In 2019, while working at ALSO, I wrote two POINT Magazine articles about artificial intelligence and service robotics.
CleverGuides showed how guided conversations could simplify complex choices and support employees. Humanizing Technologies showed why a robot alone was never the solution. Useful applications also needed intuitive software, reliable support and an ecosystem capable of bringing the solution into everyday work.
In preparing this perspective, I reconnected with both companies. CleverGuides continues its work on humanoid robots and digital empathy, carrying earlier learning beyond Pepper into new social-robot contexts. Humanizing Technologies has moved the same usability logic into Cosmo, an AI receptionist for phone and website chat. Different interfaces, same business test: does the technology solve a real problem in a form people can use and support?
The technology has moved forward quickly. The business questions remain remarkably practical.
- What problem are we trying to solve?
- Who needs to make a better decision or complete a task more effectively?
- How will the solution fit into the way people already work?
- What information, safeguards and support will they need?
- Who remains accountable for the outcome?
AI can analyse, recommend, generate and automate. Capability alone does not guarantee value.
Value appears when people understand the purpose, can judge the output and know when to question it. Adoption grows when the technology fits a real workflow and the surrounding organisation is ready to support it.
For leaders, this means connecting innovation with execution.
Responsible adoption connects:
- a defined business need
- a usable workflow
- accountable ownership
- practical safeguards
- support and continuous learning
Begin with the customer or business need. Make the expected outcome explicit. Test the solution with the people who will use it. Give ownership to the decisions, data and follow-through. Then learn from what happens in practice.
This is the thread I recognise from those 2019 articles and still carry into my work today.
Human-centred technology helps people act with greater clarity. Responsible implementation gives them a reason to trust it.
The most advanced solution earns its place when it becomes useful.