How companies in the Tokyo metropolitan area are leveraging AI

Jim Carpenter, owner of Riverbend Christmas Tree Farm, purchased special equipment last year to help him more efficiently apply fertilizer to the rows of trees growing on his Lake Lucerne farm. The problem was, he didn’t know how to use it.

After speaking to about 50 people, Carpenter said, “We struggled and struggled and struggled to find people to help us use it.” “Finally, one day I sat there and said, ‘Why don’t we ask the AI?’

Using artificial intelligence (AI), Carpenter said they were able to learn about the history of the equipment and the specific parts needed to operate it, all within minutes. The tool also taught me where to get parts, how to install them, and how to operate the equipment.

“It’s like having an assistant,” Carpenter said. “You need a small, family-run business like we have. Then you can leverage a lot of the knowledge out there to get things going. It speeds everything up.”

As AI technology continues to advance rapidly, business owners, as well as consumers, are increasingly finding new ways to use it. But local business owners say they’re moving forward in that quest, striking a balance between automating tasks and human oversight. Research shows that many of the customers the company serves have mixed feelings about using technology, whether as a result of fears of mass layoffs, environmental concerns, or a general mistrust of technology. That sentiment has led some companies to put guardrails around its use or ban it entirely.

According to Forbes, the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022 led to the adoption of AI. Posts about the chatbot quickly went viral on social media as users shared examples of the chatbot’s capabilities.

In a report released in April, the Siena Institute found that about two-thirds of New Yorkers now use AI chatbots, and nearly half said their usage has increased since last year. According to a report released last August by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, about 60% of small and medium-sized businesses are currently using AI, more than double the amount reported in 2023.

“At first it was out of curiosity,” said Nesip Doganaxoy, professor and director of Siena College’s Master of Science in Business Analytics program. “This is being led by large companies with huge resources in AI. We’re particularly focused on local companies that lack those resources.”

Doganaxoy said he has noticed that AI tools are becoming more accessible and less expensive, which is starting to change the AI ​​landscape for small businesses like Carpenters.

“While we don’t have a clear picture of how AI will play out in a small business or mid-market environment, what is clear is that wherever it is used, it is clearly a productivity multiplier,” Doganaksoy said. “The amount of work that one person can do is multiplied many times over. It could be five or ten times as much. It doesn’t necessarily mean hiring fewer people.”

For example, Christopher Desaney, chief operating officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, uses his background as a software architect to oversee day-to-day transportation operations and budgeting. He has been leveraging AI for many years. He is constantly exploring the use of new technology to make CDTA operations more efficient, such as the use of AI-enabled cameras installed on some buses earlier this year to identify shelter maintenance needs. These needs are reported to CDTA in real time.

In front of the cameras, CDTA staff drove around each of the more than 300 bus stops, checking for maintenance needs. Now, cameras help identify maintenance needs, alerting CDTA to everything from broken glass to graffiti and trash, without requiring staff to be on-site in person.

“Theoretically, we have a lot of moving assets in the form of buses, so why shouldn’t we use those buses to do the heavy lifting?” Desaney said. “Anytime we can apply cleverness to something inherently brute force, we’re going to try to do that.”

Desaney said the CDTA is considering using AI in other ways, such as planning bus routes and identifying traveler patterns.

“CDTA has been leveraging so many technologies long before AI became a thing,” he added, noting that discussions around AI at CDTA began in April 2024. “Our systems are more efficient than ever before.”

For small business owners in the Capital Region, including Kelly Fagan, owner of Mark Thomas men’s clothing store, using the free version of the AI ​​service has been “transformative”. Fagan uses the free version of ChatGPT multiple times a day at his Colony and Saratoga Springs stores for a variety of tasks, including website improvement recommendations, social media posts, and mortgage financing scenarios.

“When you’re thinking about making any decision, it’s really good to just throw it in there and see the results. It’s amazing how granular it is,” said Fagan, who said he started using ChatGPT late last year. “It’s a very efficient tool. Like any small business, I wear many hats. I don’t have an HR department or an IT department. This is like a free virtual assistant that I can bounce ideas off of 24 hours a day.”

Doganaxoy and other experts believe AI will make workers more efficient without necessarily eliminating some jobs, while others believe it will eliminate some jobs and create new ones, according to the Associated Press.

“This is a learning game. It’s changing very quickly,” said Rashmi H. Asdani, dean of Siena College’s School of Business. “There are also effective factors that small businesses can take advantage of with these tools. Think about the people you can or cannot hire. How should companies compete then? These tools, when used properly, can provide companies with these efficiencies.”

In late December, Kartik B. Athreya, director of research and head of the Research and Statistics Group at the New York Fed, told attendees at the National Capital Region Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Economic Outlook Breakfast that “uncertainty” has become a “key driver” of the economy, citing factors such as advances in AI.

That’s when Guilderland-based entrepreneur John Phillips started using AI, first converting images of his family into characters from “The Muppets” and then incorporating them into his business practices.

“People say AI will replace jobs, but I say, ‘How can we leverage AI to make things better and fit into our culture?'” Phillips said, noting that technology will not replace workers. “It’s kind of limitless. Information used to be in libraries, then it was in Google Search. I think information is becoming more pervasive among all the resources that are being compiled. It elicits multiple suggestions and instructions, but you still have to decide what you want to do. You still have to be decisive.”

Philips is “embracing AI with a human component” and uses AI to guide customers to the products they are looking for in their hardware store, Philips Hardware. He also uses it to analyze prices for Phillips Mini Mart and Mobil gas stations.

“We’re trying to find all kinds of ways to leverage AI, like pricing and budgeting, so we can spend more time connecting with people,” Phillips said. “If I can use it to provide better service, why wouldn’t I? I find that my customers really like the extra thoroughness in sales. I think they really appreciate that extra service where I say, ‘Here’s a suggestion, but I’m going to take a few minutes to see if you have any other suggestions.’ ”

Phillips also used AI to create architectural renderings for a mini-golf course, pizza and ice cream shop that he proposed for submission to the Guilderland Planning Commission.

While some local executives, including Phillips, have embraced the use of AI, others, such as Chris Soule, either oppose the use of AI or have internal rules regarding its use.

Soule, co-owner of Stella’s Pasta Bar & Bistro, Seven Points Brewery, and Van Dyke Music Club, said he would never incorporate AI into his business operations.

“I oppose these technologies for many reasons, but the bottom line comes down to this: AI ignores the human nature of connection and community,” Soule said in a statement in November. “I strongly believe that the act of creating something is an important element of being human. In my humble opinion, producing is not the same as creating.”

Hideaway at Saratoga Lake said it would never use AI photography to represent the food it serves, saying in a February Facebook post that it “risks setting expectations that are not consistent with the food that appears on the table.” The restaurant added that it believes AI could help distill marketing ideas and copy.

Half of U.S. consumers say they would prefer to support a company that does not use AI, according to a study by global research and advisory firm Gartner.

But Carpenter worries that if he doesn’t embrace AI, he will lose his generational farm. That’s a sentiment echoed by other longtime executives in the Capital Region, including Mr. Fagan and Mr. Phillips.

“I don’t think Christmas tree farms are AI-powered, but the world is losing more and more people who are knowledgeable about equipment and farming methods,” Carpenter said. “It’s really hard to find experts and experts, so any time we can leverage technology to help us farm better, we should do it.

“I think what we’re always looking at is how can we use the tools that are available to us to help our business grow and thrive? If you want your business to be successful, you don’t have to be afraid of whatever they are,” Carpenter added. “If you fall too far behind, you won’t survive.”