From ChatGTP to Google search results to Waymos, people are increasingly encountering artificial intelligence in their daily lives.
According to a professor at Arizona State University, AI can transform businesses and develop entrepreneurship in ways you never imagined.
Hitendra Chaturvedi, professor of practice at ASU's WP Carey School of Business, is an expert in global supply chain, sustainability, entrepreneurship and AI.
Here he explains the benefits of AI and its impact on the business world.
Note: The answers are edited in length and/or explicitly.
Question: AI is a buzzword these days. Is it a passing fad, or is there more than just chatgpt?
answer: For those of us who witnessed the internet revolution of the 1990s, it is becoming clear that the AI revolution is not merely magnitude, but exponentially large. The Internet connects people to information, but AI connects intelligence to everything. Its reach is wider, its impact is deeper, and it is much more likely to change almost every aspect of human life.
If the Internet was a data highway, AI is an autonomous vehicle that navigates it on our behalf. However, many still confuse ChatGpt with the whole of AI. In fact, ChatGpt takes AI what a single web page is for the Internet. This is one element of a very large, more powerful system that is reconstructing our world.
Q: How is AI different from other technologies?
A: Viewing AI as just another technology is a flawed perspective, and according to Gartner, it is one of the reasons why almost 80% of AI implementations are lacking. To illustrate this, consider how companies typically employ large-scale technologies, such as purchasing HR systems. These tools are like buying a car or a TV. Once installed, it performs the same function each time. They don't improve, adapt, or be surprised.
On the other hand, AI is like bringing your pet home. It learns, grows, and how well it works depends on how it is trained and interacted. There is a dynamic feedback loop where both AI and its human users influence each other over time. AI doesn't just integrate into organizations. It challenges that. It changes norms, evolves along with its environment, and even drifts further from its original purpose. Thinking of AI as a livelihood and adaptation system unlocks entirely new possibilities for design, collaboration, governance and trust.
Q: How is AI adoption adopted across the enterprise? What encourages you and what worries you?
A: Recent McKinsey research offers encouragement news. The adoption of AI is growing not only in isolated features but across businesses across multiple disciplines. Currently, businesses use AI for customer service, digital marketing, predictive analytics, personal finance and content generation. We are also beginning to experiment with optimizing operational processes such as inventory management, demand forecasting, route planning, and forecast maintenance. However, the majority of these efforts (over 90%) remain experimental rather than truly transformative. Business models built around AI are still rare, like Waymo, Midjourney, or Openai.
What is even more concerning is the growing gap between large and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. Large companies are rapidly expanding their adoption of AI, but SMB is lagging behind. Despite the fact that over 90% of small business owners have expressed optimism about the potential for AI to increase growth and competitiveness, many don't know how to start. This lack of understanding can often turn into hesitation or even fear. My concern is that the DNA of the country's entrepreneurs who live in the heart of the SME ecosystem cannot enhance the power of AI at the same pace as large companies that create a future where innovation and economic opportunities are concentrated in the hands of fewer people.
Q: How does AI have an impact on our country's entrepreneurial culture? What are the important trends seen on the horizon?
A: AI is rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship. With the Force Multiplier feature, the path to building a billionaire company no longer requires large teams or deep pockets. This day is quickly approaching when two or three smart founders armed with powerful GPUs and AI tools can now bootstrap their path to unicorn status.
Thanks to the leverage provided by AI, what once required $30 million in venture capital can now be achieved for less than $1 million. This change is changing not only the way entrepreneurs think, but also the way investors think.
AI is democratizing entrepreneurship. The era of Solo's founders is building AI and billion-dollar businesses because their co-pilots are no longer fantasy. It's almost here.
