How to Know When AI Is the Right Solution

How to Know When AI Is the Right Solution

Given the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), many are following the bandwagon without considering whether their system truly requires the novel tech or not. The reality is that while AI is very versatile and useful, not all situations demand using this approach. In fact, not every organization or team is ready to integrate AI successfully, even when there is an obvious need for it.

To determine whether AI is the right solution, below are six pointers to consider:

1. Consider your user's needs
First, it's crucial to determine whether AI is not just another tool you are introducing. Before you can create a successful service or product, it's paramount to recognize the user's needs. If your team sees AI as appropriate, look into your available data to determine the specific technology to use. From there, an appropriate AI model can be developed by your data scientists.

Also, consider if there is sufficient data for evaluation and for the model to learn from. In addition, it's necessary to determine whether the available data is safe and ethical to use (you may refer to the Data Ethics Framework). If a task is not large and a human can handle it effectively without stress, there might be zero need for AI. Keep in mind, using AI for your project should provide information to the team to achieve solutions to real-life challenges.

2. Integration into an existing ecosystem
Before data analysis can be carried out, it's necessary to access the data. Sometimes, the process of integrating AI into existing software or database can be expensive and time-consuming. Thus, it's often recommended to choose software with open API architecture.

For some AI software platforms, there are marketplaces where a series of plugins are available for commonly used software systems. It's required to provide administrator credentials to create a connection. In this case, you don't need custom development. Hence, you can get started quickly with no budgetary consequences. Nevertheless, it's important to determine if AI will complement your ecosystems successfully. Otherwise, the team might be spending time on a non-productive approach.

3. Check your existing data state
It's necessary to work with specialists to understand the available data and their state. Before data can be considered useful for the AI model, it must be accurate, complete, valid, relevant, timely, unique, a good representation of the current situation, consistent, and large enough for analysis. For business challenges that require an ongoing decision process, the team needs to create continuous and current data access to utilize the AI model successfully. Also, you must adhere to the data protection laws that apply in your region.

4. A purchase or build decision
While making your evaluation, consider whether purchasing an AI software technology will help meet your users’ needs. If so, you need to work on your purchase strategy as your team will do for other technology purchases.

Also, check if you're trying to meet unique need to your brand or if it’s generic, and look into the maturity of the commercially available products that meet such needs. Additionally, the ethical concerns of using such AI tech must be considered right before the procurement process.

If you need to build, ensure that you work with a data scientist and determine whether your team can develop an AI project in-house. Furthermore, the team must be able to operate and maintain the AI solution in-house.

If the situation requires purchasing, you may consider getting an off-the-shelf product. This is recommendable if the AI is a common application, such as a model for optical character recognition. However, endeavor to look into your existing data carefully before making a purchase. In some cases, the supplier might need to tailor the software to your needs or build something new from scratch.

5. AI project’s responsibility and governance
Before you can make a final decision on whether an AI tech is the right solution or not, you need to consider governance and allocation of responsibility. For instance, there should be a team or personnel who would be responsible if the selected data fails to train the model or fits for the deployment.

Furthermore, the governance and responsibility team must be able to monitor the AI tech in achieving its business objectives and purpose, and be responsible for a clear accountability framework regarding models that are in production. It’s also the responsibility of the team to test, monitor, and review the framework. If the algorithms are not robust enough, explainable, and fair, the team needs to make the necessary report. The governance team must determine if the project fits what the owner of the data expects their information to be used for.

6. Choose the right skills for AI assessment
From the pointers listed above, it’s apparent that an organization will need various teams with different skills. This includes both hard and soft skills. Among the essential groups are data scientists, domain knowledge experts, and the governance team. While the duties of the governance team have been discussed earlier, data scientists must have a good knowledge of the available data and how to use it to resolve an existing problem. As for a domain knowledge expert, the service is needed to deploy AI model results in a known environment.

Conclusion
Irrespective of the industry a business belongs to, there is no one-size-fits-all AI solution. A proper assessment is necessary to determine whether an AI model or tech will help meet expectations and needs of end-users or customers. If AI technology does not make any meaningful and cost-effective solution to your challenges, think twice before making the final call. Consider the six assessment keys shared above to make an informed decision concerning the use of AI for your customers' needs.


Featured

  • Human Risk Management: A Silver Bullet for Effective Security Awareness Training

    You would think in a world where cybersecurity breaches are frequently in the news, that it wouldn’t require much to convince CEOs and C-suite leaders of the value and importance of security awareness training (SAT). Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Read Now

  • Windsor Port Authority Strengthens U.S.-Canada Border Waterway Safety, Security

    Windsor Port Authority, one of just 17 national ports created by the 1999 Canada Marine Act, has enhanced waterway safety and security across its jurisdiction on the U.S.-Canada border with state-of-the-art cameras from Axis Communications. These cameras, combined with radar solutions from Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc., provide the port with the visibility needed to prevent collisions, better detect illegal activity, and save lives along the river. Read Now

  • Survey: 84 Percent of Healthcare Organizations Spotted Cyberattack in Last 12 Months

    Netwrix, a vendor specializing in cybersecurity solutions focused on data and identity threats, surveyed 1,309 IT and security professionals globally and recently released findings for the healthcare sector based on the data collected. It reveals that 84% of organizations in the healthcare sector spotted a cyberattack on their infrastructure within the last 12 months. Phishing was the most common type of incident experienced on premises, similar to other industries. Read Now

  • Keynote Speakers Announced for ISC West 2025

    ISC West, hosted in collaboration with premier sponsor the Security Industry Association (SIA), unveiled its 2025 Keynote Series. Featuring a powerhouse lineup of experts in cybersecurity, retail security, and leadership, each keynote will offer invaluable insights into the challenges and opportunities transforming the field of security. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening. 3