“Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.” January 1735
Benjamin Franklin’s success as a printer, postmaster general, and politician assured his place in history. Yet he was also a scientist and inventor.
He demonstrated that lightning was electrical in nature, and used that information to invent the lightning rod. He studied the Gulf Stream (actually naming it), and charted its course. The Frankling stove improved the efficiency of heating the home, and is still in use today. And some of us of a certain age appreciate his work in optics, including the invention of bifocals.
These discoveries and inventions, now considered basic knowledge in our society, were cutting edge technologies. By pushing the boundaries of what was known, Franklin changed the lives of people in the 18th century, and we still feel the impact in the present.
The developers of artificial intelligence (AI) are doing the same today. We should heed Poor Richard’s advice of looking ahead before we are left behind.
While generative AI is dominating the headlines, we’ve been using AI tools for years. Some of the most common examples:
- Internet search engines that rank pages
- Speech to text messaging
- Face detection on cameras and phones
- Language translation websites
- Mapping software that interacts with traffic reports
In the business world, robotic process automation has been around for decades. Back in the 1990s, I was part of a team that used a software robot to process glass claims. The script read the file from the repair company, looked up the policy for coverage, and either paid or denied the claim. What would take three claims associates days to process was completed by the robot in hours during the night.
In the world of print and mail, software and equipment manufacturers are integrating AI into their systems. AI algorithms can be used to improve colors and resolutions by analyzing the graphics and photos. That means better quality printing on different substrates.
Combining sensors and software, equipment can place service calls for preventative maintenance. Before an operator can notice a problem with a fuser or inkjet head, the system schedules an appointment to service the printer. Inserter operators receive messages to replace belts and clean paper paths.
The world of print and mail is based on and generates a lot of data. Address information about recipients that must be matched against postal databases. Workflow systems track not just the status of job files, but pieces within the individual jobs. And once mailed, the USPS Informed Platform generates data on pieces and emails. Then there’s response rates and purchases to be tracked.
In the past, we managed databases. With so much information in so many different structures, they have evolved into data lakes. These data lakes are opportunities to exploit machine learning and advanced analytics. AI tools will allow managers to create insightful reports and develop new processes and workflows.
Before deploying any of these new tools, organizations need to develop governance policies. Safeguards and rules need to be established to protect individuals’ privacy rights. Storage of data has to be in compliance with regulations around records retention. Oversight must include a human reviewing results for bias and machine hallucinations. Meetings that bring together people from legal, compliance and information technology are a must.
As an industry, we’re at the beginning of a tremendous shift in technology. We need to make sincere attempts to become educated on artificial intelligence and how to use it in our organizations. Try to read at least one article a week, or attend one presentation a month about AI. Experiment with different tools, and meet with vendors about their solutions. Learning about AI must remain a priority for the immediate future.
As Poor Richard told us in another verse, “The ancients tell us what is best; but we must learn of the moderns what is fittest.”
