In our new three-part blog series, Paul Jackson, Managing Director of Bonamy Finch, discusses how STRAT7 has leveraged its data science expertise and embraced generative AI to create game changing client solutions.
Paul kicks off the series by outlining STRAT7’s AI journey and ethical approach to generative AI.
Q: Can you tell us about the genesis of STRAT7’s AI journey?
A: STRAT7’s adventure with AI began in 2005 when we started building machine learning predictive algorithms and developing our own cluster analysis toolkits. Well before generative AI exploded last year, we were building language models, and using AI to answer business questions from unstructured data.
Q: Fast forward to 2021 – what drove the formation of strat7.ai, and what has been its impact?
A: Recognising the untapped value in unstructured data – such as images, videos, audio and text – we established strat7.ai in 2021. We brought together a diverse team of consultants, strategists, data scientists, engineers, infrastructure, and information security specialists from across the group to build bespoke solutions that clearly resonated with our clients’ needs – particularly the ability to adapt to and capitalise on ever-changing consumer behaviours at an unparalleled scale and pace.
Q: How is STRAT7 preparing for the future of generative AI?
A: The future of AI is incredibly dynamic, filled with both promise and challenges. We’re equipping our team with the latest skills, engaging in exhaustive experimentation, and fostering collaborations with academics and industry leaders to enhance and ‘stress-test’ our capabilities. Our focus is on ethical innovation, ensuring we deliver secure and effective solutions.
Q: Can you elaborate on STRAT7’s approach to ensuring ethical and secure AI use?
A: Data privacy and ethical use are paramount at STRAT7. We’ve developed our own secure platforms, like strat7GPT, which houses all our solutions internally using our own cloud infrastructure, to safeguard client confidentiality.
Additionally, we employ a wisdom of crowds method for solution development, ensuring diverse inputs and rigorous quality assurance for trustworthy AI applications. This includes assigning clear roles and responsibilities for each stage of the process, such as data collection, model training, content generation, and quality assurance. We have been fine-tuning our models and algorithms to avoid generating inappropriate or irrelevant content.
Finally, whilst generative AI can be a black box without context of where the answer has come from, we instead focus on controlling the sources our AI toolkits use. This provides our analysts and consultants with the context and framing for appropriate delivery of recommendations – using 500,000 validated reviews on smart TVs, rather than the first 5 reviews a generic chatbot finds to base its answer from.
Q: What’s next for STRAT7’s AI journey?
A: Our vision is clear – to be the vanguard of AI-powered strategy and transformation for the world’s leading brands. We’re not just following trends, we’re setting them, ensuring our clients can leverage AI to stay ahead of consumer shifts efficiently and effectively.
Stay tuned for more insights as we continue to explore how STRAT7 leverages AI to redefine strategic innovation.
To find out more about STRAT7 and how we can help your business, please get in touch.
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