Is it always worth it to add artificial intelligence to the product development process? | AI in business #55

The role of artificial intelligence in the process of product development

Artificial intelligence can support many aspects of the design and implementation process for new products. Often it is a good idea, and key benefits include:

• Market research – accelerating research or conducting it on a larger scale is possible by automating repetitive tasks, such as survey analysis or interview transcription, for example. This allows the team to focus on the more creative and challenging aspects of product development,
• New inspiration – facilitated access to a wider spectrum of ideas is one of the main advantages of generative AI. AI algorithms can search huge databases for unknown patterns and concepts beyond designers’ previous thinking,
• In-depth data analysis – better understanding of target customers’ needs through processing data on their behavior, preferences and purchase motivations.

But when is it a good idea to think a second time before using AI collaboration?

In a close-up: The hidden challenges of implementing AI

Although artificial intelligence in the product development process means many new opportunities, its implementation is not without challenges. The most important of these are:

• the need to thoroughly train product teams and adapt existing work processes for integration with AI systems. This can be difficult in large, hierarchical organizations staffed with specialists tied to traditional ways of working,
• concerns about the security of customer data that trains AI algorithms. To take advantage of additional security features, companies often need enterprise license agreements that can exceed the budget of small organizations. That’s why smaller companies sometimes opt for small-scale incorporation of open-access models such as Llama 2, Vicuna or Alpaca. Admittedly, they require more powerful hardware in the company, but they provide data security. This is because machine learning models rely on sensitive personal information. If security is not set up properly, their leakage could have disastrous consequences for the company’s image,
• increased complexity and diffusion of responsibility for key business decisions involving AI systems. Who bears the financial and reputational responsibility for any errors of these systems? How to ensure oversight of AI “black boxes”?

The black box trap. Lack of transparency in AI decisions

One of the fundamental drawbacks of advanced machine learning techniques, such as neural networks, is the lack of transparency in the decisions made. These systems act like “black boxes,” transforming inputs into desired outcomes without being able to understand the underlying logic.

This makes it seriously difficult to ensure user confidence in AI-generated recommendations. If we don’t understand why the system suggested a particular product variant or concept, it’s difficult to assess the sensibility of the suggestion. This can lead to distrust of the technology as a whole.

Companies using artificial intelligence in product development need to be aware of the “black box” problem and take steps to increase the transparency of their solutions. Examples of solutions include:

• visualizations of data flow in neural networks, or
• textual explanations of decisions made generated by additional algorithms.

AI and ethics. How to avoid discrimination and bias?

Another important issue is the potential ethical problems associated with AI. Machine learning systems often rely on data subject to various types of biases and lack of representativeness. This can lead to discriminatory or unfair business decisions.

For example, Amazon’s recruiting algorithm appeared to favor male candidates based on the company’s historical hiring patterns. Similar situations can occur when developing applications with machine learning to:

• Setting customer service priorities,
• Ad targeting,
• Suggesting specialists in the immediate area, or
• Personalization product suggestions.

To avoid such problems, companies need to carefully analyze the datasets they use for adequate representation of different demographic groups and regularly monitor AI systems for signs of discrimination or unfairness.

The limits of algorithms. Artificial intelligence in the process

Artificial intelligence can support the creative process, search for ideas and optimize solutions. However, there are still few companies choosing to fully trust AI. Employing artificial intelligence in the content creation process offers incredible opportunities, but the final decisions on publishing or checking the information contained in the generated materials must be made with human input.

Therefore, designers and product managers need to be aware of the limitations of AI technology and treat it as a support rather than an automatic source of ready-made solutions. Key design and business decisions still require creativity, intuition and a deep understanding of customers, which algorithms alone cannot provide

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Source: DALL-E 3, prompt: Marta M. Kania (https://www.linkedin.com/in/martamatyldakania/)

Ensure control and legal compliance

To minimize AI risks, companies need to implement appropriate oversight and control mechanisms for these systems. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Verification of the correctness and sources of information generated by AI models before their practical use,
• Audits of machine learning algorithms for bias, prediction uncertainty and transparency of decisions,
• Establishing a specialist or ethics committee to oversee the design, testing and applying AI systems in the company,
• Developing clear guidelines on acceptable AI applications and the limits of interference of these systems in business processes and design decisions,
• Training designers to be aware of the limitations and pitfalls to avoid overly uncritical reliance on its indications.

Summary

In summary, artificial intelligence undoubtedly opens up exciting prospects for optimizing and accelerating the design and implementation of new products. However, its integration with legacy systems and practices is not without challenges, some of which are fundamental – such as uncertainty and lack of predictive transparency.

To take full advantage of AI’s potential, companies must treat it with an appropriate amount of caution and criticism, understanding the technology’s limitations. It is also crucial to develop ethical frameworks and control procedures that minimize the risks associated with implementing advanced algorithms into real business processes. Only then can AI become a valuable and safe complement to human creativity and intuition.

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