Using AI Superpowers for Good

The speed of AI acceptance is unmatched by any innovation in history, and the pace of active adoption is not far behind.  We’re all scrambling to figure out what AI is good for and what we can safely do with it – but the dizzying rate of advance makes it hard to take stock.  A scant nine months ago, NAXION published a late-breaking article describing some of AI’s limitations for insights work based on empirical observations and some tire-kicking experiments. Today, nearly every one of those cautionary notes has been qualified or contradicted by rapid advances in the models and improvements in the products they are spawning. The only point that remains indisputable – presumably for the indefinite future – is the premise that safe AI always needs a human in the room. Even today’s third- and fourth-gen LLMs retain the potential to hallucinate, and they can certainly make mistakes. No matter how good they get, they must be guided, and they need to be checked.

Recognizing that the shelf life on any discussion of AI is short, we’d like to offer a brief update on where AI is seeing the greatest and most successful use among insights-focused consulting organizations – recognizing that this will be the first of many installments.  Our focus here is on the implications it may have for clients, who care more about the quality of insights served than what happens in the kitchen so long as the outcome is nutritional and safe to consume.