Michael Rivera and Kofi Arhin on Living with AI

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In this episode of Lehigh University’s College of Business ilLUminate podcast, host Stephanie Veto talks with Michael Rivera and Kofi Arhin from the Center for AI and Business Transformation. 

Listen to the podcast here and subscribe and download Lehigh Business on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Below is an edited excerpt from the conversation. Read the complete podcast transcript [PDF].

Veto: Can you start by explaining what the center is and why it's more important than ever to have it? 

Rivera: The CAIBT is the Center for AI and Business Transformation. It's housed within Lehigh's College of Business, and it really brings together three things: mainly research, teaching and industry engagement. Our starting point is that AI is not the same thing as transforming a business. Real transformation happens when AI changes how the work gets done, how decisions are made, and how value is created. We focus on the organizational and human side of AI, looking at individuals, teams, processes and whole organizations. 

So why now, you asked? I think two things are at play. First, AI is moving quickly, and in many ways, it is outpacing our ways of working from before and the processes that we have so confidently relied on. Secondly, it's a disruptive innovation. New ways of doing things can quickly make past approaches outdated. We see this not only in technology, but also in roles, competencies and strategies. This creates a gap, and there's an opportunity then to kind of reshape how the work is getting done. Organizations need assistance in sense-making, and that's really where our center comes in. 

Arhin: I'll say that the university and college have been very supportive of this center. If you look at Lehigh's strategic plan, there's a lot of talk about AI and focus on AI readiness, especially more recently. We've received very great support in trying to set everything up, and it's been really helpful. 

Veto: What does it mean to transform a business with AI as opposed to just adding it as a tool? 

Rivera: Perspective on transformation is looking at how we can use AI to support people or humans while they engage in their work. So, we are thinking in terms of processes, strategies and decision-making that can augment human intelligence because you still need that, right? You want AI to augment the work of people so that it can improve their outcomes or their output. Think about implementing that in an organization where there are so many people who have access to AI, and they all put their efforts together, and that can bring great transformation to any business process or product or expertise. 

Arhin: I think another facet of sort of intersecting AI and business transformation is this idea that we're working on solving a problem and we're looking at doing it technically, but there's a huge human component that also needs to be considered. So, while we're adept at maybe framing a project, helping a company know how to think about it and working with them on an ideal technical solution, we have to be investing in change management processes, identifying enablers and barriers, and bringing them into the conversation around how a process should be remapped. It's really a holistic proposition, kind of like how work has always been. But, the technical side, the technical innovation and all the big wow that's come with these breakthroughs, in a way has outshined the change management people aspect. Yet, it's the most critical. Like we know we can have a great solution. I have this from my own experience in different consulting engagements: eloquent, beautiful solutions that just don't make it to production because you can't get people on board with sort of doing the work differently or integrating it in a way that supports it. 

Veto: What do you think companies are getting right when it comes to AI? 

Arhin: In my experience, I think that what I've loved to see is the enthusiasm. A lot of companies are enthusiastic about embracing these AI tools, although some are skeptical, which is also a good thing. I think the enthusiasm is really driving the adoption and implementation in different facets of businesses. I think that it's also right that companies are skeptical about, okay, I'm investing all of this money into these tools. Is it going to bring the desired change or the desired outcome? That has been really great to see. Even if they are not getting things right, I think that the right approach is to be enthusiastic about the tool, be skeptical, try to assess and do your research on how this can really bring in a good return on investment. 

Rivera: Our center hosts an executive speaker series, and we've been doing that for over two years now. We've brought in some pretty high-profile speakers. We brought the chief information officer at J&J, the chief data scientist at IBM and the chief technology officer at Vanguard. We meet with them and we try to explore these kinds of areas. And we've heard themes. What are they getting right? They're paying attention. They're exploring. They're iteratively trying things. That kind of builds on that enthusiasm side where the muscle that I think is in development now kind of is born out of that skepticism aspect. How do we think critically? How do we push back and just not follow solutions that may seem right, sound right? How do we get it right for our business? 

That strategic angle is something that is really emerging now. Companies are seeing a need to kind of refine that, improve it. A lot of companies will get there, but the training and development around that is sort of lagging. I think that's a big shift in the learning and development aspect.