AI can't replace the instinct and experience of a seasoned practitioner.

INCAS uses AI judiciously in its operations. We recognise that as the technology matures, it will transform how consultancy is done in our area of work. To ensure we're on top of this fast-moving technology, we have taken equity in a legal AI disruptor led by a team from Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, DeepMind and Lenovo. It's called Safe Sign Technologies. We asked Alexander Samuel Kardos-Nyheim , the Founder of Safe Sign, how he would advise us to use AI and what is in store for our sector in the years to come. Here's what he said.

How would you advise us to use AI to improve our service delivery?

INCAS is a data- and human experience-intensive company. Clients expect innovative solutions, informed by decades-long experience, delivered efficiently (in terms of time and cost). 

Generative AI can help in each of these areas.

Efficiency AI most obviously brings huge efficiency savings. Current AI models are live, dynamic and produce results within seconds. AI model efficiency is only increasing, and will be able to take in more and more data as AI compute power increases (and we are seeing huge global investment by the leading AI players in compute power). Additionally, AI API calls are decreasing in price. This enables a business like INCAS to generate solid first drafts at a fraction of the time and cost that it would take a lower level associate to generate, allowing for time and specialised labour hours to be spent on what the clients are really after -- the specialised advice unique to the matter at hand.

Insight AI giants globally are beginning to admit that their models are limited by one criterion - unique, high-quality data. This is a key reason why INCAS can use AI more effectively than other businesses. INCAS has decades of carefully retained and structured data from its operations across the world. This is effectively the company's collective memory and, when fed into a Large Language (AI) Model, the model becomes trained and specialised in INCAS know-how. In turn, AI allows for INCAS's collective insight from hundreds of operations globally over the last two decades to be applied to every new situation, instantly. AI will enable INCAS to apply a huge amount of experience to new scenarios, meaning clients are really getting the full benefit of INCAS's work so far.

Innovation AI is creative. It will draw insightful connections between INCAS's previous operations that might not be obvious (e.g. learning lessons from one seemingly unconnected matter but applying them in a very powerful way). When confronted with a new client scenario, AI will also propose new interpretations that, while not the final word, are still a very useful companion to consultants as they pioneer effective solutions for unique situations.

Where is AI technology now, and where will it be in a year's time? 

We are living at the dawn of the AI Age; maybe even just before sunrise. And yet, we are already seeing the transformative effect AI is having across all areas of human activity. AI's biggest weakness, however, is its unreliability. 'Hallucinations' (i.e. made-up outputs that are inaccurate) plague OpenAI's and similar AI models; and the response of these larger AI companies still seems quite brute-force. We are not yet at the stage where AI is truly specialist, reliable and can be completely trusted for high-stakes, high-complexity scenarios. 

However, the biggest mistake for a consultancy like INCAS would be to wait until AI does solve these problems, because by then, it will be too late. AI already has a clear value-add at the 'first draft' stage, where it matches or outperforms humans on more basic, outline or initial steps on a project. AI then brings interesting insights and huge knowledge retrieval benefits to the 'fine-tuning' stage, where specialists apply their insight to the client's specific problem. 

What does the next year look like for AI? AI is not developing on a linear trajectory; it is expanding exponentially in what it can do. We will see a more and more crowded AI market, with more and more models available for businesses to use. Businesses will need to discern which AI aligns with their priorities and values. It's therefore all the more important that consultancies like INCAS become AI-savvy now.

What are the implications of that for us as a business?

INCAS, as a data-rich, technologically-advanced company, is perfectly placed to harness AI at every stage of the technology's development. There are already clear opportunities now for AI to enable delivery of higher-quality work more quickly and cheaply than competitors. INCAS is already industry-leading; AI enhances its competitive edge even further. 

There are also future opportunities for AI customisation per client, where INCAS can create and use bespoke mini AI models that specialise in the business and priorities of a repeat client, allowing for ever-more efficient turnaround. 

As an expertise and experience-heavy consultancy, how do you see the interplay of AI with our experts?

A classic mistake made by a lot of businesses today is to fear AI because it might replace their experts. The truth is that AI will never replace instinct and experience that come with being a seasoned practitioner; but a seasoned practitioner using AI will replace a seasoned practitioner not using AI. 

The opportunity here is for AI to become embedded in how INCAS's experts think and work: giving them access to proprietary information instantly, proposing innovative ideas, and making all workflows far more efficient. INCAS experts can see AI as an assistant that allows them to spend more time on the tasks that AI will never replace: thoughtful, human, instinct-led advice based on deep domain insight and best-in-industry judgment. 

AI is now a talented 'Intern' at INCAS. Over the years, it will become even smarter and more useful and will do more and more important work. Who knows -- one day it may even become a Partner?

Want to learn more about Safe Sign Technologies? Visit them at www.safesigntechnologies.com. And want to know more about INCAS? Find us at www.incasconsulting.com.