Steve Brown - The Innovation Ultimatum

From my time on the speaking circuit, I've learned that whenever I talk about future technology, particularly AI, it engenders a wide range of emotions in my audiences. Some people are energized and excited by the potential AI holds for humanity. Others are filled with fear. Most manage a healthy balance of both.

Technology has the potential to reshape humanity and propel it forward in giant leaps. AI may help us cure major diseases and unlock the secrets of the universe. Automation may also displace hundreds of millions of people from the workplace, and some tech luminaries warn that AI may ultimately destroy the human race.

Movies about aliens, killer robots, and pandemics sell tickets. Dystopian stories outsell utopian stories and strong stories are driven by conflict and drama. So, for decades, Hollywood has been fascinated by the darker side of technology's potential. Audiences love the spectacle of a Terminator stomping on human skulls, Mr. Anderson fighting Neo inside The Matrix , or Ava manipulating and killing her way out of captivity in Ex Machina . Directors want to tell a rollicking-good story; they're not there to accurately portray reality. We must recognize that our preconceptions and fears about technology are grounded in our exposure to these fictional stories. In part, this book is an attempt to counterbalance the Hollywood storytelling machine. Overall, technological advancement is a very positive force.

Our ancestors were afraid of telephones, televisions, and rock music. In the nineteenth century, people refused to ride trains believing that if your body moved faster than 30 miles per hour you would melt. Fire can warm a home or burn it to the ground. A split atom can power an entire city or devastate it. Technology is not the culprit; it's how we use it that matters. We must deploy technology responsibly, thoughtfully, and in a manner that benefits humans without posing unreasonable risks.

We are right to be cautious about the development of technology, but we must not fear it. Technology promises incredible potential to serve humanity. It may help us to address the challenges of climate change, eradicate diseases, improve transportation safety, eliminate fraud, limit waste, lower the cost of education, and deliver breakthroughs in the future of energy, materials science, and biology. Somebody reading this book—you, or your kids, or their kids—may have their lives saved by pharmaceuticals developed by a future AI. Should we deny you life because we've seen The Terminator a few too many times? We must retain healthy skepticism and ask tough questions about new technology, but remain open to the bounties it will bring. The six technologies described in this book will bring incredible innovation to every part or our lives. This is an exciting time to be alive! While automation will inevitably destroy some jobs, technology will create many new ones and elevate human work by taking on dull, routine tasks. New technology will create entire new career paths and make work more meaningful, challenging, creative, and rewarding.

In the first part of this book, we cover each of the six technologies in turn: artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, autonomous machines, Blockchains, augmented reality, and 5G networks. If you are already well-versed in these technologies, you might skip to the second part, but note that there are many stories included in these early chapters that demonstrate how these technologies are already being applied to solve real business problems.

In the second part, we review the high-level business implications of these technologies—automation strategies, the strategic importance of data, and the future of work.

In the third and final part of the book, we review specific examples of early innovation using the six technologies. Each chapter is focused on a particular industry. They describe the unique challenges of each industry, how technology is already solving real business problems in that industry, and the key lessons readers can learn and apply elsewhere.

No matter which industry you are in, I strongly encourage you to read this final section of the book. If you're in healthcare, read about manufacturing and transportation. If you're in retail, read about construction and supply chain, and so on. Steal ideas with pride. Lessons can always be learned from other industries. I hope you will read about something happening in another industry and think, “Well that's nothing like what we do, but it's given me a great idea….”

Please read this book with a mind-set of exploring a world of possibility. Every businessperson, no matter their seniority, line of business, or role within a company, needs to understand the six technologies described in this book. Businesspeople don't need to understand the technical ins-and-outs of how these technologies work—that's a role for the IT department—but they must understand the practical and strategic implications of these technologies, and how their capabilities will evolve with time. Armed with these insights, business leaders can guide informed conversations with their teams as they build their medium- and long-range plans.

Collectively, these technologies will transform business operations, customer expectations, customer relationships, labor strategies, and the competitive landscape. No industry is immune. No company is exempt.

Every business should prepare for widespread turmoil and change. Standing still is no longer an option, especially for industries that have stagnated for years, or decades.

Resist the temptation to panic. This level of change can feel overwhelming but remember that every company is in the same boat. By virtue of reading this book, you already have an advantage. That said, there is no time to waste. Don't wait to embrace the technologies described in this book. Start strategic discussions today. Connect your IT department with your strategic planners and task them to drive innovation across every aspect of your business. Fund pilots and try new approaches. And remember that unless you are a tech company, you can't be expected to understand and implement artificial intelligence and other technologies on your own. So, get help. Push your suppliers for solutions that embrace these technologies and deliver the capabilities you need. If they don't respond, find new suppliers.

To summarize: Don't panic. Don't wait. Get help.

Above all, prepare your organization to embrace change and get them excited about driving innovation into everything you do.

The Innovation Ultimatum is both a call to innovate for survival in a rapidly evolving competitive environment, and a moral imperative to use these six technologies to serve people, elevate work, and make a lasting, positive impact on the world. Let's dive in.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us. It underpins speech recognition, natural language processing (NLP), and machine vision. AI is behind the sophisticated spam filters that keep your inbox (mostly) free of junk mail. It flags unusual usage patterns on your credit card and assesses your credit score. It suggests tags for people in photos you post to Facebook. It offers intelligent suggestions when you use the search bar. AI is all around us, yet we have only scratched the surface of AI's future potential.

Like a femme fatale in a classic movie, AI seems simultaneously sexy and scary. While artificial intelligence may help us to unlock cures for diseases, discover new wonder materials, and predict the future, some people worry that it threatens human life as we know it, either economically or existentially.