AI for People and Business

Chapter 7. Defining Goals for People and Business

As discussed, the why should be the driving force and North Star for an AI vision, which in the case of AIPB is better human experiences and business success at the highest level. We also can state the why more granularly and simply refer to it as a goal. All initiatives should align to one or more goals.

This chapter gives you an overview of different AI solution stakeholder types and the potential goals associated with each. These goals highlight why AI can be beneficial to both people and businesses alike.

Defining Stakeholders and Introducing Their Goals

AI is a technique by which value is created by machines exhibiting intelligence. We can express the value created as benefits or goals. The goals that people and businesses have for pursuing AI initiatives depend on who the stakeholder is; in other words, the person receiving the benefits that the goals are intended to produce.

There are three potential stakeholders for AI applications, with a single solution sometimes involving all three. These are business stakeholders (e.g., P&L owners, board members, shareholders), customers, and users. We examine the characteristics and differences between each next; for the rest of this book, I refer to business stakeholders simply as the “business.”

An example of a product that has all three stakeholders is social media platforms that sell advertising like Twitter. In this case, the business has certain goals, whereas the customers ...