What To Do When Machines Do Everything: How to Get Ahead in a World of AI, Algorithms, Bots, and Big Data by Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig, and Ben Pring.
Malcolm holds a BA in Economics from Yale University. He is the former Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions.
Paul holds a BS in journalism from the University of Florida and Doctor of Philosophy from Syracuse University. He was a Principal Analyst at Forrester Research and Global Managing Director of Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work. Today he his Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Ascendion.
Ben holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Manchester UK. He is a former Vice President at Gartner and Vice President, Head of Thought Leadership, and Director at Cognizant Technology Solutions.
There are few books that made an immediate impact upon reading them. This is one such book and I highly recommend this to anyone working or striving to understand the role of AI that is transforming the world today.
Automate, Halos, Enhance, Abundance, and Discovery
Malcolm, Paul, and Ben introduce to readers their strategy model Automate, Halos, Enhance, Abundance, and Discovery (AHEAD) to help organizations embrace automation and learn to leverage the new AI driven insights and value.
Their framework will help organizational leaders to recognize and exploit AI to drive new efficiencies while also allowing new views to further strengthen existing customer relationships. Actually the choice is rather stark yet honest: embrace the transformational impact of AI or risk obsolescence. Since publication, they has already happened and it will not slow down.
So, Malcolm, Paul, and Ben have collaborated on books and this is a very impactful guide for understanding how the rapidly evolving landscape and business marketplace of artificial intelligence, automation, and big data are both rapidly evolving and fluid. They are addressing the key question which is facing every segment of society. What can organizations do in order to not only adapt but thrive as artificial intelligence is continuing to increasingly take over tasks once held as job roles by employees. Malcolm, Paul, and Ben collectively forecast that society and organizations were on the brink of a new, some calling it the “4th industrial revolution” powered by artificial intelligence and the impact of systems and services impacted and upgraded by artificial intelligence.
Agents
Agentic AI refers to AI systems capable of acting autonomously to achieve specific goals, making decisions and taking actions with minimal human intervention. They outline this technology role as “systems of intelligence” and “new machines” which constantly learn and evolve, including the function that AI agents can make independent decisions based upon algorithms, which aligns with the concept of AI agents.
Malcolm, Paul, and Ben actually address that some jobs may be displaced by AI and automation, yet also acknowledge a number of new opportunities will be created as a result of AI deployments. Specifically they outline AI having an ability to learn, adapt, and perform tasks. In fact they reference “New Machines” as a service that will transform the way work and more importantly, value is created and leveraged by organizations. Make no mistake, they outlined the need for organizations to embrace the rapid adoption of AI to not simply change but to evolve and adopt the changing landscape of work, learning and prepare for all of the opportunities that AI will present.
Automation
Organizational leaders must understand rather than confront the common narrative that AI will drive dramatic job losses. Malcolm, Paul, and Ben are suggesting a different approach. They see AI unlocking previously unknown opportunities for those organizations who embrace this transformational change. In fact, they outline real-world case studies, data, along with actionable insights.
In conclusion, What To Do When Machines Do Everything is well written as Malcolm, Paul, and Ben are providing a structured, actionable playbook for organizational leaders or anyone looking to understand and leverage AI. I will be recommending this title to many seeking to understand this transformational technology.