Why People and AI Make Good Business Partners | Shervin Khodabandeh | TED

Summary

In this talk, the speaker reveals that despite massive investments in AI, only 10% of companies achieve meaningful financial returns. The key to success lies in how AI and humans collaborate, rather than AI replacing people. Through examples like Humana's pharmacy call centers and retail supply chains during COVID-19, the speaker emphasizes that AI's true potential is in enhancing human capabilities—whether as a recommender, evaluator, or creative partner. Companies that focus on collaboration and training their people to work with AI see better outcomes, from higher employee satisfaction to greater organizational agility.

Takeaways

• 😀 AI investments by companies are not yielding significant financial returns for most, with only 10% of companies seeing meaningful results.
• 🤖 The key to successful AI adoption is not in fancy algorithms, but in how humans and AI work together in a symbiotic relationship.
• 🌍 Many people fear AI will replace humans, but the real opportunity lies in collaboration between humans and AI to achieve outcomes neither could achieve alone.
• ♟️ In the game of chess, a combination of human players and AI is more powerful than either alone, demonstrating the potential of human-AI collaboration.
• 💡 Successful companies use AI to amplify the capabilities of their people, not to replace them, improving workforce fulfillment and effectiveness.
• 😊 Companies that foster human-AI collaboration achieve five times more financial value and have a happier, more productive workforce.
• 🔄 Human-AI collaboration relies on an ongoing feedback loop, where both parties learn from each other and adapt to improve performance.
• 👥 Relationships with AI should be tailored to different contexts, just like human relationships vary between roles like spouses, bosses, or colleagues.
• 💬 Example of Humana: AI assists pharmacists by suggesting improvements in emotional intelligence during patient conversations, leading to higher satisfaction.
• 📦 During the COVID-19 pandemic, AI was used by retailers to navigate supply chain disruptions and predict customer demand, but human judgment was crucial for ethical decisions.

Q & A

Why do only 10% of companies achieve meaningful financial impact from their AI investments?

According to the speaker, most companies focus on building AI capabilities without fully understanding how to integrate AI with human employees. Only 10% succeed because they effectively combine AI with human judgment, creativity, and empathy, fostering a collaborative rather than a replacement-driven approach.

What is the 'secret' of the companies that succeed with AI?

The secret lies in how these companies build mutually beneficial relationships between humans and AI, where AI amplifies human capabilities instead of replacing them, and both work together to achieve outcomes neither could do alone.

How can AI improve human performance in the workplace?

AI can enhance human performance by handling data-heavy tasks, solving complex problems, and offering recommendations. This allows humans to focus on creativity, judgment, empathy, and ethics, thereby improving productivity and job satisfaction.

What is an example of AI collaboration in healthcare?

Humana, a healthcare company, uses AI to listen to pharmacists' conversations with patients and provides real-time suggestions to improve communication. AI helps pharmacists by offering emotional cues and behavior insights, improving customer satisfaction and the quality of care.

What role does AI play in the feedback loop within a human-AI relationship?

AI learns from humans to understand what makes interactions effective and then offers suggestions. However, the human employee is the decision-maker, and the feedback loop allows AI to improve over time based on the human’s responses and actions.

How does AI's role vary depending on the company or situation?

AI’s role can range from being a recommender (offering suggestions), an evaluator (assessing complex trade-offs), to an illuminator (generating creative solutions). The appropriate AI-human relationship depends on the unique challenges each company faces.

Can AI fully replace humans in the workplace?

No, AI is not meant to replace humans but to collaborate with them. The speaker emphasizes that AI’s strengths, such as data analysis and solving complex problems, complement human strengths like creativity, judgment, and ethics.

How did retailers use AI to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Retailers that had established strong AI foundations used it to analyze vast amounts of data, including consumer behavior and supply chain disruptions. AI helped them predict demand, optimize inventory, and identify product substitutions, but humans made the final ethical decisions about what to stock.

What is the biggest mistake companies make when investing in AI?

The biggest mistake is overinvesting in technology alone. Successful companies invest in technology, but they also prioritize human factors, such as training, reskilling, and creating a collaborative relationship between AI and employees.

What is the ultimate benefit of human-AI collaboration in companies?

Human-AI collaboration leads to greater organizational learning, agility, and resilience. Companies become more adaptable, able to tackle challenges more effectively, and the overall workforce becomes more satisfied and productive.