Get to know your AI vendors, on a human level

The AI industry is taking the world by storm. ChatGPT, even with all of its limitations, has opened the eyes of the world to the potential this technology has. Many of the biggest technology companies in the world are diving into the AI space at speeds faster than ever before.

As SaaS-based software company focused on Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning, we are happy to see that the world is validating the type of products Clearlaw is developing. Like many AI vendors, we see a value and opportunity to leverage these innovative technologies to empower business and accelerate productivity. However, one of the areas we feel is not getting enough attention is the human element of AI.

One of the biggest barriers to the adoption of new technology is trust. This is certainly the case with new and emerging technologies. AI will be no different.

Is it giving me the right answer? Does the system have the right context? How did it come to that conclusion? Particularly in our field, legal services, the barrier to building that trust is high, with a mistake potentially creating significant liability for one’s organization.

How do you build trust? The answer is transparency but that is a little harder to do for AI technology vendors than you would think. One can show the models, demo the product, and demonstrate how data is extracted and assembled. However, these models are often built on untold numbers of supporting data points, more than a human could possibly analyze by hand. How do you show that? Frankly, it's hard.

It is critical that as you engage with vendors that provide AI services, get to know the people behind it. Get to know their R&D resources, their customer support people, and their leadership team. Ask questions on how the product is tested. No AI today is perfect, so learn their process for receiving feedback. Give them a real-world scenario and have their support team show you why the data is being generated in that way.

Get to know the people behind your AI technologies and allow them to earn your trust.