As the engine of the Australian economy, accounting for more than a third of Australia’s GDP, the success of SMEs – especially those fuelled by AI – is critical for millions of people, and effectively harnessing the technology would mean a better economy for all. But the rapid advancement of generative AI over the last two years has SMEs wondering where they can reap the benefits of the technology quickly, without going over budget or wasting resources in the process.
The good news is that there’s plenty of opportunity to find those efficiencies with AI in almost any small business. Using generative AI models as natural language processors, enhancing cybersecurity with AI-powered threat detection solutions and leveraging AI to find patterns and anomalies in large data sets, are all valid, easy-to-use possibilities that could benefit most businesses. The AI genie is out of the bottle and the more small businesses that adopt some form of it, the harder competing in the open market will be for businesses not embracing the technology.
That being said, small-business leaders must be strategic when making decisions on how to implement AI-powered tools to avoid the all-too-common “shiny toy syndrome” that has afflicted technology leaders for decades. AI, like big data, cloud networking and other previous tech trends, has garnered so much hype that every company wants to affiliate their product with the technology, whether or not the affiliation makes sense or is even viable.
It can be exhausting sorting through dozens of tools – aka shiny toys – that do similar things or advertise unrealistic promises of super-advanced AI. The effect of AI dominating the technology market like it currently does is that companies may be encouraged to buy products they don’t need, moving from one tantalising model or point solution to the next without considering a broader technology strategy first.
That’s unsustainable, especially as one in five (19 per cent) Australian SMEs are currently deploying AI tools, and a further 21 per cent plan to, according to MYOB research. Because AI will play such a large role in business operations soon, it’s crucial that businesses hire accordingly and employ people who can tell the difference between effective AI and what’s hype, as well as come up with a cohesive long-term strategy for AI implementation.
Unfortunately, as it stands right now, 75 per cent of Australian employers can’t find the AI talent they need to spearhead their adoption, and 73 per cent are unsure of how to begin operating an AI workforce training program.
Such a shortage of knowledgeable AI talent makes the life of SME leaders choosing and delivering on these solutions more difficult, but not impossible. There are questions that savvy leaders can ask to determine whether or not the product they’re buying is worth it. For example, knowing where the training data on an AI model came from is important to determine whether its responses will be accurate or erroneous. Before purchasing a tool, business leaders should be asking what approach a vendor took to build its AI model, whether it has exhibited any drift and what the decay rate of the model is.
Capitalising on the great benefits of AI requires a little patience and diligence, qualities that will go a long way in small business.
