Teresa PetersonSenior Program Manager/Acquisition Professional| US Federal GovernmentWoodbridge, VA, United States
1. What signals help distinguish different kinds of AI work—and what goes wrong when everything gets lumped together? “AI” is an umbrella term, so the signals usually come from how the system works and what it’s meant to do: · Type of task Is it generating content (like text/images), making predictions, recognizing patterns, or automating rules? Example: a chatbot vs. a fraud detection model vs. a recommendation system. 2. When everything gets lumped together as just “AI,” a few problems tend to show up: · Unrealistic expectations (“Can’t AI just do this automatically?”) · Wrong tool for the job (using generative AI where a simple script would work better) 3. Have you ever been in a conversation where “AI” meant different things to different people? What tipped you off? · People describing completely different outcomes One person imagines a chatbot, another thinks of predictive analytics. 4. Navigating what’s really being asked when someone says “we should use AI” In practice, that phrase usually isn’t the real request—it’s a placeholder. The key is to translate it into something actionable: · Clarify the goal What problem are we solving? Faster workflows? Better predictions? Cost reduction? · Define success What does a good outcome look like? Accuracy, time saved, revenue impact? Saving Changes...
Teresa PetersonSenior Program Manager/Acquisition Professional| US Federal GovernmentWoodbridge, VA, United States
Feb 22, 2026 7:45 AM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
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The first thing is to clarify what AI means. Human beings are using AI from more than 50 years ago. We are surrounded of AI entities embeded inside refrigerators, air conditioners, cell phones, etc, etc, Unfortunately in the last time some people and organizations are contributing to the general confusion using generative AI as a synonim of AI.
Agree. Saving Changes...
Teresa PetersonSenior Program Manager/Acquisition Professional| US Federal GovernmentWoodbridge, VA, United States
Desired outcome (time, resources, and funding) is the catalyst for determining if AI should be used. Saving Changes...
Before using AI, a company needs to understand itself well and organize its data. For AI to deliver real value, we first need clear processes and well-structured data. Without that foundation, any AI initiative will be inefficient or even counterproductive Saving Changes...
The first thing is to clarify what AI means. Human beings are using AI from more than 50 years ago. We are surrounded of AI entities embeded inside refrigerators, air conditioners, cell phones, etc, etc, Unfortunately in the last time some people and organizations are contributing to the general confusion using generative AI as a synonim of AI.
I agree, as in every era when there is a trend, the use of certain terms becomes dangerous, and in this digital age, one must be very careful with the ideas that are shared. Saving Changes...
I’ve been asked this many times, and my first response is always: what do you want to achieve with AI? Once the outcome is clear, we can define the right approach, tools, and path forward.
Completely agree, one should not depend solely upon the outcome generated by AI, but one should be aware and can able to judge the AI generated outcome, based on the work requirement. Validation, and performance achievement in AI is always linked with the Model training and utilization of GPUs. It will impact the time duration of the result generation as well. So. one should optimize the interaction with AI tools in every aspects. Especially for Automation. Saving Changes...
Santosh Kumar PandaProject & Technical Manager| Safal Building Systems Ltd, Kenya, East AfricaNairobi, Kenya
When someone says “We should use AI!”, sometimes it feels that the person know what is the challenge & how AI can help to resolve it. But most of the time people try to use to show that they know something called AI without knowing the real use. But as a PM, I sometimes feel, the issue need to be identified & clarified properly sothat we can able to define the end goal correctly. This will help to identify the right tool & process. Saving Changes...
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