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Extract from IISE (Joseph Byrum)
Putting it all together: The Iron Man ‘suite’
Even armed with causal reasoning, a cognitive AI system is not particularly effective by itself. There is only so much that can be accomplished by processing data, evaluating the most relevant factors and simulating potential actions. When experienced human users took output and spots data that conventional methods would have overlooked, the value of augmented intelligence became clear. Such systems allow humans to act on better intelligence, making choices informed by a solid understanding of probable outcomes.
AI in the form of augmented intelligence assists human experts in completing tasks with greater efficiency. With causal inference, an AI system can, for instance, better tar-get marketing efforts by understanding which groups are truly interested in a product and avoid spurious correla-tions. Civil engineering schools won’t waste efforts mar-keting their graduate programs to mozzarella cheese lovers, but more important uses are taking shape in the healthcare sector.
variant is a company that helps large hospitals optimize marketing efforts by predicting patients’ upcoming needs by analyzing medical data. At first, the company hand-cod-ed each algorithm it used, devising a new solution for each customer. Then it realized there was a better way. It turned to DataRobot, a firm that offered a system to sort through hundreds of algorithms and find the one for each particu-lar application that would be statistically reliable and valid. This was not a replacement for Evariant’s data scientists; rather, the system took over mundane and routine coding tasks, freeing experts to perform more effectively.
The benefits of augmented intelligence extend beyond marketing departments and data science teams. Even enter-prise lawyers can now take advantage of systems like Klar-ity, which reads through standard contracts to decide if it’s worth the time for an attorney to review the terms or if it’s just the usual boilerplate with no real risks. The system draws out all the important terms of the agreement so they can be reviewed at a glance and checked in detail when necessary. The tool helps bypass the legal bottleneck and speed up the approval of important deals.
Combining the analytical power of machines with the judgment and creativity of a human is an arrangement I compare to an “Iron Man” suit. In the movies and the comics, Tony Stark is just an ordinary man when it comes to physical ability. Once he dons his AI-powered suit, his overall effectiveness grows as the suit makes suggestions and manages the small details. The fictional example shows us the value of pairing the human’s best abilities with the best abilities of the machine.
For the role of AI in business, it wouldn’t be a physical suit but a software suite that endows a financial analyst, factory manager or CEO with powers that exceed those of ordinary humans. The enhanced judgment would deliver better optimized performance, and a business built around such technology would rightly be called an intelligent enterprise. Though augmented intelligence does not make for as entertaining a story, it does make for a profitable company. Considering the competitive edge that augmented intelligence can provide, most future businesses will likely become intelligent enterprises. All the rest won’t be works of fiction; they’ll be works of history.
Joseph Byrum is an accomplished executive leader, innovator, and cross-domain strategist with a proven track record of success across multiple industries. With a diverse background spanning biotech, finance, and data science, he has earned over 50 patents that have collectively generated more than $1 billion in revenue. Dr. Byrum’s groundbreaking contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the INFORMS Franz Edelman Prize and the ANA Genius Award. His vision of the “intelligent enterprise” blends his scientific expertise with business acumen to help Fortune 500 companies transform their operations through his signature approach: “Unlearn, Transform, Reinvent.” Dr. Byrum earned a PhD in genetics from Iowa State University and an MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
