ASK AN AI STRATEGIST: WHAT’S NEXT FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING?

In a world of smart technology, an AI strategist is a professional who specializes in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to shape and execute business strategies. As companies increasingly invest in automated solutions for everything from customer engagement to manufacturing optimization, demand for AI strategists has rapidly grown alongside the need for talent skilled in stragetically guiding these initiatives.

Work spans understanding emerging technology capabilities and effectively aligning them with core business priorities and use cases. An AI strategist conducts technology landscape assessments and competitive analysis to identify where the business could derive the most value from smart tech investments. This requires diving deep into the company’s data assets, operations and processes to map out where and how integrating ML and LLMs could drive measurable improvements.

Pros further drill down on the appropriate AI techniques and technologies to apply in each high-opportunity area, evaluating solutions like machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, robotic process automation, and more. The AI strategist also researches the various products and services available through cloud providers and startups. Experts provide insights on building vs buying options to address the most essential pain points and performance gaps facing each business unit.

An astute AI strategist doesn’t just focus on the technology capabilities though. Notably, they guide stakeholders in each part of the organization through envisioning how workflows, roles, decision making, and operations need to adapt when augmented by AI. Pros spearhead risk analysis and governance approaches to ensure that technology is deployed both responsibly and effectively. Advisors also develop playbooks for change management across the human workforce alongside AI integration.

But beyond all that, pros also stay on top of regulatory compliance considerations as policy governing AI ethics and data privacy continues to evolve. Consultants work closely with cross-functional teams in finance, procurement, IT, and legal to engineer appropriate controls and oversight of learning systems. The role requires excelling at both translating technical details and the tangible business value at stake with technology in order to shape strategies and gain leadership support for investment. With apps and markets shifting so rapidly, AI strategists must run continual environmental scans to refine strategies over time and maintain the organization’s competitive edge.