What AI Really Can Do Now
With so much hype circulating about how artificial intelligence will change the world—but not a lot of concrete successes—here are six lessons you can actually use. According to the RAND Corporation, more than 80 percent of AI projects fail, twice the failure rate of non-AI IT initiatives. While pattern recognition and language processing have produced stunning demonstrations, most deployments collapse when faced with real-world complexity—highlighting the need to move beyond hype and invest in clear, achievable goals.
Experts stress that humans must remain in control and that AI should augment rather than replace people. The most effective applications are those that pair AI’s strengths (high-volume data work, idea generation) with human judgment and domain expertise. By choosing tasks AI handles well, using it to generate possibilities rather than definitive answers, and embedding it into creative and strategic workflows, organizations can turn AI’s promise into practical, competitive advantage.