How to Effectively Ride the AI Wave

Toshihiko Ted Katagi
Professor, NUCB Business School

AI is like the internet back in the 90s; it is a ground-breaking change.

AI is at a turning point, its adoption no longer a matter of choice but of necessity for businesses today. As the CEO of Kenja, an AI company that works with large enterprises worldwide, including one of the big four US banks, I have identified the four key factors to successful digital transformation.

The first factor is organizational learning, which reflects the proficiency of the employees and business itself. Employees can learn through training, using AI tools, and having a growth mind-set. While the business can advance by prioritizing areas that most require improvement.

The second factor is having a team of AI experts. An AI team's role is to help the organization use AI effectively by experimenting, learning from mistakes, and collaborating with external experts. Their goal is to transform AI from a general efficiency tool into a bespoke solution.

The third factor is setting a roadmap for goals. Businesses need to assess their capabilities, set realistic and measurable objectives, and rank initiatives by urgency. At the same time, they must also balance short-term gains with long-term vision to ensure sustainable success. The fourth factor is embracing AI fully. Businesses should re-evaluate all their projects from an AI perspective and thereby avoid investing in outdated approaches that will be ineffective in an AI-driven environment.

To summarize, properly implementing AI demands significant internal adjustments as well as external collaboration. Should a business prefer to work solely within its own organization, it is ideal to establish their own AI company instead in order to benefit from collective wisdom.

Profile

Ted Katagi is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of career experience with several successful ventures under his belt. He currently serves as the CEO of Kenja K.K., an AI company that provides secure and efficient collaboration through its AI platform. He is also a faculty member at NUCB Business School and a lecturer at Tsukuba University.