The First Question Before AI Spend

You probably do not need as much AI as you think.

That is not an anti-AI point. It is a discipline point.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/8305c7_6a45c7df38644501bc74fbcd3d3ad920/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Before approving AI spend, the first question is not:

Where can we use AI?

The first question is:

What specific business problem are we actually trying to solve?

Once AI is on the table, organisations can start moving too quickly.

A tool becomes a project. A project becomes a budget line. A budget line becomes a commitment.

If the problem was never clear, the AI decision will not be clear either.

Sometimes the right answer is AI. Sometimes it is process redesign, training or a simpler tool.

Sometimes the right answer is to pause before adding more complexity.