I thought about having AI generate this post but I know there are tools that rate the amount of AI in writing. It’s ironic that those tools are probably AI driven…
As a consultant, paid for his subject matter expertise, AI is going to be disruptive. We will be there with the most impacted professions.
- What is the value of 30 years of industry experience when AI can provide 100 years in less time than I can send an email describing the value of my experience to a prospective client?
- For the writing that we do, in our case particularly for non-dilutive financing, how do we get paid for our effort when AI can generate a comparable document for a fraction of the effort and cost?
- What about the project management services we offer? How is that going to change?
- How do we manage the pace of the change even as we’re challenged to accommodate the quantum environmental challenges in drug development, particularly biologics.
Like with the other professions, the answer is in adaptation. And being very thoughful and deliberate in the use of the available tools. Taking advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI.
It’s also in setting expectations.
- With our adoption and use of the tools.
- With our clients in what value we provide.
- How best to use the benefits that AI makes possible.
Limitations.
I’ve been reading predictions about the coming reductions in the value of AI as it begins to feed on itself, bolsters and reinforces inaccuracies in the record, and eventually becomes a victim of GI/GO.
But there are other limitations that we as consultants need to ensure that we’re emphasizing:
- AI can make cashflow predictions for a small business. It cannot understand what it’s like to have to take money from our kids college fund to make payroll – that empathy is critical to what we do.
- AI can analyze an investment document and give input on win-win based on current conditions. AI cannot go face-to-face with a VC fund manager that wants to extract just a few more concessions.
- AI can predict the win % of applying to a particular NDF opportunity with information we provide. It cannot appreciate the value of a wild card bid submitted because we know a reviewers particular hot points.
At its best, the combination of Consultant and AI is going to provide more value at a better cost to our Clients. At worst, it’s going to shift reliance to a compiled set of experiences and mismanage the human factor.
I expect we’ll be somewhere in the middle but closer to more value / better cost.
And now the AI version:
I thought about having AI generate this post, but I’m aware that there are tools out there that can measure the amount of AI influence in writing. It’s ironic, though, that those tools are probably AI-driven…
As a consultant, paid for my subject matter expertise, I can’t help but think that AI is going to be disruptive. We’re among the most impacted professions.
- What is the value of 30 years of industry experience when AI can process 100 years of data in less time than it takes me to send an email explaining the value of my experience to a prospective client?
- For the writing we do, particularly in the realm of non-dilutive financing, how do we justify our fees when AI can generate a comparable document at a fraction of the effort and cost?
- What about the project management services we provide? How will that change?
- How do we manage the pace of this transformation, especially as we’re expected to address the quantum environmental challenges in drug development, particularly in biologics?
As with other professions, the answer lies in adaptation. And in being very thoughtful and deliberate about how we use the tools available to us. We need to take full advantage of the efficiencies AI offers.
It’s also about setting expectations:
- With our own adoption and use of AI tools.
- With our clients in terms of the value we provide.
- In how best to leverage the benefits that AI makes possible.
There are limitations, though. I’ve been reading predictions about the decreasing value of AI as it starts to feed on itself, reinforcing inaccuracies and eventually falling victim to the “Garbage In, Garbage Out” (GI/GO) phenomenon.
But as consultants, there are other limitations we need to emphasize:
- AI can predict cashflow for a small business, but it can’t understand the gut-wrenching feeling of pulling from our kids’ college fund to make payroll—an empathy that’s critical to what we do.
- AI can analyze an investment document and provide input on win-win scenarios based on current conditions, but it can’t sit across the table from a VC fund manager pushing for just a few more concessions.
- AI can predict the win percentage for a particular NDF opportunity based on the data we provide, but it can’t appreciate the value of a wild card bid because we understand the reviewer’s personal hot points.
At its best, the combination of consultant and AI will deliver more value at a better cost to our clients. At its worst, it’ll rely too heavily on a compiled set of experiences and mismanage the human factor.
I expect we’ll land somewhere in the middle, but closer to delivering more value at a better cost.
Mark Logomasini, MBA, PMP
Managing Partner
