A Soumitra Dutta-inspired perspective on AI

In one of the recent articles on Yahoo, there’s a thought-provoking quote from AI scholar and former dean of Oxford Said Business School Soumitra Dutta, "When technology becomes embedded in business models, its trajectory is not just by what is possible, but by what is profitable.”

Disruptive innovations begin with technical feasibility, that’s a given. How it can impact people at scale depends on pragmatic questions, or let’s call it the real world test. How will customers adopt it? With it open up new revenue pathways, or cost saving opportunities?

Let’s think via analogy for a moment. Think about the rise of the internet. While it had the potential to create unprecedented democratisation of knowledge and communication, most of today's giant digital companies ultimately built businesses around advertising. Likewise, the success of smartphone innovation was not solely tied to technical prowess, but to the ability to build entire software and hardware ecosystems that created value for companies and customers alike.

AI is likely to follow the same trajectory.

Dutta’s work bridges the realms of innovation and commerce. Not only has Soumitra Dutta, Oxford Dean enjoyed an illustrious career as an academic, spanning the world’s top business schools across France, the US and the UK; he’s also a successful serial tech entrepreneur. More than a decade ago, he founded a social media analytics company, Fisheye Analytics, that he sold to advertising giant WPP. He also recently co-founded two AI startups, NexiVerify and Caasaa. NexiVerify is an AI verification firm and Caasaa is an AI-based software development firm that helps organisations automates business processes. He’s also worked as an AI strategy consultant for organizations. All of this has given him an inside view of how companies commercialise cutting-edge technology. 

What further gives Dutta’s view ballast is that he’s co-creator of the Global Innovation System, which looks at how countries successful turn ideas into innovation. It’s arguably one of the most influential global metrics – one used by policymakers and investors in more than 100 countries. Soumitra Dutta is also co-creator of the Network Readiness Index, another influential metric, which compares technological competitiveness of around 130 countries.