BIG IDEA AI: AI Creativity & Innovation Playbook PDF Free Download
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AI Creativity &
Innovation Playbook
"AI will be the catalyst for the next
wave of human innovation.“
― Tim O’Reilly
Click > Section Shortcuts
> NEW CREATIVE FRONTIER – The rise of AI
> ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ET AL – Overview
> AI INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM – A new model for a new age
> NEW CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE – Augmented center of gravity
> INDIVIDUAL VIEW – Implications for innovators
> ORGANIZATIONAL VIEW – Vision & Strategy for AI
> AI INNOVATION ENGINE – Steps & Tools
> AI Sprints – Accelerating every step of development
> Scope/Insight – From insight to foresight
> Inspiration – Creating with unlimited, global stimulus
> Ideation – Improving Quantity, Quality and Speed
> Invention – Bringing ideas fully to life in new ways
> Impact – Going live with real time design
> INTERNAL ECOSYSTEM – Teams. cultures, resources and
environments
> EXTERNAL ECOSYSTEM – Key ‘hard/soft’ external factors
> CODAi – Creative principles to live by
> THE FUTURE – Far out ideas (just for fun)
> BIG READS - Books and resources for further inspiration
"Artificial
intelligence
is the new
electricity."
― Andrew Ng
Playbook design spec.
WHO… All those engaged with commercially orientated
creativity and innovation. You know who you are…
WHY… AI is revolutionizing all aspects of innovation in real
time, meaning we urgently need a new ‘map and compass’ to
thrive.
WHAT… Bold new vision of the AI inspired Innovation
Ecosystem complete with updated resources, skills, tools and
processes
HOW… Fast paced, case study heavy, interactive and
practitioner led - a wealth of experience learnt from the best
Sound interesting? Read on…
Health WARNING 1
The ELEPHANT in the ROOM?
AI is NOT going to replace human creativity
anytime soon (if ever)
BUT… yes there’s a but…
It will replace those that don’t understand AI
creativity and innovation
It’s an essential new tool for commercial creatives
and innovators.
“The progressive development of man is vitally
dependent on invention. It is the most important
product of his creative brain.”
― Nikola Tesla
Health WARNING 2
AI is evolving…
VERY VERY FAST.
By the time you read these words the AI story will have
moved on.
That’s why we’re focussed on the ‘map and compass’
for the AI world
Not just, tactical rocket ships for success (sorry)
Think vision, then strategy and only then… tactics
OK elaborate metaphor over.
You get my point…
“The world is moving so fast these days that
the man who says it can't be done is
generally interrupted by someone doing it.”
― Elbert Hubbard
New Creative Frontier
“Do not allow your mind to be
imprisoned by majority thinking.
Remember that the limits of science
are not the limits of imagination.”
- Dr Patricia Bath
Welcome
Every transformative business age has been rooted in human
creativity and long may this continue. When examining the titans
of these eras, certain creative characteristics stand out:
•
Boundless Curiosity
•
Intuitive Insight
•
Imaginative Vision
•
Artistic Craftsmanship
•
Empathetic Design
These deeply human traits will continue to underpin successful
innovation. However, they are being accelerated and augmented
with machine intelligence. While AI can replicate tasks, analyse
vast datasets, and optimise processes, it lacks the human touch.
Our unique ability to draw from experiences, emotions and
imagination ensures that human creativity will always have an
invaluable role. But, make no mistake, this is a massive, rapid
transformation.
Some might say, revolution.
"AI is not a threat to creativity;
it's a source of inspiration.“
- Maja Pantic
Welcome
Creative minds are playing a leading role in how we harness AI
technology, ensuring that it complements rather than competes with
human ingenuity. The landscape is ripe for those who can creatively
apply AI to real-world problems, ensuring the technology is optimized
as a creative tool (not a master).
In this playbook we will consider how AI is swiftly becoming a key
springboard for innovation when intertwined with human creativity.
Evolving most aspects of commercial creativity and innovation:
•
AI Innovation ecosystem
•
New creative intelligence
•
AI Innovation Vision, Strategy & Toolkits
•
Organization , Environment and Culture
•
Hard & Soft external drivers
Along the way we’ll hear from AI pioneers. Study real world cases
across multiple industries. Examine the many opportunities and
challenges AI poses.
Crucially we’ll also be looking in the metaphorical mirror by
considering a range of fun thought experiments and key questions for
what it means for you.
Welcome to the "New Creative Frontier".
"AI will be woven into the fabric of every
aspect of our lives, from healthcare to
entertainment to transportation."
- Mark Hurd
Welcome
Creative minds are playing a leading role in how we harness AI
technology, ensuring that it complements rather than competes with
human ingenuity. The landscape is ripe for those who can creatively apply
AI to real-world problems, ensuring that technology is optimised as a
creative tool (not a master).
In this playbook we will consider how AI is swiftly becoming a key
springboard for innovation when intertwined with human creativity.
Evolving most aspects of commercial creativity and innovation:
•
AI Innovation ecosystem
•
New creative intelligence
•
Innovation toolkits
•
Optimal environments
•
Organisation and culture
•
Hard & Soft external drivers
Along the way we’ll hear from AI pioneers. Study real world cases across
multiple industries. Examine the many opportunities and challenges AI
poses.
Crucially we’ll also be looking in the metaphorical mirror by considering a
range of fun thought experiments and key questions for what it means
for you.
Welcome to the "New Creative Frontier".
AI ET AL -
OVERVIEW
“We have to continually be
jumping off cliffs and developing
our wings on the way down.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
Overview
The AI boom is well underway, but it is a
field that has been evolving for decades.
Beginning with early software
programming in the 1960’s through to
leading edge natural language
programming today.
This ever-expanding field is creating many
types of software, systems and tools that we
must remain aware of to understand their
potential role and impact. You may be glad
to hear we don’t intend to cover them all
here… it’s not that kind of book!.
However, it is helpful to have a quick
reference guide to the different types with
short explanation and example use case
(see opposite page).
Types/Term Overview Example use
Artificial Intelligence Branch of computer science that focuses on creating machines capable of performing
tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech
recognition, decision-making, and language translation.
Dynamic pricing
Machine Learning A subset of AI that involves the development of algorithms which allow computers to learn
and make predictions or decisions based on data, without being explicitly programmed
for the task.
New recipe
optimisation
Deep Learning A subset of machine learning that employs neural networks to progressively extract
higher-level features including the modelling of complex patterns or predictions.
Secure facial
recognition
Neural networks Computing systems inspired by the biological neural networks of animal brains, which are
designed to recognize patterns and interpret sensory data through a kind of machine
perception, labelling, or raw input categorization.
Supply chain
forecasting
Natural Language
Processing
A field at the intersection of computer science, artificial intelligence, and linguistics,
focused on enabling computers to understand, interpret, and produce human language in
a valuable way.
NLP-Driven chatbots
Reinforcement learning A type of Machine Learning where an agent learns to make decisions by taking actions in
an environment to maximize some notion of cumulative reward.
Real time rewards
Computer vision A field of artificial intelligence that enables computers and systems to derive meaningful
information from digital images, videos, and other visual inputs, and take actions or make
recommendations based on that information.
Smart checkouts
General Adversarial
Network
A class of machine learning frameworks designed by Ian Goodfellow and his colleagues in
2014, consisting of two neural networks contesting with each other in a game (hence
"adversarial") to generate new, synthetic instances of data that can pass for real data.
Hyper realistic brand
worlds
Edge AI The deployment of artificial intelligence algorithms directly on a hardware device,
processing data locally without requiring cloud connectivity, enabling real-time insights
and actions with low latency
Mobile apps
Transfer learning A machine learning method where a model developed for a specific task is reused as the
starting point for a model on a second task, allowing for more efficient learning by
leveraging the knowledge gained from the related task.
Accelerated drug
discovery
Synthetic data Artificially generated data that is not obtained by direct measurement, designed to be
used for training machine learning models or testing systems when real data is limited,
expensive, or sensitive.
Fraud Detection
AI hardware Specialized physical devices designed to significantly accelerate the performance of
artificial intelligence algorithms, particularly in areas like training machine learning
models or processing large-scale AI workloads.
Real time language
translation
AI INNOVATION
ECOSYSTEM MODEL
"Innovation is not just one thing;
it's a combination of many things
within an ecosystem.“
- Larry Page
AI INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM
Creatives, entrepreneurs, and companies are all in a race to harness AI's
potential. As a result, a new model is emerging of the ideal AI led innovation
ecosystem. The key areas being:
New creative intelligence – a new centre of gravity for innovation based
upon augmented intelligence which will influence how we think, behave and
create at every step along the innovation pathway.
Vision & Strategy – establishing a compelling future story for AI innovation
complete with strategic priorities and implementation plans to guide
investment and track progress.
Innovation Engine – every step of the innovation pathway that is being
transformed by AI’s speed, power and impact.
Internal Ecosystem – the innovation team, resources, environment and
culture that are evolving to support this new wave.
External Ecosystem – from hard factors such as regulation through to softer
factors such as open data sources.
Naturally, the implications and opportunities for innovators are profound, so
we'll consider what this means for you personally also.
This new AI led innovation ecosystem is our framework for understanding
the impact of AI on commercial creativity and innovation throughout the
remainder of the playbook.
NEW
CREATIVE
INTELLIGENCE
VISION
STRATEGY
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
"AI is like a rocket booster for
innovation ecosystems."
- Ben Shneiderman
AI TEST - FIT FOR FUTURE?
Before we take a dive into the various dimensions of the AI
Innovation Ecosystem it may be useful to tune into where you
and your organization are right now with AI?
Complete the mini audit overleaf then come back to check
against the Fitness scores below:
0-30 AI Newcomer (but eager to learn, hopefully…)
40-60 AI Experimenter (engaged with hands on learning…)
60-90 AI Transformer (leader within active group…)
90-100 AI Pioneer (or maybe deluded…)
Naturally, this is just a quick indicator of readiness across key
areas of the ecosystem.
If you’d prefer a more customized, detailed assessment please
contact us here at www.bigideai.com.
Score your AI readiness for each statement then add up your score. Scoring guide:
1 – Strongly Disagree 2 – Slightly Disagree 3 – Neutral – 4. Slightly Agree 5 - Strongly Agree
INDIVIDUAL
- I’m personally engaged with AI in my daily innovation activities 1 2 3 4 5
- I regard AI as a creative partner for my thinking 1 2 3 4 5
- I’ve changed certain behaviours to improve outcomes with AI 1 2 3 4 5
VISION & STRATEGY
- We possess a clear and well-articulated vision for AI integration 1 2 3 4 5
- There is a well-articulated transformation strategy across processes and offerings 1 2 3 4 5
- Leadership is fully committed to AI innovation and we have robust governance 1 2 3 4 5
- We have allocated sufficient financial resources and budget for AI roll out 1 2 3 4 5
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are in place to track success and impact with AI 1 2 3 4 5
INNOVATION ENGINE
- AI already accelerates and enhances our insight work 1 2 3 4 5
- AI provides a constant stream of inspirational stimulus 1 2 3 4 5
- We regularly ideate with AI to improve quantity, quality and speed of ideas 1 2 3 4 5
- AI is used to improve how we bring ideas to life 1 2 3 4 5
- We measure impact throughout the innovation journey with AI 1 2 3 4 5
INTERNAL ECOSYSTEM
- We have invested in data management systems to optimise AI 1 2 3 4 5
- Our default way of working is dynamic, agile and sprint based with AI 1 2 3 4 5
- We have a full suite of AI tools available throughout the innovation journey 1 2 3 4 5
- The working environment enhances AI augmented working 1 2 3 4 5
- I feel safe and confident in my capability with AI 1 2 3 4 5
EXTERNAL ECOSYSTEM
- We engage with local AI regulators and industry bodies 1 2 3 4 5
- We have a strong external AI network of suppliers, partners and mentors 1 2 3 4 5
SCORE
AI TEST - FIT FOR FUTURE?
AI - FIT FOR FUTURE?
Are you new to AI? Early adopter? Thought leader?
Regardless of familiarity, AI has profound implications for
innovators in terms of roles, processes and even entire sector.
It makes sense to experiment with AI to assess where the biggest
opportunities lay for you. This falls into three critical areas:
Creativity (Augmented) – people and skills orientated
Vision & Strategy – big picture why, what and how for roll out
Innovation – focus challenges and opportunities
Quick experiments may include keynote speeches, tool trials and
sprint projects. Over time, this will likely lead to more
transformative initiatives involving vision, strategy and innovation
engines. This in turn, requires updating resources, processes and
tools, supported with customised training for roll out.
Clearly, your individual circumstances will guide the best start
point.
Probably the most sensible place to begin is by fully
understanding what we mean by, ‘new creative intelligence’ and
considering what its implications may be at the individual level.
Ready?
OK, let’s get to it…
SCALE
TRIAL
CREATIVITY VISION & STRATEGY INNOVATION
CUSTOM
TRAINING
KEY NOTE +
TOOLTRIALS
INNOVATION
ENGINE
SPRINT
PROJECT
TRANSFORMATION
PROJECT
AUDIT
AI INNOVATION
ECOSYSTEM MODEL
“AI can be the muse that sparks the
wildfire of human creativity."
- ChatGPT
The High View
This ‘new creative intelligence' is reshaping industries, societal norms, and the
global economy in profound ways:
Consumer Behaviour - services like virtual assistants and personalized content
are driving demand for ever more customised , efficient, and intelligent solutions.
Accelerated Innovation - many sectors, from transportation (e.g., autonomous
vehicles) to finance (e.g. robo-advisors), are being disrupted by AI.
Evolving Business Models - AI enables new business models, from 'as-a-service'
platforms to decentralized blockchain systems disrupting business as normal
Sustainability - AI has the potential to optimise resources, predict trends, and
offer pro-active solutions to sustainable challenges.
Interdisciplinary Integration - AI is fuelling cross pollination from sociology,
psychology, ethics, and other fields meaning new solutions are increasingly
interdisciplinary.
Data Assets - in the age of AI, data has become a new form of currency. Industries
that were not traditionally data-centric are becoming data experts.
This list represents a ‘moules bouche’ of AI driven transformations!
So, what exactly is this new creative intelligence and why is it so profound?
‘Artificial intelligence is growing up
fast, as are robots whose facial
expressions can elicit empathy and
make your mirror neurons quiver.’
-Diane Ackerman
AI Accelerators
We’ve spent decades helping clients enhance and accelerate innovation
processes, projects and capabilities. However, AI is revolutionising what’s
possible due to some specific characteristics and tools we call ‘AI
Accelerators’:
Generative – instant content creation is redefining what’s possible within
commercial deadlines and entirely new creative domains.
Predictive – rapid, predictive capabilities are shifting the tectonic plates of
the innovation world from competing on insight to foresight.
Dynamic - the traditional iterative design process is being replaced with a
‘live’ creative experience, adapting to real-time input and feedback loops.
Diverse - stagnated thinking is refreshed by unlimited stimulus. Pushing
our minds out of their habitual rivers of thought, fostering richer, more
diverse ideation.
This is more than just accelerating old ways of working. We are reimaging
the essence of creation itself for an interconnected, meta intelligent world.
Let’s take a deeper look into the science of creativity to explain why…
"When human creativity meets
augmented intelligence, innovation
knows no bounds."
- Ginni Rometty, Former IBM CEO
Innovation goes LIVE
We used to teach folks that divergent and convergent thinking
were like ‘oil and water’ – they don’t mix well. This is because we
often jump to analysis too early and kill off fledgling ideas. A
quick reminder:
Divergent thinking – generative emphasis including expansive
thinking, idea building and deferring judgement etc.
Convergent thinking – analytical emphasis
including idea refinement, clustering and selection etc.
However, our advice has evolved as our tools evolved.
AI can perform both simultaneously, in real time, adapting to
new input as it goes. Generating a new source of insight,
inspiration and ideas - at the speed of light.
INNOVATION is LIVE (read that again, it’s important).
As we shall see, this dramatic shift has profound implications
throughout the innovation journey.
OK enough ‘mind science’, how is this manifesting in the real
world?
DIVERGENT THINKING
CONVERGENT THINKING
Sharpen
Cluster
Analyse
Clarify
Refine
Focus
Prioritise
Expand BuildOpen
Re-express
Explore
Lateral Stretch
Time for an upgrade
There are four stages to the ‘Intelligence upgrade’ underway:
1. Accelerated Systems: Creativity is still human-driven, but with a new
speed and momentum that only AI can provide.
2. Augmented Systems: AI becomes an active collaborator, proposing
insights, ideas and stimulus through the innovation journey.
3. Automated Systems: AI independently identifies, conceives and
executes creative initiatives with humans focussing on the areas that
require more intuition, emotional intelligence, and judgment.
4. Autonomous systems: Robotic and BioTech development catches
up with AI to create autonomous, self-sustaining entities running on
super intelligence. Even at this stage, we will still hold many advantages
over AI due to our innate human experience.
As this story unfolds, the interplay between human imagination and AI's
intelligence is re-shaping the innovation landscape in ways we are only
just starting to comprehend.
"Superintelligent AI can augment
human creativity and innovation,
leading to breakthroughs in art,
science, and technology we can't
even imagine today."
- Elon Musk
Stories & Stimulus
The AI Revolution in Healthcare
New creative intelligence is revolutionising Healthcare.
Advanced algorithms detect diseases from images with
greater accuracy than humans, setting new standards in
early diagnosis. Machine learning-powered wearables predict
potential health issues, shifting the paradigm from reactive
to proactive care. AI-driven data analytics ensures
personalized treatment plans, maximizing patient recovery
rates. With the advent of virtual health assistants, patient
engagement and care continuity continue to increase. The
healthcare industry, propelled by AI, is discovering new ways
to enhance patient outcomes and redefine the benchmarks
for medical excellence.
Great Questions
1. How is AI impacting your/competitors business model?
2. How might AI disrupt customer expectations?
3. What is your next chance to trial new creative intelligence?
4. Could AI accelerate team brainstorms?
5. Have you investigated predictive models beyond forecasting?
Fun Thought Experiment
Sit back, close your eyes and imagine a near future whereby you are
fully utilising this new creative intelligence in work scenarios. What
activities are different? Are many things faster? How does analysis
lead to new ideas? How does this future feel?
Whole Foods – Just walk out
This food retailer is exploring new forms of creative
intelligence such as Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’
technology to give its stores a competitive edge.
The system uses computer vision, sensor fusion and
deep learning to track every item customers put in
or take out of their cart and build a matching virtual
shopping cart. Customers can connect their
payment method when they enter the store and
get a digital receipt after leaving without any
checkout interaction.
INDIVIDUAL VIEW
"AI empowers individuals to
experiment and innovate more
rapidly, turning ideas into reality.“
- Arvind Krishna
AI Muse
While AI operates in binaries and algorithms, its outputs can inspire human
minds in unforeseen, profound ways. It’s worth remembering that all
available knowledge, perspectives, models and predictions are within reach
as stimulus for your thinking. There simply has never been a better time to
innovate.
There’s also usually more tasks that you can augment and automate than
you may think… here are some of the task's AI assisted with in producing
this playbook…
Compliment source material > Check best practices > Select relevant
quotes > Suggest case studies > Refine exercises > Role play thought
experiments > Test challenger questions > Summarise feedback > Proof
read copy > Suggest edits > Check references > Optimise layout > Generate
imagery > Explore cover design > Assess print options > Create ebook >
Suggest promo copy > Identify audience list > Automate distribution
Working in synch with AI enhanced the content, improved style, cut
timescales in half and reduced hard costs to virtually zero.
Yet, this is not a call to blindly embrace AI or replace our own creativity. It is
a call to consider how to integrate it, amplifying our own creative
endeavors. The illustration opposite captures some of the most popular
areas AI is helping with innovation for you to consider.
"AI is a creative partner, assisting
individuals in bringing their
unique visions to fruition.“
- Gary Marcus
Acceleration
Inspiration
Exploration
Analysis
Prediction
Generation
Enhancement
Collaboration
Optimization
Prioritization
Translation
Simulation
Customization
Protection
Integration
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. If AI could talk (it can!) what would you ask it about your role?
2. What creative challenge would you love to have a partner on?
3. Imagine who your ‘dream synthetic’ creative partner might be?
4. What sources of inspiration could AI update you daily on?
5. Any barriers to your creative thinking AI could help with?
Field Skjellerup – AI Fashion
The integration of AI technology into the fashion
industry has opened up a new frontier for creative
expression, with artists like Field Skjellerup leading the
way. Skjellerup, an AI artist and creator generates AI-
powered garments on a daily basis, demonstrating just
how much AI can enrich the creative process. His lifelike
creations range from AI-generated Nike shoes with
intricate embellishments to complete runway
ensembles worn by artificial models. Instagram account
@ai_clothingdaily
Nikhil Abraham – Cloudchef
Nikhil wants to monetize Michelin-starred recipes
through AI. Chefs from all over the world submit
recipes to the platform that can be duplicated in
restaurant kitchens anywhere in the world, then be
made available for pick-up or delivery within hours.
Current “chef creators” include Thomas Zacharias from
Bombay Canteen; Srijith Gopinathan of the Michelin
two-star restaurant Ettan in Palo Alto, California; and
the Bengali food historian and chef Pritha Sen.
Fun Thought Experiment
Choose an artistic medium you love such as poetry, dance or
painting. Now fully imagine this medium in 25+ years time when
AI has successfully augmented and automated it. What could this
AI partner create with access to all artistic styles, techniques, and
cultural influences? What are the collaboration parameters you
would set for it? How could you guide AI in understanding your
vision? Examine the final creative work produced. How has the AI
inspired you to think differently about your chosen medium?
Behaviours
AI doesn't just herald technical transformations; it necessitates a shift in
creative behaviors. From our experience this includes:
Learning to dance – developing structures and incentives to embed the
partnership role of AI into the innovation process.
Performance partner – pushing current limitations by collaborating with AI
on key innovation challenges, insights and ideas.
New habits – inviting AI to challenge habitual thinking, behaviors and ways of
working to improve experimentation.
Uber Agility – rapid exploration, development and prototyping with new
technologies such as 3D printing and specialist outsourcing.
Training time – time for the AI system/team to ‘train' on data sets and
algorithms to improve performance and output.
Playing in position: AI is perfect for certain tasks, but it is no magic wand. It
operates within constraints (e.g. limited data) so this should guide its role and
our expectations.
Some of these are new, others are evolutions of classic creative behaviors. This
list will grow as AI systems roll out and impact more areas of innovation so
stay tuned to ensure you remain, ‘fit for future’ as a commercial creative.
"Innovation happens when you connect
the dots between seemingly unrelated
things. New stimulus is what creates
those dots.“
- Steve Jobs
Time for an upgrade
The role, tools and skills of innovators has always evolved.
So, how should innovators skill up for this new AI age?
Our Top 10 Upgrades:
1.Analytical Skills – Improve data analysis, interpretation and forecasting skills
2.Prototyping Skills – Experiment and master AI-powered prototyping tools.
3.Collaboration Skills – Pro-actively augment AI systems and partners
4.Ethics – Understand and lead by advocating for responsible and ethical AI use
5.Interdisciplinary Approach - Cultivate technical, business and human skills
6.Opportunity spotting – Constantly scan for where AI can create significant value.
7.Personalized Focus – Strive to transform standardized > personalized.
8.Global Outlook – Expand your worldview across cultures in your innovation efforts.
9.Continuous Learning – Use AI to make lifelong learning a reality.
10.Expand don’t Shrink – Maintain product, brand and digital skills as you grow.
It’s a tall order!
But remember, innovation is a shared endeavor and most large innovation
teams will have specialists or external suppliers to help.
“The three great essentials to achieve
anything worthwhile are, first, hard
work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third,
common sense.“
- Thomas Edison
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. What repetitive tasks could AI automate for you?
2.What new ‘habits of alternatives’ can you imagine?
3.When could you and your team collaborate with AI?
4.How might AI change your day to day working experience?
5.Are there behaviours you wish to protect from AI? Why?
CALA – Co-design Fashion
This leading fashion design platform is revolutionizing
the industry. It allows live collaboration of designers
and users, who can generate new visual design ideas
from natural text descriptions (“dark and velvet” or
“sewn logo onto sleeves”) or uploaded reference
images. A leading fashion supply chain interface that
unifies design, development, production, and logistics
into a single, digital platform.
Fun Thought Experiment
Conduct a personal audit of how AI may impact your personal,
social and professional day from the moment you wake up to
sleep and rest. Map out the accelerator opportunities. Identify
the tasks you could automate to free up more time. Imagine
what daily behaviours could look like for you.
Does the day feel very different? How? Why?
F1 Drivers – Champion formula
Formula 1 (F1) drivers now practice using AI
simulations that harness historical race data and
processes real-time sensor information. This leads
to improved race performance, strategies and
critically safety. AI also plays a pivotal role in
optimizing car design by analysing millions of data
points. In 2023, F1 teams like Mercedes, McLaren,
Red Bull, and Ferrari have already integrated AI
partnerships, marking the future of a more
competitive, data-driven, and safer Formula 1.
Resources
If your innovation ecosystem has dedicated AI systems – lucky you!
For most, online tools provide great ways to skill up. Here’s a quick
checklist we believe most commercial creatives would benefit from
understanding with example providers:
Ideation – BIG IDEAi, Figma, AYOA
MindMapping – Miro, MindNode, EDraw
Collaboration – Collab Google, Yumana, Canva
Written content – ChatGPT, Google BARD, CopyAI
Narrative – SudoWrite, Jasper AI, AI Dungeon by Latitude
Visualisation –Google's DeepDream, RunwayML
Drawing – Quick Draw, AutoDraw, StudioAI
Image creation – MidJourney, DALL E, Stable Diffusion
Music – Jukebox, Amper, LoudlyAI
DIY bot makers – Dante, Teachable Machine, Botsonic
This is just the tip of the iceberg! You can use the following search
engine to identify more options – www.theresanaiforthat.com
The explosion of AI applications democratizes its potential, and
embracing these tools can be a real game-changer. Give them a spin!
"AI is the creative genie that says,
'Your wish is my algorithm'!’”
- Rajat Taneja
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. What repetitive tasks can you match AI tools with?
2. What would your dream ‘toolkit’ include?
3. Do you need permission to access online AI resources?
4. What skills or training is required to build capability?
5. What can you do today to build momentum?
Salesforce Einstein - Sales Supercharged
Salesforce Einstein is an AI-powered CRM. For millions it
is fast becoming a transformational tool. It analyses
customer behaviour, enabling personalized interactions,
boosting engagement, and rapport. Routine tasks are
automated, liberating user time for strategic sales
efforts. Early trials suggest outcomes can be very
impressive with 30% increase in lead conversions and a
25% reduction in administrative work.
Fun Thought Experiment
Do you have an idea you’re working on? A new venture?
New product? New service initiative? Take 10 minutes to
experience just how AI resources can stretch and
sharpen your idea by brainstorming with our free
Creative Canvas here:
www.bigideai.com/canvas
JP Morgan - Financial Fraud Detection with AI
JPMorgan Chase have successfully harnessed AI resources
to transform their day-to-day operations, particularly in
fraud detection. Machine learning algorithms continuously
analyse millions of transactions in real-time, identifying
anomalies and potential fraud patterns. This AI-powered
system significantly reduces false positives and allows the
bank to detect fraudulent activities with higher accuracy
and speed. It has revolutionized their fraud prevention
practices by not only protecting customers but also
streamlining the workload of fraud analysts.
ORGANIZATIONAL VIEW
“If you look at history, innovation doesn’t
come just from giving people incentives;
it comes from creating environments
where their ideas can connect.”
- Steven Johnson
Vision
A compelling vision can drive strategic decisions, foster a culture of
innovation, and provide clarity amidst the complexities of adoption. Here are
some common ingredients for crafting a compelling AI Innovation vision
with examples:
Clarity: The vision should be articulated clearly and concisely, avoiding
jargon and technical complexities. Airbnb mission statement does a pretty
impressive job in just two words, ‘Belong Anywhere’.
Inspiration: Does your vision help you dream? SpaceX mission statement
sets a high benchmark, “To revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate
goal of enabling people to live on other planets.”
Alignment: All aspects must remain in sync with the company’s core values
and overarching mission. A great example being Ubers mission statement,
‘Transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere, for everyone.’
Focus on Value: It should be clear how we create value for the company,
customers and stakeholders. Fanatics is an on/offline store that captures this
neatly, ‘We amplify pride and create connections for all fans.’
Commitment to Ethical Standards: Your vision is an opportunity to
underscore commitment to ethical AI practices and responsible innovation.
Despite their name, Stanford Healthcare AI Applied Research Team’s
(HEA3RT) have a succinct solution, ‘Bring leading edge AI technologies from
code to bedside’.
“What is now proved was
once only imagined.”
- William Blake
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. Do your team have a compelling vision for AI Innovation?
2. Have you articulated the ways AI could create value?
3. Does your vision capture what you really care about?
4. Does your AI vision and mission differentiate you?
5. Does your vision acknowledge ethical considerations?
Open AI – Worth it
You’d expect Open AI to have an inspirational mission statement, but
also one that acknowledges the implications of AI for the human race…
“Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence—AI systems
that are generally smarter than humans—benefits all of humanity. If AGI
is successfully created, this technology could help us elevate humanity
by increasing abundance, turbocharging the global economy, and
aiding in the discovery of new scientific knowledge that changes the
limits of possibility. On the other hand, AGI would also come with serious
risk of misuse, drastic accidents, and societal disruption. Because the
upside of AGI is so great, we do not believe it is possible or desirable for
society to stop its development forever; instead, society and the
developers of AGI have to figure out how to get it right.”
Fun Thought Experiment
One fun way to craft your vision and
mission statements is to co-create them
with AI! Write out your draft version then
ask AI to create multiple expressions that
are more dramatic, emotional, succinct,
human, sector relevant etc.
Tesla – The long road to sustainable energy
We love the way Tesla’s impact mission statement
uses the language of the sector, ‘Our mission is to
accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable
energy. In pursuit of this goal, we build products
that are designed to replace some of the planet’s
biggest polluters – while trying to do the right
thing along the way.’
Strategy
What are the key ingredients for an effective AI-led innovation strategy?
Priorities - Your strategy needs to translate the vision and mission into
clearly defined and actionable innovation focus areas and outcomes.
Team - Assembling the right core and wider team whilst promoting
collaboration
Data - Developing a solid data infrastructure that can handle large
volumes of data, ensuring data quality, accessibility, and security.
Investment - Securing adequate funding for both short-term and long-
term needs. This includes investments in technology, talent, and
resources.
Ethics - Ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in AI
applications.
Compliance - Staying updated on AI regulations and ensure compliance
to mitigate risks and uphold reputation.
Metrics - Clearly defining what success looks like for AI-led initiatives
and establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress
including ROI.
Agility: Cultivating an adaptable mindset, ready to pivot strategies
based on technological advancements and market changes.
We’ll investigate how these elements playout for some of the most
innovative AI led companies on the planet as we dive deeper into the
new eco-system.
“We cannot solve a problem by
using the same kind of thinking
we used when we created them.”
- Albert Einstein
INNOVATION ENGINE
“Our most valuable resources - creativity,
communication, invention, and
reinvention - are, in fact, unlimited.”
- David Grinspoon
Innovation Engine – New world
As the world changes so must the way we innovate.
AI is combining with other commercial drivers to radically change the
shape, speed and culture of innovation across industries. Key shifts:
Past Future
Product focus Challenge focus
Process led Agility led
Linear Dynamic
Centralized Distributed
Human Augmented
Reactive Proactive
Intuitive Data led
Closed Open
Isolated Integrated
Vertical Flat
Iterative Live
Sound familiar? Innovation is already radically different from even a
few years ago. New Creative Intelligence is emerging as a new centre
of gravity for an increasingly dynamic approach to innovation.
NEW
CREATIVE
INTELLIGENCE
VISION
STRATEGY
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
"Innovation is the calling
card of the future.“
- Anna Eshoo
Accelerated Sprints
Innovation sprints now happen in days (not months or years).
Every step of the innovation journey is being transformed
and accelerated with smarter tools and techniques. Allowing
us to move from Insight>Impact like never before.
The diagram opposite summarizes the steps/tools involved in
the new AI-led innovation sprint process. Combining
traditional tools (that we still depend upon) with AI
Accelerators to turbo charge the journey.
This is not about abandoning innovation best practice,
trusted tools or cutting corners… there are still many tasks'
we humans do best such as insight clustering, idea building
and stakeholder management.
However, it is about seizing every opportunity to work
smarter and faster with AI throughout the journey.
We use AI accelerators on demand.
•
AI Trend Analysis
•
AI Insight Patterns
•
AI Synthetic panels
•
AI Muses
•
AI Narrative Exploration
•
AI Sensory Expansion
•
AI Ideation
•
AI Multipliers
•
AI Adaptive Design
•
AI Prototyping
•
AI Live Insight / Test
•
AI Predictive Analysis
PRE-WORK
SCOPE &
INSIGHT
PRE-WORK
INSPIRATION
LIVE 1
IDEATION
LIVE 2
INVENTION
LIVE 3
IMPACT
CLASSIC INNOVATION SPRINT
3 LIVE SESSIONS / 12 AI ACCELERATORS
POST-WORK
CAPTURE
•
Innovation Checklist
•
Scoping exercises
•
Critical pathway
•
Primary Data
•
Secondary Data
•
Insight Springboards
•
Opportunity mapping
•
Live/experiential inspiration
•
Ideation
•
Experiential
•
Incubation
•
Proposition build
•
Stimulus briefs
•
Road-test brief
•
Testing
•
Team refinement
SPRINT TOOLS AI ACCELERATORS
•
Output final
•
Sprint Report
•
Action plan
Scope Checklist
The best way to start any innovation journey is by capturing the
team’s starting thoughts within a structured framework – see
opposite. This provides an opportunity to explore fundamental
together to ensure clarity, alignment and engagement.
As part of this process, we typically deploy a range of more
creative thinking techniques to push starting thoughts,
definitions and scope such as re-expression techniques and
mapping visions of success to judge what is in/out of scope.
Rigorously interrogating these elements has always been
critical for ensuring we’re all heading in the right direction.
However, it is more important than ever because ‘Project Drift’
is real danger for accelerated, agile projects.
Your checklist should be reviewed regularly and supported by a
critical path including KPI’s and timelines.
ELEMENT Description
Challenge
Definition
Problem statement, key assumptions, hypothesis
Scope In Focus areas & Out of focus areas
Proposition As far as we can say: The benefit/value we intend to create
Target market(s) Primary – Secondary – Tertiary - Excluded
Data strategy Data sets, infrastructure, management, issues
Tools/Models Existing AI tools and ones we will create
Monitization Summary of value offer/creation
Timeline /
Milestones
KPI’s and success metrics
Resource plan How money, time and energy will be allocated
Risks Known risks with probability and mitigation strategy
Ethics/Regulatio
ns
Team view on possible ethical/regulatory challenges
Team roles &
responsibilities
Defined by tasks and project stages
Stakeholders Internal and external stakeholder management strategy
Primary Insight
The insight stage usually involves collating primary and secondary
data in the form of available datasets, observations and insights for
analysis.
Primary data can be collected via research using traditional methods
through to more recent innovations such as eye monitoring
technology, crowdsourcing and wearable technology data.
As example, Nike integrates user data from various fitness apps and
third-party wearables into its product development strategy.
Analyzing workout data, they noticed a trend in indoor fitness growth,
which informed the creation of the Nike SuperRep line which is
designed specifically for high-intensity interval training.
Secondary data sets may be available from internal sources such as
R&D trials, sales data and live CRM systems. Depending upon your
needs these may be complemented by external data from suppliers
covering areas such as retail sales, competitor tracking, social media
and much more.
Traditionally, all this data would be analyzed by the team, and it is
worth stating that this is still an important task in some cases.
However, we can now augment with machine learning to enhance
results and speed up the process.
Insight Accelerators
The three most common AI tools used during the insight stage are:
AI Insight Patterns - AI identifies subtle patterns, correlations, and
anomalies that can be shared as character profiles, journeys or data stories.
AI Trend Analysis – AI can monitor social chatter, online behaviors, and
market dynamics to decipher emerging trends even before wider public
consciousness.
AI Synthetic panels – AI uses available data to create virtual characters
and panels that can be interviewed (e.g. www.syntheticusers.com) to
explore needs, preferences and predict market shifts.
Also…
AI Live Insights - AI facilitates live feedback mechanisms such as chatbots
and gamification to analyse user interactions, engagement metrics, and
sentiment.
AI Predictive Models - These models forecast market behaviors,
consumer preferences, and even potential roadblocks, allowing businesses
to strategize proactively rather than reactively.
With AI we are equipped with a clarity that was previously unimaginable.
Evolving Information > Insight > Foresight.
"Don't wait for inspiration.
It comes while one is working.“
- Henri Matisse
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. What trends would you like AI to monitor and ideate from?
2. Could you adopt synthetic research panels?
3. When in the process could insights GO LIVE?
4. Where could you push from insight led to prediction led?
5. How might AI automate leaps from insights to ideas?
Coca-Cola’s AI
Coca-Cola, have led the way utilizing AI to transform
consumer insights and product innovation. Facing
evolving consumer preferences, they employed AI and
machine learning to analyse extensive data sources,
including social media and purchasing behaviours for
inspiration. This led to a range of initiatives such as
personalized marketing, new product innovation
correlated with flavour trends and brand merchandising
such as Coca Cola Creations.
Fun Thought Experiment
Creating synthetic characters based upon user profiles
to interact with maybe easier than you imagine. There
are many AI chat bot creators available online (e.g.
Dante) that allow you to upload insight documents,
customer journey visuals and even video footage to
create fully rounded synthetic characters. You can train
them to be more realistic and ask them questions about
their experiences, test out prototypes and even co-
create new ideas with them.
Netflix’s Insight
Netflix’s AI powered ‘Recommendation System’ analyses
data like viewing history and habits to improve insight
across the organisation. It guides personalized content
recommendations, provides viewer churn analysis, and
enhances subscription retention. However, the system is
also pushing creative boundaries by shaping content
creation, aiding in the success of original shows like
"Stranger Things." AI is becoming a real star in the
streaming business, setting the stage for the future of
entertainment.
Inspiration Sparks
Inspiration is all about finding and generating great stimuli for
ideation. Experience shows that the quality of stimulus correlates
directly to the quality of ideas generated. This requires three key
ingredients:
Opportunity Mapping – identifying focus areas for ideation (based
upon all input data across consumer, market, and R&D).
Insight Springboards – identifying insights for each opportunity
area that feel most ‘springy’ for ideation.
Stimuli hunts/creation – finding and creating rich, diverse stimulus
to inspire ideation.
This is a really, fun stage of the journey!
Stimuli can include word/visual re-expressions, competitor trials,
artist interpretations, lateral thinking heroes, R&D creations, global
stimulus hunts. The list is endless, and diversity is the key.
With AI Accelerators, the way we generate inspirational stimuli is
undergoing a massive transformation for the better.
"New stimulus is like oxygen
for creativity. Without it,
your ideas can suffocate."
- Maya Angelou
Inspiration Sparks
Most common uses of AI to generate stimulus?
AI Global Muses - AI scours the globe, drawing from diverse cultures,
histories, and philosophies to deliver new inspiration in mere moments.
AI Narrative Exploration - AI can craft, adapt, and evolve narratives based
on the user's preferences, needs, and emotions, making every story deeply
personal and resonant.
AI Sensory Expansion - AI can simulate a broader spectrum of sensory
experiences from tactile sensations to olfactory trigger.
AI Connections - AI’s approach goes beyond human capability and
comprehension, unveiling hidden links, connections and correlations
AI Virtual Realms – We can now immerse ourselves in AI-crafted
environments, experiencing inspiration in multi-dimensional contexts.
AI Tailored content - By understanding individual preferences, histories,
and aspirations, AI can curate stimuli that resonates deeper.
Fantastic stimulus, that used to take weeks to prepare is now available on
demand. Meaning inspiration, once a serendipitous encounter, is fast
becoming a curated, immersive experience, forever changing the
possibilities for human imagination.
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. Who is your idea hero you could be inspired by virtually?
2. When is the best time to receive inspiration?
3. How could you expand your sensory experience with AI?
4. Do you desire fresh stimulus throughout development?
5. Can AI create an inspiration map for your challenge?
Joanna J Bryson - AI-Enhanced Design Innovator
Joanna J Bryson, a visionary designer, has become a
trailblazer in the world of design by seamlessly
integrating AI into her creative process.
One of her standout innovations is in architectural
design. Inspired by AI designs and collaborating
with AI algorithms, Bryson has reimagined building
structures, optimizing for both aesthetics,
functionality and environmental impact.
Fun Thought Experiment
Think back to the last time you experienced a creative
spark. You may have been in nature? Sharing playtime with
the kids? Singing in the shower? Creative inspiration and
stimulus can come from anywhere! This is great news
because AI can virtually source inspiration or virtually
transport you anywhere like never before.
Ancient Rome? Picassos Paris? Modern Mumbai?
Where will you hunt for inspiration?
Refik Anadol - Data-Driven Installations
Refik Anadol is an artist who uses AI to create
immersive data-driven installations. By
transforming large datasets into inspiration for
visually stunning artworks, he has pioneered a
new form of artistic expression. Anadol's work
has not only challenged traditional art mediums
but has also inspired a generation of artists to
harness AI's data-driven creativity.
Ideation
The forums for ideation have expanded significantly in the last 10 years
thanks to online digital tools and agile working formats. Regardless of
format, the priority remains to have a team thinking together. Why?
The best answers are in the in the middle.
Nothing beats cross functional teams, discussing, generating and
building ideas. Sessions usually revolve around three key elements:
Ideation techniques – classics such as role play, related world exercises,
random connections, re-expressions, divergent thinking etc.
Experiential techniques – immersive shopping safaris, sensory
explorations, live expert interviews, a day in the life exercises etc.
Incubation – cross functional teams discussing, refining and building
lead ideas into briefs for further development.
AI assists throughout, amplifying the quality, quantity and speed of
ideation simultaneously.
It can do this as a virtual team player in live sessions, at 36,000 feet on
your laptop or on the train in the palm of your hand.
How do AI accelerators enhance ideation?
Boost Quantity – AI generates thousands of ideas on any single challenge
by drawing upon vast data sets and rich creative techniques to auto
generate unlimited variations.
Elevate Quality – AI generates ideas through a prism of factors like market
trends, consumer sentiment and competitor offers so they are more
relevant, robust and valuable.
Accelerate Speed – AI processing power means it can generate 100’s of
ideas before the human mind can generate one. Compound this with
constant iteration and you start to imagine a near future whereby we will
be able to ideate in real time based upon live data streams.
AI Multipliers - AI not only identifies opportunity areas and proposed ideas
it can do this on multiple parallel tracks instantly. It can take your starting
idea and explore it using multiple techniques at the same time.
At BIG IDEAi, creative toolkits are our obsession. AI isn't just enhancing
ideation; it's changing the way we ideate. You can experience this first
hand, here www.BIGIDEAi.com/canvas
We’re standing at the threshold of an ideation revolution.
A real WOW moment.
‘The best way to have a good
idea is to have lots of ideas.’
- Linus Pauling
LIVE Sessions
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. Can you improve the quantity, quality and speed of ideation?
2. How could you upgrade your ideation toolkits?
3. What types of techniques work best for you?
4. Could you automate certain aspects of ideation?
5. How could AI help collaborative ideation?
ChatGPT – Talking IDEAS
ChatGPT is known for being able to generate creative ideas
based on the input provided by users in text format. Whether
you seek assistance with brainstorming, content creation, or
problem-solving.
However, now ChatGPT can also do this by simply talking to it.
Collaborating in real-time so you can bounce ideas off AI, receive
feedback, and iterate on concepts together.
Or you can download the Chat Annie app that turns CHATGPT
into a friendly, chatty avatar…
Fun Thought Experiment
Ideas can be slippery! One smart way to wrestle them to
the ground and build them is to ask AI to develop new
expressions whilst your busy. You could input ideas last
thing at night so they will be ready by morning!
Coffee, Croissant & Creativity!
By training IDEA bots to think, ideate and explore like your
own mind this can become even more productive and
amazing!
Autodesk - AI Design
Autodesk, a leading design and engineering
software company, has integrated AI into its 3D
design software. AI algorithms aid designers in
optimizing product designs by simulating real-
world conditions and conducting generative
design studies. This also acts as a co-pilot and
creative partner as they proactively ideate and
suggest design improvements in real time. This
AI-driven approach accelerates ideation results
in more innovative and efficient solutions.
Invention
Once we have a shortlist of lead ideas there are three key templates
to help us bring each idea to in the most compelling fashion:
Proposition – summarizing concept rationale, positioning, key
insights, unique features and emotional benefits etc.
Prototype brief – design specification, starting mock-ups, design
scope, MVP etc.
Road-test brief – the different ways we imagine testing the idea
with different stakeholders, such as trials, feedback groups and
virtual simulations.
The templates are typically completed by team members, assisted
by AI tools on demand.
"Creativity is like a garden. It
flourishes when you introduce
new seeds of inspiration."
- Ken Robinson
The most common AI Accelerators used in this stage:
AI Adaptive Design – AI can already generate instant life like designs of brand logo’s,
packaging, promotional artefacts and more from just a sentence. True adaptive
design means using real-time data to envision, design and print compelling
prototype promotions, packaging and products (e.g. complex drugs) dynamically.
AI Prototyping – what has happened in design is accelerating across the innovation
mix to include product formulations, global brand variations, personalized films,
sophisticated brand avatars and more.
AI Simulations - AI can run countless simulations in moments, ensuring every design,
whether it's a vehicle's aerodynamics or a product's ergonomics, is optimized for
performance and efficiency in different scenarios.
AI Virtual Reality - Virtual Reality (VR) isn't new, but AI's role in it is revolutionary.
Such as crafting hyper-realistic environments you’d like to explore with lifelike avatars.
Fancy walking through Ancient Athens with Plato? Brainstorming with Einstein?
AI Personalization at Scale – mass personalization has already transformed the
service sector. This will continue across all brands that are willing to experiment…
What will your Heineken bottle look like? Your Nike trainers feel like? Your TexMex
food taste like?
AI is swiftly becoming the backbone of product and service innovation as it
seamlessly integrates into every facet of the development process.
Invention Accelerators
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. Could AI help you bring ideas to life earlier?
2. How might AI revolutionize the way you prototype?
3. What would a VR simulation of your idea feel like?
4. Could personalization at scale give you a competitive edge?
5. Could AI help you invent in real time via adaptations?
Carnival – Cruise Experience
Carnival use AI to personalize the cruise experience for
millions of vacationers through a wearable device called the
Ocean Medallion and a network that allows smart devices to
connect. The medallion streamlines the boarding and
debarking processes, tracks the guests’ activities, simplifies
purchasing by connecting their credit cards to the device,
and acts as a room key. It also connects to a system that
anticipates guests’ preferences, helping crew members
deliver personalized service to each guest by suggesting
tailored itineraries of activities and dining experiences.
Fun Thought Experiment
Just for fun, think of your favourite story and invent a new
character within that story world. Give them a name,
backstory, personality, motivations and challenges (AI can
help with this if you’d prefer). Really see this character in
detail. Now explore how AI could assist in bringing the
character to life. Image generation? 3D print models? VR
simulation? New narrative? Moving robot?
How will you bring your ideas to life?
Betterment - Good Investment
Betterment is an automated financial investing platform and a
pioneer of robo-advisor technology. It uses AI to learn about an
investor and build a personalized profile based on their
financial plans. Betterment’s robo-advisors use algorithms to
automate tax loss harvesting, trading, transactions and
portfolio management. Their mission?
“To help people turn everyday investments, no matter how
small, into their dreams, no matter how big."
How best to assess usage, sentiment and impact of our inventions?
Familiar methodologies such as live testing, observation and consumer
groups still have a massive role to play, but they are also evolving. We no
longer wait for written research reports or stagger testing to
accommodate slow design changes. That’s because AI is closing the gap
between invention and impact. Optimising in real time with:
AI Live Insight/Tests – facilitating live feedback mechanisms and
analysis to support adaptive design changes. By deploying tactics from
digital marketing AI can test and adapt alongside consumers to monitor
impact in real time.
AI Predictive Analysis – Assessing every iteration's potential using
complex analysis of inputs as diverse as sentiment, usage feedback, social
chatter, competitor activity, salesforce input and much more.
AI Gamified impact – we can now generate ideas in the day and testing
multiple simulations overnight with real and synthetic consumers in
virtual realms.
At launch AI continues to optimize impact through real-time monitoring,
feedback analysis, supply chain optimization, financial tracking, market
analysis and forecasting. Post launch it proposes brand extensions,
optimizes campaigns, identifies new target segments, creates lifecycle
extensions and analyses limitless scenarios and initiatives across the mix.
For now, we’ll leave launch and beyond for another playbook!
Impact
"AI is the Swiss Army knife of innovation,
offering a multitude of tools to optimize
every aspect of the creative journey.“
- John Chambers
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. How could you measure impact differently with AI?
2. Is there a model of impact you need to update?
3. How might you increase the frequency of measuring impact?
4. What would happen if you gamified your idea with AI?
5. What is the smartest measure of impact for your idea?
Century - Next Generation Impact
Improving student outcomes and reducing teacher
workload are key to a successful EdTech tool. Century
uses neuroscience and data analytics to bring a
personalised learning experience to students. Their
vision is for every teacher and learner to have access
to intelligent tools that help them succeed. Their
impact? 10x national grade improvement and
Winners of the Gold award for AI in Education at the
2022 QS-Wharton Reimagine Education Awards.
Fun Thought Experiment
Most often we restrict the discussion of impact to what we
have traditionally been good at measuring. But what about
the ‘hard to measure’ dimensions of success? Could AI
allow us to measure impact more insightfully? How might
AI track the impact of your idea on a person’s aspirations?
Secret desires? Hidden guilt?
Atomwise – Life or Death Impact
This innovative company is delivering ‘life
changing’ impact using AI to facilitate drug
discovery. Using technology based on
convolutional neural networks to analyse billions
of compounds and identify areas for drug
discovery, the company’s technology is rapidly
speeding up the work of chemists. Atomwise’s
algorithms have helped tackle some of the most
pressing medical issues, including Ebola and
multiple sclerosis.
Post Sprint we have in our possession a shortlist of ideas complete
with designs, prototypes and feedback for further development.
We can now complete the following:
Final Outputs – refined prototypes complete with development
requirements. As example as branded food range would include full
written proposition, business case, product recipe mock ups/notes,
packaging design prototypes, branding options, example comm’s
and other supporting artefacts.
Sprint Report – summary of all inputs and outputs from the
journey across scope, insights, inspirational stimulus, ideas,
invented prototypes and impact analysis.
Action plan – detailed plan for next steps based upon cross
functional input, complete with KPI’s, timings and resource plan.
Never forget your ability to convey the energy and excitement of an
idea has a massive impact on its likelihood for development!
AI can significantly boost your chances by creating a more
compelling vision and business case for you to share and pitch with.
We never forget that ideas compete within an internal marketplace
for scarce resources.
Post sprint
INTERNAL ECOSYSTEM
"The most powerful way to stimulate
creativity is to provide the best possible
conditions to do so.“
- Edward de Bono
We are witnessing higher levels of teamwork inspired, orchestrated and enhanced
by AI in novel ways:
Distributed Creativity - AI dissolves traditional barriers and creates a new centre
point for ideation with multiple players regardless of language and cultural barriers.
Collective Challenges – Augmenting challenges with AI platforms that pro-actively
accumulate, analyze and present collective knowledge back as insights and ideas.
Diversity reigns - Richer tapestries of insight from every corner of the world as AI
platforms search for common insight and inspiration to identify new opportunities.
Virtual Studios - Teams co-creating in virtual spaces, augmented with AI suggesting
design and conceptual modifications based upon the latest intelligence and
insights.
Shape shifter teams – AI fuels agility, creating more dynamic project challenges,
roles and responsibilities.
Specialist roles - As AI has integrated into the creative process Prompt Engineers
and ChatBot partners have emerged.
Creative freedom – The AI utopian dream of freeing up human time reinforces
cultures that support creativity such as Google's 20% Time (exploration time) and
Pixar's Braintrust (open creative forums).
I think we could all sign up to more creative thinking time, right?!
Team Innovation
"Innovation is a team sport.“
- Satya Nadella
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. What would a dream AI team player look like for you?
2. Can you leverage AI to maximise idea diversity from the team?
3. How might roles become flexible to match more agile working?
4. Who is responsible for the ethical decisions around AI?
5. Can you create fun structures that promote AI use and play?
Hyundai - CoBot team members
In manufacturing, robots are evolving swiftly into smart, context-
aware “Cobots.” A Cobot eye for example could process hundreds
of different views (data streams) simultaneously to guide
production. A Cobot arm could cover heavy lifting, while the
human performs complementary tasks that require dexterity and
human judgment. Hyundai is extending the Cobot concept with
exoskeletons. These wearable robotic devices, which adapt to the
user and location in real time, will enable industrial workers to
perform their jobs with superhuman endurance and strength.
Fun Thought Experiment
Let’s run with the COBOT idea! Imagine 10 years
forward… you’ve just been asked to co-design the
ideal Cobot for your team. What physical features
would be required? What emotional
characteristics? Personality traits? Knowledge
resources? Let your imagination run free as you
built the Cobot of your dreams!
Microsoft Teams - AffectiveSpotlight
This AI bot analyses facial responses and head
gestures during video conferences to
feedback on levels of engagement. It can
“dynamically spotlight the most expressive
faces” and leverages recent advances in affect
sensing to capture and facilitate
communication of relevant audience signals.
The developers trained the bot to assess the
most relevant audience responses such as
confusion, engagement and head-nods. You
have been warned!
Most companies will implement multiple AI systems across their innovation pathway
requiring software and hardware upgrades. But what other resources will be
required?
Diverse Talent Pool: A blend of AI specialists, data scientists, domain experts, and
creatives ensures a comprehensive approach.
High-Quality Datasets: AI models requires data sets that are curated, diverse, and
free from bias.
Continuous Learning Platforms: While AI and its applications are evolving rapidly,
platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and Fast.ai help teams stay updated.
Collaborative Tools: Effective AI innovation requires collaboration. Tools like GitHub,
JIRA, Slack, and Microsoft Teams facilitate teamwork, iterative development, and
version control.
Ethics Guidelines and Oversight: As AI takes centre stage, ethical considerations
become crucial.
Consumer Engagement Platforms: AI's effectiveness often depends on user
feedback. Platforms that engage users and gather feedback can be instrumental in
refining AI-driven solutions.
Intrapreneurship Programs: AI can encourage employees to act as entrepreneurs
within the company can spur innovation.
These are some of the additional resources required for success.
Resources
"It's not about having enough
resources; it's about being
resourceful with what you have."
- Peter Diamandis
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. What are your data blind spots?
2. How should your development evolve in the AI age?
3. Is your collaborative virtual space future proof?
4. Is user feedback built into the journey in real time?
5. What would be your ‘one wish’ to improve AI resources?
Ai Palette – Accelerating Development
Singapore-based startup Ai Palette has launched
Concept Genie that leverages generative AI to
prototype new concepts. It aims to bridge the
gap between trend discovery and concept testing
in the product innovation process. Brands can
research new product opportunities, generate
multiple concepts based on their research, and
virtually screen-test their concepts using real-
time consumer data. A new efficiency in new
product development out of Singapore.
Fun Thought Experiment
Imagine that your company has just been taken over by
AMAZON and you now have world leading AI partners
awaiting your call.
What would you ask them? How might they help? What
would you implement first? Which tools would you prioritize?
There are probably some simple, fast online tools you can get
started with and maybe even achieve the same outcome.
Check here as a start point www.theresanaiforthat.com
Apple - Supply Chain Mastery
Apple's mastery in product launches isn't just about innovative
design; it's a testament to their AI-driven supply chain
optimization. Utilizing advanced AI algorithms, Apple precisely
anticipates global product demand, ensuring every launch
meets consumer appetite without excess. These algorithms
assess diverse datasets, from past sales to online chatter,
refining their production numbers. Beyond forecasting, Apple
employs AI for real-time supply chain oversight. This 360-
degree view means potential disruptions, be it factory issues or
transport delays, are swiftly managed to prevent product
shortages. Establishing a new gold standard for supply chain
management that create WOW launches.
AI invites us to rethink traditional creative environments evolving from passive
backdrops to active contributors to innovation.
Dynamic work-spaces - Adjusting in real-time to creative challenges, mood and
discussions, by altering acoustics, visuals or configuration.
Inspirational Surroundings - Environments that immerse us in challenges, pro-
actively share stimulus and talk to us.
Simulation Environments - Simulations can provide insights such as with self-
driving cars, that deploy simulations to test algorithms.
Seamless Integration – Tools that are integrated into the environment such as
Visualizer tools, Mood walls, and AI Assistants on demand.
Virtual simulations - Spaces equipped with AR/VR to transport teams to different
eras, places and cultures for insight gathering and ideation.
Virtual Idea Marketplaces -Innovators showcasing their prototypes in virtual
exhibitions, receiving real-time feedback from global peers.
Future Environments – using forecasts/trends to immerse us in the future so we
can invent there and then (as opposed to here and now).
We see workspaces that come alive, evolve, and inspire. These aren't just places
where innovation happens; they are entities that participate in, facilitate, and
enhance the creative journey.
Environment
"The environment sets the
stage for creativity to unfold.“
- Todd Henry
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. What AI resources can you deploy in your environment now?
2. How might your development areas evolve in the future?
3. What might an idea marketplace look like for you?
4. How might salient trends come to life in front of your eyes?
5. Any inspirational space requests for the architect?
Sephora – AI Environmental tools
Sephora have had great success with an AI-powered platform
called “Virtual Artist”. Customers can use the Sephora app to scan
their face and then apply different makeup products to see how
they would look in real life. It uses augmented reality and
machine learning to recommend personalised product
recommendations based on the customer’s skin tone and
preferences. The platform has helped the company to increase
customer satisfaction and reduce product returns, as customers
can now try on makeup virtually before making a purchase.
Fun Thought Experiment
Take a walk with me… through a future doorway and
enter your dynamic workspace. Designed by you and
built with AI technology embedded. What’s on the
walls? Who do you invent with? How do your ideas
come to life? Audio? Visual? Sensory features?
ABBA Voyage
A live, virtual residency that features four digital avatars of
ABBA from the 1970s in London has caused a real stir in
the entertainment industry. The secret to its success
(apart from ABBA music) is the blend of old and new to
create a compelling experience. As Svana Gisla explains,
“We wanted an emotional experience. I worry that
technology has made us very insular. It is a very lonely
existence to live in technology.” ABBA Voyager provides a
masterclass in deploying AI within a creative environment,
guided by human insight to optimise the experience.
Many of the individual behaviors that support creativity extend to the wider
culture such as learning to dance, promoting alternatives and uber agility.
Here are a few others proven to nurture a positive AI led innovation culture:
Diversity – Promoting different backgrounds, cultures and perspectives will
enrich the overall innovation culture, but specifically helps train AI with
diverse stimulation.
Guidelines: Establish principles around the ethical use of AI, ensuring
transparency, fairness, and privacy.
Mentorship: Pair employees with AI Ambassadors, experts and systems that
can guide their learning and collaborative on projects.
Learning Circles: Establish communities of practice where employees can
share knowledge, insights, and best practices related to AI technologies.
Transparency: Ensure that employees understand how AI decisions are
made, demystifying the technology and promoting trust.
Celebrations - Regularly highlight lessons learnt as well as successful
projects wherever AI and human collaboration has occurred.
The intent is to create a culture of respect and trust where humans and
machines complement each other seamlessly.
Culture
"To live a creative life, we must
lose our fear of being wrong.“
- Joseph Chilton Pearce
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. How do you see your team mix and culture evolving with AI?
2. Are there specific areas that AI could strengthen creativity?
3. How could AI tools foster collaborative innovation?
4. Are there internal or external mentors you can identify?
5. How could you play the role of AI ambassador?
RoadSurfer – Creative Onboarding
Campervan company Roadsurfer revamped its
onboarding process to welcome new colleagues
across eight countries and 36 locations. They designed
a company-wide journey for each joiner, guiding
them through their initial employee activities in their
first few days. Many other companies are using AI to
onboard creatively, generating quiz questions,
personalised training, automating reminders,
translating existing content and so much more.
Fun Thought Experiment
You’ve been invited to attend a team meeting about
kicking off a new important innovation project. When
you arrive, you’re informed that the meeting and project
will be co-led by an AI team member. Sit with this
thought for a moment and consider the upsides and
downsides of this new team mix.
What’s the impact on creativity and innovation culture?
Unilever – Recruiting for success
How to diversify a 170,000-person workforce? Unilever
combine human and AI capabilities to scale individualized
hiring starting with online games that help assess traits
such as risk aversion. These games help Unilever’s AI
figure out which individuals might be best suited for a
particular position. Then in the next round, applicants are
asked to submit a video which is analysed by another AI
system for content but also body language and tone. The
best candidates (as judged by AI), are then invited for in-
person interviews, after which humans make the final
hiring decisions.
EXTERNAL ECOSYSTEM
"Restrictions are the
mother of invention."
- Jean-Luc Godard
By ‘hard’ we mean beyond the control of most company's direct
sphere of influence. This would most likely include:
Technological Advancements: Rapid developments in AI and related
technologies that drive the pace and scope of innovation.
Regulatory Environment: Governments and international bodies
formulating regulations that directly impact AI deployment.
Ethical Considerations: Society's evolving perspective on AI ethics
influences design and application.
Economic Climate: Economic conditions can often dictate investment
levels in research and AI development.
Research Breakthroughs: Discoveries in academia and research
institutions that pave the way for new AI applications.
Infrastructure Development: The quality and availability of
technological infrastructure that influences AI implementation.
Cybersecurity Concerns: Rising threats and vulnerabilities that shape
how AI systems are designed and secured.
These paint a picture of a more complex innovation ecosystem where
technology, society, economics, and politics converge, shaping the
trajectory of AI-led innovation for companies.
Hard factors
"Creativity is intelligence having fun
within the boundaries of constraints."
- Albert Einstein
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. Is your team on top of the regulatory environment for AI?
2. Could you run ethical debates with your team as stimulus?
3. Is there an industry body that can help you navigate this area?
4. Which AI advancements should you be tracking most closely?
5. Is there sufficient security protections in place?
David vs. Goliath Data Wars
Many countries, including the UK have created AI sandboxs,
which allow typically larger businesses to use data sets to test
innovative ideas under existing protections. But others are
innovating by trialling more open data access. For instance,
due to the huge number of SMEs in India, the government has
been working with the World Economic Forum to create a
democratized database to enable AI application creation
through improved data accessibility. Open data sets may allow
smaller players to benefit from the AI revolution as well as the
giants with proprietary data.
Fun Thought Experiment
The whole world is scrambling to create
guidance and regulations for the
implementation of AI. Work alone or with a
team to consider what you regard as the ethical
‘hot topics’ for AI implementation in the areas
you work. What are the dilemmas? Who should
be consulted? Who are the leaders? Where are
the red lines?
Cruise – Robotaxi
Cruise is one of the first companies to offer
robotaxi services to the public in a major city
(San Francisco). The company’s self-driving cars
collect a petabyte’s worth of information every
single day. AI uses this massive data set to
constantly learn about the best safety
measures, driving techniques and most
efficient routes to give the rider assurance they
are safe. All in conjunction with hundreds of
partners covering complex issues such as
insurance, health/safety and legal matters.
Here are some ‘soft’ external factors (no less important) that companies
normally have more influence over:
Talent - The presence of skilled AI professionals in the market and the
company's ability to attract them impacts innovative capabilities.
Partnerships / Networks - Partnerships, especially from other sectors often
allow companies to gain new insights, ideas and technologies.
Shared Data - The availability and accessibility of quality data is the fuel for
AI's learning and correleated by your resource investment in it.
Stakeholder Management - Building trust with customers, partners, and
other stakeholders impacts the adoption and support for AI initiatives.
Ethical Leadership - Leaders who emphasize ethics guide their
organizations towards responsible and accepted AI innovations.
Community Engagement - Active involvement with the wider community
can provide insights and feedback critical for AI innovation.
Knowledge Share - An emphasis on sharing knowledge externally can lead
to faster problem-solving and innovative breakthroughs.
Clearly there are many factors that a company can influence in the external
innovation ecosystem to help their chances of success.
Soft factors
"Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.“
- Albert Einstein
Stories & Stimulus
Great Questions
1. Who are the key stakeholders in your innovation ecosystem
that need to be AI engaged?
2. How are you attracting the best AI talent?
3. What does your AI network look like going forward?
4. How can you play a more active role within your networks?
5. Where could you go to see the future happening today?
Siemans – Open Source Ideas
Siemens seeks to set “trends and define markets” by being a
first mover with new technology. To promote ‘open’ innovation
it runs external contests including AI focus challenges whereby
non-employees can submit ideas. These contests often have a
low barrier for entry and offer fun prizes, making it exciting to
participate. Winning projects are entered into development
with devoted teams assigned to execute and create
deliverables. It also has the added benefit of increasing brand
awareness of Siemens in the AI network.
Fun Thought Experiment
Assemble your AI Dream Team.
External stakeholders? Technology leaders?
Inspiring customers? Innovative suppliers? How
might your approach to innovation change if
this team were assembled?
Wine makers – Weather Forecasting
and Prediction
Weather is an inextricable factor in wine
production. AI, renowned for its data processing
prowess, is now instrumental in forecasting climatic
patterns with unmatched accuracy. Producers are
actively partnering with national and international
weather forecasters to master AI’s predictive
capability. Guiding their preparation for varying
conditions, be it drought, excessive rainfall, or other
weather-related challenges that might threaten the
harvest or impact quality.
CODAI
"A creative life is an amplified life."
- Elizabeth Gilbert
Surely, it’s an impossible task to summarize thousands of words into
just a handful of guiding principles? Probably… but hey, here goes…
Our 5 guiding principles for commercial creatives and innovators to
thrive in the AI age.
1.Embrace Creative Frontiers – Creativity is change, challenge
everything
2.Love the AI Muse – Experiment by augmenting creativity at every
opportunity
3.Build the Ecosystem – Every element plays a critical role in shared
success
4.Step center stage - Commit to playing a defining role in this
unfolding story
5.Tread lightly – Respect others by aligning your creativity with
shared human values
A crescendo and compass for the journey ahead! Let us go boldly step
forward! As Star Treks Captain Jean-Luc Picard would say… ‘Make it so’
CODAI
"Creativity is a dance with the
unknown. New stimulus is your
partner in that dance.“
- Seth Godin
THE FUTURE
"New stimulus is the soil in which creativity
takes root and grows.“
- Peter Drucker
With AI you’re always ‘looking around the corner’… During our research we
collected hundreds of ‘wild ideas’. You know, the ideas that make you go
OOOOH,
WOAAAH & WOW!
It would be rude not to share… here’s our Top 10…
1. Heartbeats - Personalized music that ‘tunes you in’ to your emotions and bio-
rhythms
2.Cosmic Impressionism - Art series inspired by AI experiences of space and zero
gravity
3.The Living Room - Sentient spaces built with organic biotech materials that
react to your mood
4.HealthAware - Wearable AI-nanotech systems that regulate your personal
health and environment seamlessly
5.BodyTalk - Direct brain-to-brain communication tools, erasing language barriers
6.TasteTech - Nanobots that can reprogram taste buds for healthier eating habits
7.Memory Cells - Backup and restore personal memories using biocompatible
nanotech storage solutions
8.Skintelligence - Biotech materials converting skin surfaces into interactive, soft
displays
9.Bio-jewellery – Shifting form and color according to the wearer's desires and
emotions.
10.Food Printers – Printing synthesized nutritious food, molecule-by-molecule,
reducing agricultural dependency.
Got any better ideas? Like to hear more stories? Share your thoughts? We’d love to
hear from you @ www.BIGIDEAi.com
The Future – Just for fun
"The best way to predict
the future is to create it.“
- Peter Drucker
Some further reads we’d recommend for those looking to dive deeper…
AI General
• The Coming Wave – Mustafa Suleyman, Michael Bhaskar
• The AI first company – Ash Fontana
• Artificial Unintelligence - Meredith Broussard
• AI Superpowers - Kai-Fu Lee
• Life 3.0 - Max Tegmark
AI Creativity
• The artist in the machine – Arthur I Miller
• The Creativity Code – Marcus Du Sautoy
• AI & Creativity – Chuck Sherman
• Creativity Inc – Ed Catmull
AI Innovation
• Virtual Society – Herman Narula
• Competing in the age of AI – Marco Iansiti
• Human + Machine - Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson
• Machine, Platform, Crowd - Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson
Related General
• The Industries of the Future - Alec Ross
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution - Klaus Schwab
• Homo Deus - Yuval Noah Harari
• Blitzscaling – Reid Hoffman, Chris Yeh
• The Age of Em - Robin Hanson
BIG Reads
Check out our website for
more content:
www.BIGIDEAi.com
Thank you!
