- University of Sheffield researchers have developed a new framework to help businesses implement AI
- The guidance encourages businesses to shift from a technology-first mindset to a problem-first mindset to better understand how AI can help reach organisational goals
- The framework could also help improve accessibility to AI, with less than a quarter of UK workers not feeling confident using the technology
A new framework that could help businesses better understand and use AI has been developed by researchers from the University of Sheffield.
In a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, Dr Denis Newman-Griffis from the University's Centre for Machine Intelligence outlines the key things that organisations should consider before working with the technology.
The framework is designed to be used by anyone and focuses on practical day-to-day applications. It encourages businesses to shift to a problem-first mindset and consider specific goals for using the technology.
The emergence of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT has seen a rise in consumer use of AI for users across all fields. However, research has shown that although almost three in 10 workers (29 per cent) in the UK are currently using AI at work, almost a quarter (23 per cent) say they don't feel confident using the technology (Opinium).
Dr Denis Newman-Griffis, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science and Theme Lead for AI-Enabled Research at the University of Sheffield's Centre for Machine Intelligence, said: "Businesses and government are increasingly recognising the opportunities that AI could provide, but conversations around AI are still based on understanding its functionality and how it is built, rather than how to fit it into existing wider processes to accomplish goals.
"The framework we have developed here in Sheffield highlights the importance of businesses changing how they think about AI: rather than seeing it as an outside innovation they need to adopt to stay competitive, our framework helps them see AI as a toolkit they can use to get better at what they already do.
"By starting from what they do and how they do it, and then seeing where AI technologies can be helpful in that picture, businesses can make sure their adoption of AI will make sense for them and help them achieve their goals. Once they have done this, they can work from there on identifying an appropriate technology that fits that purpose, and then integrating it into the way they work."
