In the last year, artificial intelligence (AI) has become the hot topic in technology and, of course, our society. It is in the process of transforming the way we work and live. The new era of AI is being compared to significant advancements like the industrial revolution, the introduction of calculators, and the widespread use of the internet. It is not solely focused on technological areas but is permeating the lives of everyone on the planet. We can see the impact on shopping, traveling, search engines, our ever-connected phones, and governments. For the average person, AI has shifted from a complex unknown technology to simply a part of everyday life.
For organizations, both in the private and public sectors, visionary leaders are looking to harness AI technology to provide efficiency at orders of magnitude greater than ever thought possible. The challenge, however, is to adopt these capabilities reasonably and in the most economical way.
Arguably, Microsoft with its strategic partnerships like OpenAI, has taken the lead in the era of AI. Microsoft has provided a path for organizations to harness the previously extremely expensive and complex AI technology to focus on their own data and processes. Unlike many of the initial publicly available iterations of Generative AI (OpenAI’s ChatGPT) that promote the democratization of AI engines, Microsoft within its Cognitive Services area of the Azure public cloud has empowered organizations to infer their proprietary data upon the many different types of Generative AI (e.g., Large Language Models (LLMs), Image Synthesis Models, etc.). With this new technology, one of the key concerns within society is the ethical and proper use of AI. In this area, for several years, Microsoft has also provided guidance for the era of AI with their defining responsible AI utilization with six primary principles:
- Accountability: People should be accountable for AI systems
- Transparency: AI systems should be understandable
- Fairness: AI systems should treat all people fairly
- Reliability and safety: AI systems should perform reliably and safely
- Privacy and security: AI systems should be secure and respect privacy
- Inclusiveness: AI systems should empower everyone and engage people
Additionally, Microsoft has provided guidance and additional tooling in operationalizing the adoption of AI within organizations, both in the public and private sectors.
Most recently, Microsoft has provided insight into an upcoming framework – AI Literacy, Governance, and Technology (AGT) – as a guide initially focused on government organizations, but very applicable to private sector organizations, as well.
Not surprisingly, the Data and AI practice at Planet Technologies in conjunction with its unique You Already Own It (YAOI) program, has also provided cloud strategy sessions focused on Microsoft Azure OpenAI in the same type of outline, AI Literacy, Governance, and Technology. This approach provides the ability for organizations of all types to quickly come up to speed in adopting AI in their strategy and vision. The outline Microsoft provided as a preview on October 1, 2023, aligns closely with the success Planet Technologies has had in assisting key customers in adopting AI within the Azure Cognitive Services umbrella in multiple successful engagements. It is also no surprise that Planet Technologies was designated as a Charter Member of Microsoft’s Content AI Partner Program.
Referring to the preview of the AGT Framework Outline, below are the following areas that will provide a roadmap for organizations to adopt proprietary AI technologies quickly, efficiently, and properly.
- AI Literacy
a. Understanding Generative AI
b. Exploring the Potential and Pitfalls of Generative AI
c. Assessing Generative AI Outputs
d. Engaging with Generative AI Systems
e. Crafting Generative AI Models
f. Deciphering Generative AI Outputs
g. Collaborative Creating with Generative AI
2. Governance
a. Policy Framework for Generative AI
b. Legal Compliance and Ethical Standards
c. Data Governance
d. Accountability and Transparency
e. Risk Management
f. Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
g. Public Engagement and Awareness
3. Technology
a. Core Technologies of Generative AI
b. Infrastructure Essentials
c. Security, Privacy, and Compliance
d. Integration and Standardization
e. Development Environments and Tooling
It is important to note that the actual adoption of AI technology within the organization is listed last and after ensuring both an understanding of AI and a proper governance structure is in place.
Lastly, it is important to realize that we are still on the cusp of understanding all the possible use cases that utilize AI. Transparently, Planet Technologies is seeing and assisting customers with many use cases including, but not limited to, education, secure research, defense industrial base (DIB), and government.
If your organization is looking to explore adopting AI, especially utilizing Microsoft technologies (e.g., Azure OpenAI, Copilot, etc.), Planet is available to review and assist you and your organization.