QC business reps learn more about the AI world

When it comes to using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the workplace, John Maring has this advice for business people: Don’t be afraid. AI can help your business. “A lot of people are scared of it. They think it’s the Terminator. … It’s not. They can apply it themselves. It can solve problems,” said Mr. […]

When it comes to using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the workplace, John Maring has this advice for business people: Don’t be afraid. AI can help your business. “A lot of people are scared of it. They think it's the Terminator. … It’s not. They can apply it themselves. It can solve problems,” said Mr. Maring, a network automation engineer for Twin State Technical Services.

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He was one of the speakers during a meeting called Leveraging AI for Business Growth held Tuesday, June 11, at The Stardust, located at 218 Iowa St. in downtown Davenport. That meeting, which attracted more than 50 people from the Quad Cities business community, was presented by Twin State.  During the presentation, Beth Tinsman, founder of Twin States, told the audience to not be afraid of AI technology and consider using it for their businesses. “No one here is behind. … This is not the greatest thing since fire,” said Ms. Tinsman, adding that AI tools can be helpful in the business world, even though few are using the technology. Currently, only 5.4% of businesses use AI to produce goods or services, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in March. That statistic means that while many business people have thought about using AI, most are not because they fear it or feel they don’t know enough about the technology to try it, Ms. Tinsman said. On Tuesday, she challenged the business crowd to “play, tinker and experiment” with AI tools. If they do this, many in the business world will find it can help them save time, solve problems and better serve their customers. One of the attendees said he was inspired by the AI messages he heard. Colton Drish, a financial advisor with Edward Jones in East Moline, said said despite Ms. Tinsman’s message that “no one is behind” in using AI, he felt behind the times in using the technology and wanted to move forward to better serve his customers. “It starts with me. I have to work on myself if I’m going to help the customers,” Mr. Drish added. Some of the ways AI is now being used to help businesses and customers include: customer support through virtual call assistant, and analysis of text in customer interactions. AI tools also will be used with medical diagnosis issues; legal document creation and review; financial predictions and analysis; market forecasting; and advanced chemical and material science, according to information provided by Twin States. During the meeting, several people told how their employers are using AI tools. One person said AI is being used to write detailed sales letters to potential customers. Another tool that is geared toward the mental health care field is used to organize notes and records for health care workers. Ms. Tinsman told the crowd that when it comes to using AI, think of tasks that are currently causing problems and taking time to solve in the business. AI tools can help solve those problems. She gave the example of people in a company looking for data or materials to get their jobs done. Current estimates show that employees can spend nine or 10 hours a week of “unproductive time” in searching for such things.  There are AI tools that can solve those problems and help eliminate that unproductive time, she added. Here are some of the AI tools and services Mr. Maring outlined:

• KnowBe4: This tool analyzes unique data and attributes of each user to adapt the level of complexity of phishing tests as well as recommends optional learning content.
• Sentinel One: This compiles and analyzes data to deliver insights and recommends response actions.
• CrushBank: This can be used to compile all historical data into your company’s own private storage place for state, which is called a “data lake.”

Even though these AI tools and others can greatly help companies, they still need the human touch, said Ms. Tinsman. “It’s not perfect. Someone needs to check on it. We need a human in the loop,” she added. In addition to humans still being in the loop, Twin State officials also recommended companies adopt a policy when it comes to using AI tools at work. Ms. Tinsman suggested this AI usage policy for businesses: “All software and services, including AI, must be approved by management prior to business use.” In addition to AI tools helping businesses get the job done, the new tech tools could help the local economy. During Tuesday’s meeting, Peter Tokar III, the president and CEO of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, said that in order for AI to continue to grow, it needs more data centers. One such data center is being considered for Davenport. The proposed data center will be built by Vemerald, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meta Platforms, Inc., and will store and transfer user and customer data for their operating systems. If it comes to the region, it would be located on 328 acres near Hillandale Road and Enterprise Way in north Davenport, according to the City of Davenport.  The project represents an $800 million capital investment and is expected to create 35 jobs at a qualifying wage of $28.76 per hour.  “Hopefully, we will see a data center in the Quad Cities soon,” said Mr. Tokar.