Employees work on computers at desks in an open office with hanging lights.
Editorial

Open Innovation: Fueling AI That's Responsibly Developed and Useful

4 minute read
Jeremy Barnes avatar
By
SAVED
Why should companies embrace an open science and open-source AI culture?
Business is being reshaped by critical breakthroughs in both AI applications and research.

Everyone is excited about the potential. But many organizations and policymakers still have valid concerns about how to address potential biases, privacy threats and disinformation. As we shift from generative AI experimentation to implementation at scale, business leaders need to be asking themselves how to do so responsibly.

To drive responsible, safe and effective developments, AI innovation must remain collaborative and open to drive positive and equitable societal impact, foster continued progress and address potential risks collectively.

Responsible AI Today and in the Future

Trust is an inherently human concept and must be built over time through the application of a set of consistent principles. Embedding safety, governance and security considerations from the start is key to facilitating secure and effective deployments of generative AI. By taking a thoughtful approach from the beginning, leaders can build a culture of trust with their C-suite counterparts, ensuring that AI responsibility is an enterprise-wide priority. The first step is developing a framework for responsible development and deployment. For example, at our company, we center our approach on four pillars of responsible development: human-centricity, inclusivity, transparency and accountability.

The journey toward responsible AI also means ensuring that the models behind AI advancements are rooted in ethical principles that are both transparent and understandable.

Transparency around large language models (LLMs) is critical to ensuring that they’re used safely and effectively. However, many researchers today are struggling with lack of openness around the development of new LLMs, which can stifle both innovation and governance.

As AI advances at scale across the enterprise, the ability to safely manage and oversee AI deployments will prove even more challenging. Therefore, companies would be wise to embrace the collective power of open science and the open-source community to promote the exchange of ideas and collaboration on ethical AI frameworks and best practices. Our enterprise, for example, invests in open AI by supporting the open-source community BigCode and responsible LLMs for code.

The Intersection of Responsible AI and Business Innovation

When it comes to AI, openness fuels employee productivity across the organization and can speed up developer innovation to unlock smarter, faster and easier ways of working.

In addition to democratizing AI usage across the organization, open innovation also invites more diverse perspectives and ideas. This allows organizations to stand out in their field by encouraging a free exchange of knowledge and fostering a culture of collaborative innovation.

On the other hand, organizations that shy away from open innovation may see innovation stall, as they potentially miss out on the benefits of shared insights and collective problem solving. By actively promoting diversity of thought and open sharing, organizations can maximize the potential of AI deployments, leading to a more innovative and effective strategy that can bolster their competitive edge.

Embracing openness as a guiding principle for AI development also wards off the winner-take-all mindset. When companies that embrace open innovation step away from relying solely on popular vendors or getting caught up in industry hype, they can drive a more independent mindset. This openness not only promotes the exploration of a broader range of technologies and ideas, but also encourages thinking beyond the conventional boundaries set by established players.

Some of the greatest generative AI innovations will result from the industry coming together to create new experiences, use cases and capabilities that take this transformative technology further. By tapping into the collective power of an open AI community that promotes the exchange of ideas and collaboration on decisions and outputs, we can unlock the true potential of AI for the enterprise.

Integrating AI Responsibly to Enhance Work

How well people accept and adapt to AI in the workplace will be crucial to its overall effectiveness. In other words, for AI to be trusted, it must be helpful. This means embedding generative AI directly into the human experience.

Generative AI has shifted from a nice-to-have technology in the workplace to a new standard for what employees expect. Simply, if organizations don’t provide their workforces with the AI tools they need to make their jobs easier, employees may find somewhere else to work that does or resort to unauthorized tools, which can lead to the proliferation of shadow AI. Incremental improvements are near-term ways to make employees’ tasks easier. Longer term, it’s important to think about how we can reinvent the jobs of important personas to be AI-first.

Taking a persona-based approach means focusing on what each user needs. It's about understanding that a one-size-fits-all AI solution just will not be the most impactful. Therefore, by diving into the needs of each user, companies can better understand the day-to-day tasks and challenges different personas face. This insight will allow organizations to tailor their AI tools to truly fit the unique aspects of an employee’s role.

Open innovation extends beyond industry standards and collaboration. It’s also a vital part of company culture. Give your employees the tools they need to do their best work and create innovation sandboxes where those closest to business processes are empowered to experiment and identify the next killer use cases for AI. Championing open innovation within your own workforce can reinforce a culture of inclusivity where diversity of thought is championed and employees can more freely embrace continuous learning. When combined with the innovation advantages of AI, employees from different backgrounds and skill sets can contribute to the development and refinement of these applications, boosting the overall innovation process.

Companies that instill a culture of transparency into the employee experience will see smoother integration of AI into day-to-day work. By embracing open innovation and maintaining a commitment to ethical practices and transparency, organizations can guide themselves toward a future that not only boosts business efficiency, but also makes a positive societal impact.

fa-solid fa-hand-paper Learn how you can join our contributor community.

About the Author
Jeremy Barnes

Jeremy Barnes is VP of product for platform AI at ServiceNow, a Santa Clara, California-based business transformation company. With a background in using AI to drive digital transformation, Barnes has led numerous AI initiatives, enhancing automation and efficiency. His expertise lies in applying AI to optimize business processes and elevate customer experiences. Previously, Barnes served as the CTO and chief architect at Element AI, which was acquired by ServiceNow. There, he worked to bridge AI research to the customer and built a graphics processing unit (GPU) infrastructure. Connect with Jeremy Barnes:

Main image: By Israel Andrade.
Featured Research