We all have big hopes and dreams when it comes to what AI can deliver in the short-term and well into the future. But dreams don’t make themselves.
What goes into putting AI into practice—mindful of its strengths and weaknesses, and ready to adapt accordingly? How can individuals who are passionate about this technology help make those dreams a reality for their teams? Where should they start?
Thankfully, our 2024 cohort of AI Visionaries has a lot to say on this subject.
Invest in Building Trust with Customers and Colleagues
By now, you know the potential of artificial intelligence. You are aware of the opportunities it presents to make your team’s work more efficient, more insightful, and, frankly, maybe a little more enjoyable.
But any still-hesitant stakeholders stand between you and implementing the AI you’ve got your eye on.
According to our AI Visionaries, building trust among those stakeholders—whether they’re internal or external—is essential to innovating with AI. Make sure you invest plenty of time and patience in this step; it can enable even better outcomes down the road.
Léo Murgel, senior vice president and chief operating office of legal and corporate affairs at Salesforce, emphasizes that time is of the essence. Approaching your team with that call to action might help light a fire internally, and proactively recognizing your customers’ need to rely on you can help externally.
“This is not the time to sit back and proverbially stick your head in the sand. It is a time to be aware,” he said with certainty. “It is a time to be aware of the risks and make sure that you’re treating data in your business appropriately. Trust is a number-one value here, and there is an understandable trust gap between where the public is today and where they see a lot of the retail industry, going. But there are paths for enterprises to navigate that trust gap and really bring generative AI, in a trusted way, into their business.”
Joy Sherrod, director of discovery and associate general counsel at Intel Corporation, agreed.
“As with any new technology, there are a ton of unknowns. And particularly for a legal department—knowing that the legal profession is pretty slow to adopt generally—you see all of the potential pitfalls and it’s tough to get your arms around what you don’t know,” she explained. “We always want to know what happens to our data, where it goes, how long it’s there, and how it’s protected. So yes, AI is cool, but how am I going to use this in a way that adds value—and do those uses outweigh these risks, which are kind of harder to understand at the beginning of any new technology?”
Josh Treat, director of advanced analytics at Array, said that the enthusiasm and chatter we’re seeing in the industry is promising—but shouldn’t mean we take colleagues’ or clients’ approval of and trust in the technology for granted.
“As an AI enthusiast, I find the rise of generative AI over the past year truly exciting,” Josh noted. “The fast-paced advancements in AI bring the potential for transformative changes, but at the same time, they evoke a sense of caution—maybe rooted in watching movies like Terminator too many times during my childhood.”
Beyond the reliability of the technology in practice, its potential long-range effects are top of mind, too.
“Questions about ethical considerations, the responsible deployment of these technologies, and their societal impacts naturally come to mind,” he observed. “As these technologies continue to evolve at such a rapid pace, it becomes imperative we strike a balance between acknowledging the vast potential while remaining vigilant about the dangers of moving too fast without proper guiderails in place. With that said, the increased interest and resources devoted to generative AI fuels my optimism about the future possibilities that lie ahead.”
Julian Lee, ANZ AI lead at Microsoft, noted that most organizations are already in, on some level, with AI. The key is to help that acceptance and curiosity grow.
“Start small but have big, bold ambitions,” he advised. “More often than not, there’s already some form of AI being adopted within the organization, whether it’s OCR capabilities, to language translation, to more complex vision understanding tasks. I think the challenge has always been de-risking these AI projects and making them beneficial and financially viable.”
Engage in Meaningful Partnerships
A common barrier to moving forward with AI is built upon choosing which AI is right for your team—and making sure you have all the expertise on your team to apply it properly.
For many organizations, this involves connecting with the right technology and service providers for not just software access and consulting, but true partnerships that can help your team pull the most value out of your investments.
For Joy Sherrod, director of discovery and associate general counsel at Intel Corporation, a list of non-negotiables helps her team choose the right partners to meet their needs.
“Of course, just a quality product is essential,” she said. Be choosy and be sure to pressure-test where you can. “A lot of things look good in a one-hour demo, but when, time after time after time, it’s delivering excellent results—that’s what really matters.”
Beyond that, her foremost concern, she says, is safety.
“There has to be a baseline in information security. That’s number one. When you have IP like we do, that’s the highest concern—that the information we’re transferring will be secure,” Joy told us.”
She continued: “That’s a baseline, but secondarily, you really need experts on the other side. As good as your internal team is—and I think we have the best in the industry; truly world class—there’s only so much that each person can do. There are only so many hours in the day, so you really need true experts in your partner. You need them to have the ability to reliably provide not just good technical advice, but to bring new technologies or new ways of doing things to you.”
Julian also emphasized the human element of good partnerships and effective AI implementations.
“One of my favorite sci-fi movies, Gattaca, ended with the quote: ‘There is no gene for the human spirit.’ Likewise, there is no way machines are going to replace humans; they never have,” he said. “Machines will replace tasks; tasks that are boring, tedious, and mind-numbing. And humans are constantly evolving; looking at social media, TikTok, and whatnot—we definitely can be very creative in how we express ourselves!”
Be the Composer of Your Own Career
In the 21st Century, crafting practical and effective strategies for AI implementation and transformation internal to an organization is an important way for tech-focused professionals to build their careers over the long term.
Our AI Visionaries have plenty of encouraging words for those professionals who want to build their trajectories based on this growing skill set, within their current organizations and as they look forward to future opportunities.
“Careers are not linear, right? There is not a single track. It’s more about composing your next job,” Léo said. “What are the elements of your job that you enjoy? What are the elements that you are particularly good at—or want to be good at? Where are your passions? To develop, we have to sort of decompose it down to that level and then start looking for the jobs that leverage those skill sets and components.”
Frequent self-reflection on these themes can help you evolve with intentionality and enthusiasm.
“I’d encourage anyone to really think on composing that non-leaner career projection, particularly if you’re early in your career—because, as it turns out, as you proceed in your career and trying to earn positions of higher leadership, that cross-functional experience becomes incredibly valuable,” Léo observed. “It’s not only a path for career progression; once you get to certain leadership states, knowing how those other teams around you operate, having those connections, having that experience, really differentiates you and makes you successful in those leadership roles.”
Josh agreed, noting that this is a pivotal moment for the legal profession.
“Industry excitement about the potential of AI, combined with the ongoing expansion of data volumes and sources, is a strong signal that change is coming, and it’s happening rapidly,” he said. “In a landscape where technology is reshaping the industry, staying well-versed in the implications, challenges, and advantages that these new tools offer allows legal professionals to position themselves as invaluable partners to their clients.” Josh explained.
This will be a tactical advantage in the short and long term: “This understanding not only fortifies client relationships but also ensures that project strategy aligns with evolving technology which contributes to the overall success of a project. Simply put, if you are not able to competently talk to your clients about these emerging technologies, someone else will.”
Above all, staying on top of that evolution is an intensive, but worthwhile, commitment.
“AI enthusiasts have multiple avenues to keep up to date on the latest AI trends and developments. However, it’s crucial to understand that this is an ongoing process rather than a one-time endeavor,” he cautioned. “A commitment to continuous learning is crucial in navigating the evolving landscape of modern legal technology. Some options I have used in my professional career include participating in webinars/workshops, pursing industry certifications, attending industry conferences, networking with AI experts, following AI blogs/podcasts, and subscribing to legal tech publications.”
Sam Bock is a member of the marketing team at Relativity, and serves as editor of The Relativity Blog.
