams more productive. AI systems can, among other things, monitor progress, manage documentation, and help with activity and resource planning, according to a PMI Pulse of the Profession® report.

Respondents to a survey cited in the report feel the proportion of projects using AI over the next three years will increase from 23 to 37 percent. But 81 percent of respondents report their organizations are now being impacted by AI technologies.

AI innovators, according to the report, are enjoying better on-time delivery, superior benefits realization and higher returns on investment. That same report lists ways AI enhances productivity:

• Robotic process automation
• Machine learning through pattern detection
• Reinforcement learning by using feedback from its own actions

The report indicates AI can improve quality through:

• Automatically identifying bias in a range of AI algorithms.
• Emulating and mimicking human intelligence, skills or behavior, and offering expert knowledge in a particular field, topic or skill.
• Understanding the context of the data being processed to help problem-solve procedures and support human learning, decision making and actions.

Research by Accenture cited in the PMI report lists five ways visionary organizations can enhance their AI investment:

• Encourage the right mindset
• Promote experimentation
• Support actively involved leadership
• Incorporate data into strategy
• Cultivate new skills

One interesting thing about AI and one of many reasons not to fear it is that it must start with the human touch. When computers first were used widely, people thought of them as “smart” or “brainy” (they are only as smart as the programmers who programmed them). While AI may be considered “intelligent,” systems first need to be taught by humans. Two examples are a program aimed at autonomously removing offending images from a social media site, and a database of medical scan abnormalities. These two entities need to be taught what images are offending or what is abnormal.

AI needs humans—project managers and IT workers—to help harness the power of this valuable tool and work collaboratively with it. In a blog from the PMI Global Conference last year, our editor mentioned a presentation that, citing a Gartner study, made the case that, if AI takes over 80% of what project managers presently do, that frees up project managers to focus on "The 20% that really matters."

Do not be frightened of AI. Learn it, have your project staff learn it and work with it—and stay ahead of the trend.