How AI breakthroughs really happen

The emerging AI future has to be discovered collectively Participation strengthens all three human learning networks

1. It creates stories as people share experiences about how AI actually works in practice. 2.It enables learning to travel across communities as teams discover and adapt ideas in different contexts. 3.Most importantly, participation creates the ownership and legitimacy that consensus networks depend upon.

Imagine a company that is introducing AI into its customer service opera- tions. A central implementation team defines the primary use cases and establishes workflows. It trains employees on how the system should be used. The rollout is disciplined and efficient. However, over time, something unexpected happens. Some frontline teams begin using the AI in ways that were never anticipated. They discover that the system is not only useful to effect- ively handle customer requests, but also to identify recurring sources of customer frustration as well as to surface product design issues much earlier than previously.

Participation matters for another reason as well.

No leadership team, no matter how capable can fully predict where AI will create value how people will adapt to it,

or which use cases will ultimately matter most for the organization.

This emerging future cannot simply be designed centrally. It has to be discovered collectively This is often where many organizations become too narrow in their approach to AI.

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