Last time we met, I shared my thoughts about how artificial intelligence is “good” and will help the innovative security integrator work smarter and leverage emerging technology.
If done with planning, process and training, they will stand a good chance of increasing growth and profit opportunities, while differentiating themselves from their competitors. All good, right?
Here’s the thing, though: this is a two-edged sword because you cannot have good without the other side of the blade, namely “bad.” What could possibly go bad with artificial intelligence? Let me help you count the ways.
What Could Go Bad with Artificial Intelligence
- You have not thought through the steps needed to successfully market, sell and install AI technologies. Just because customers ask about the shiny, new, AI-enabled cameras or VMS they saw at a recent trade show and want a quote does not mean you are ready to dive into a shallow pool of knowledge. If it does happen, don’t step on that land mine of overconfidence. It could leave a mark on your relationship and your reputation.
- You somehow believe AI technology is smart enough to successfully teach your people how to sell and install it. It will not. Step 1: The provider of that technology must thoroughly do that training. Step 2: Ask lots of who, what, where, when and why questions, as well as how much money questions. Step 3: Check your non-competitive industry networks with colleagues you can trust. Then, rinse and repeat. Then, decide to step on the AI gas or hit the AI brakes if you are not fully committed. No middle ground here. Told you it might get bad, right?
- AI business services support software that enables your business operations including sales, installation and customer service is an altogether unique animal that is that two-edged sword. It can cut inefficiencies and cut through non-value-added tasks, but for people resting on their laurels and not adding new skills to their career stack it will cut their jobs! Routine, mundane tasks that demand manual labor and often delay customer responsiveness are fair game for AI applications. Bad for those who aren’t actively learning and managing their career path to the next level.
- Knowing and effectively communicating thepros and cons of AI is the key to success. You must manage realistic customer expectations of what AI can do, including 90% accuracy. If you don’t, things get bad — and I mean fast! Better to under-promise and overdeliver with AI technologies.
- You’re bad if you didn’t try any AI technology in your shop or business for three months before trying to launch it onto your customers. Golden knowledge nugget: Get your forward thinking, innovative and early adopter customers into objective risk/reward dialogues. Initiate AI pilot tests to evaluate customers’ actual results. This is a very good way to better understand AI, as well as gain honest customer evaluation and a possible referral.
- Definitely bad is overenthusiastic exposure and promise of a hot new security buzzword. AI today is simply an updated version of video analytics. Remember that rage 10 years ago? Yes, it has improved based on hardware improvements and processing power out at the network edge.
- Not so bad are advancements in AI speech recognition, primarily driven by customer service in B2C businesses. This evolution will help access control and intercom technologies as well as help manage complex SOC or GSOC operations. More about this in next month’s column.
Want More?
Want more that’s bad? Standing still on the technology train track. Bad is not considering, evaluating and adopting proven AI-enabled digitization that enables your selling, design, project management, installation and service teams.
Why? Because doing tasks in your current customer delivery processes can always be improved. Just ask your customers!
Next month, I will finish with the ugly part of AI technology in our security industry. What could possibly be ugly about AI? Deepfakes come to mind; those videos, pictures and voices engaged in fraud, propaganda and swaying public opinion for nefarious purposes or, worse, political power.
In summary on the bad of AI, I rely on a movie quote from my favorite actor/director: “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” — Clint Eastwood
The post Business Fitness: The Good, Bad and Ugly of AI in Security, Part 2 appeared first on Security Sales & Integration.