Avi Goldfarb, one-third of the writing trio that has just published Power and Prediction, says: “The benefits of AI [artificial intelligence] come when we use it to do things differently. Too many AI applications are what we call ‘point solutions’, where you start with an existing workflow, and insert a machine to replace a task done by a human.” The problem with this, says Goldfarb, is that it’s the same old anchor that’s weighed down so many companies looking for change: we’ve always done it this way.

By inserting AI into an existing system, unless you’re extraordinarily lucky, “the best you can do is what you’ve always done, but a little bit better”. What you need is a ‘system solution’, in which “AI enables new workflows and new ways to deliver value”. The concept of adding value rather than integrating new technology for its own sake is crucial because, as the book’s subtitle – The disruptive economics of artificial intelligence – tells us, Power...