How artificial intelligence (AI) is being adopted sets it apart from its technological predecessors, according to Marc Mekki, founder of consulting firm Inspire Limitless.
During an executive interview at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona, Mekki explained up the “paradox” surrounding AI. Typically, innovative technologies start in government labs, related to military research, then make their way to small and midsize companies and then to consumers. But with AI, Mekki said it’s the opposite.
“We’re seeing the adoption actually happening in the consumer sphere long before it’s happening on the corporate level—and that has profound implications, I think, for the discussion about how we innovate with AI,” he said.
Experimentation is now happening on the periphery, with consumers using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, ElevenLabs and Perplexity in different ways than they would in a corporate environment. According to Mekki, new ideas and workflows then have to make their way back to the organizational level.
Furthermore, due to the pace that AI develops, Mekki said companies are “always behind the curve.” With this in mind, businesses must be flexible and willing to take chances, which can also be intimidating.
“The moment the integration is completed and tested and rolled out, it’s already obsolete in many ways, so you need this duality between, yes, doubling-down on integration but at the same time, having part of a team or an executive team constantly being on the bleeding edge of this," he said.
“You need to have that one foot in the future at all times.”
Mekki also touched on the need for travel to reevaluate its purpose as an industry, the future of the web and his advice on how to make a difference with AI.
Watch the full interview with Mitra Sorrells, senior vice president of content for Phocuswright and PhocusWire, below: