Back to the Future of Business Transformation: Leveraging AI Technology.

The recent advancement of generative AI made me reflect on my own career and the leaps we have had in technology over the last two decades. Two books, both published in 1999, largely influenced my point of view early in my career on how technology can be used for the benefit of all.

The first of these books was Business at the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy by Bill Gates & Collins Hemingway. A visionary guide to using information technology to transform business, it explored how digital infrastructures and information networks would help businesses gain a competitive edge by enabling faster decision making, better communication and accelerated innovation.

Gates introduced the concept of ‘digital nervous system’ – a system that connects all parts of an organisation and allows information to flow freely and efficiently. The three elements of a digital nervous system are:

1. Hardware: the physical devices that collect, store, process, and transmit data
2. Software: the programs that analyse, organise, and present data
3. Peopleware: the people who use data to create value

He concluded that by building a digital nervous system, businesses can achieve the following benefits:

• React faster: Respond quickly to changing customer needs, market conditions, and competitive threats
• Empower employees: Give employees access to relevant information and tools to make better decisions and collaborate more effectively
• Innovate more: Encourage creativity and experimentation by providing feedback loops and learning opportunities
• Learn continuously: Collect data from various sources and use it to improve products, processes, and strategies

The second book, The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity by Alan Cooper, is a classic in the field of interaction design.

Cooper joined Microsoft in 1988 to work on the user interface for Windows 3.0. He proposed a new way of creating graphical applications using a drag-and-drop tool that would generate BASIC code. This idea evolved into Visual Basic, which was launched in 1991 and became one of the most popular programming languages for Windows. Cooper left Microsoft in 1992 and founded Cooper Software, a design consultancy that pioneered the concept of personas and goal-directed design.

In his book, Cooper argues that most high-tech products are poorly designed because they are created by engineers who don’t think like average users. They focus on technical features and functionality, but neglect usability and aesthetics. They also fail to understand the context and goals of their customers, and end up creating products that are frustrating, confusing, and dehumanizing.

He proposes a solution: a design process called Goal-Directed Design, which puts the user at the centre of every decision. The process involves four steps:

1. Research: Understanding who the users are, what they want to accomplish, and how they think and behave
2. Modelling: Creating personas (fictional representations of the users) and scenarios (stories that describe how they use the product)
3. Requirements: Defining what the product should do and how it should behave based on the personas and scenarios
4. Framework: Designing the structure, flow, and interface of the product using sketches, wireframes, and prototypes

By following this process, you can create products that are intuitive, satisfying, and meaningful for users. You can also avoid common design pitfalls, such as feature creep (adding unnecessary features that complicate the product), cognitive friction (forcing users to think too hard or learn new concepts), and perpetual intermediates (users who never become experts because the product is too hard or too easy).

Cooper’s book also candidly shares the friction at the time at Microsoft caused by the urgency to “ship products” before his process was applied and the improvements they experienced once the four steps were implemented.

One of the most exciting developments in technology since the publication of these books two decades ago is the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), which is the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. AI has many applications and benefits for businesses and users, such as automating tasks, enhancing customer service, generating insights, and creating new experiences.

Cue ChatGPT/OpenAI…. Generative AI “the art of the possible” for the next decade.

I believe both books offer valuable (historical) lessons for using AI for the benefit of everyone. Gates shows us how to leverage technology to enhance business performance and productivity, while Cooper demonstrates how to design technology that respects our human dignity and diversity. Both books also warn of the dangers of ignoring these principles. Gates cautions that without harnessing technology, businesses will fall behind their competitors and lose their customers. Cooper warns that without user-centric interaction design, software will frustrate, confuse, and alienate your customers.

The current time is both exciting and daunting. Personally, I am excited for the next generation who will be benefitting the most of the amazing capabilities of AI. We as technologists need to think about how we lay the foundation for those that come after us by enabling businesses to harness the latest digital technologies in responsible ways.

You can listen to Bill recently discussing the evolving landscape of AI with Kevin Scott – CTO of Microsoft on the Behind the Tech podcast.