Remember: AI Is Just a Tool

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Artificial Intelligence  

Here’s a comment I saw online about artificial intelligence AI:

“When will ‘AI’ become an indispensable component of the PM landscape, transforming the way we manage, execute, and innovate in projects?”

Um, well…never. That’s not the point. And if you think that all you need to do is sit back and wait for AI to change the (project) world, then I don’t think you really understand what AI is all about.

For as long as there have been humans, there has been advancement of the human race enabled by technology. Some of that technology we don’t fully understand today—think about how the various stones were moved for the creation of Stonehenge.

Some we think that we understand—like the building of the pyramids—and some are obvious key points in civilization, even if we’re not sure when or where they occurred (like the invention of the wheel).

But in every one of those situations, advancement has occurred because of humankind’s ability to leverage the discovery or invention, not just because the technology existed. The wheel doesn’t do anything on its own—well, except perhaps roll down a hill. It takes its inclusion in a cart for it to become a useful tool. The technology may be far more advanced, but AI is really no different.

No matter how powerful, it is just a tool. It …

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