Noah Brier, November 5, 2024
At Alephic, we've discovered that driving meaningful change with AI requires understanding two crucial frameworks. The first shows what happens when key components of AI transformation intersect—or don't.
The intersection of AI, Code, and Expertise
When we look at AI transformation, we see four potential scenarios:
But understanding these intersections isn't enough. To successfully implement change, we also need to consider the human elements that make transformation possible. This brings us to our second framework:
A framework for implementing change
This framework was inspired by something similar from the world of business, but was built up primarily in education, where change is desperately needed and hard fought. "It has been said that trying to create a significant shift in paradigm in the public schools is like trying to move a graveyard," explained Timothy Knoster in a 1993 report for a public school system in Pennsylvania. "You are always amazed at how many friends the dead still have. Managing significant change is, at best, a demanding job. At worst it can serve as a proving ground for martyrs." The same holds especially true as organizations grapple with AI transformation. Change is hard, organizations grapple with AI transformation. Change is hard, and compounding that challenge, many who attempt to implement AI change come to over rely on the technology's ability to transform people and culture. If companies invest in AI to change the way they work (which they increasingly do), most believe it's 70% a technical problem and 30% a cultural one. But our experience shows it's almost always exactly the opposite.
The components of successful change implementation include:
Successful AI transformation requires mastery of both frameworks. You need the right combination of AI, code, and expertise, but you also need the organizational elements that make change possible. Miss either piece, and you'll likely encounter resistance, disappointment, or outright failure. But when you get both right - when you combine the technical trinity with effective change management - you create the conditions for transformative success.