Insights on Artificial Intelligence

From machine learning operations and organizational change to ethical considerations and emerging use cases, this is QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey’s latest thinking on how organizations can most effectively and responsibly use AI to create business value.

Featured Insights

The state of AI in 2022—and a half decade in review

The results of this year’s McKinsey Global Survey on AI show the expansion of the technology’s use since we began tracking it five years ago, but with a nuanced picture underneath.
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Commentary

Generative AI is here: How tools like ChatGPT could change your business
– Generative AI and other foundation models are changing the AI game, taking assistive technology to a new level, reducing application development time, and bringing powerful capabilities to nontechnical users.
Interactive

Digital twins: The foundation of the enterprise metaverse
– Companies can leverage digital twins in a way that delivers significant value today—while building the engine for the enterprise metaverse of tomorrow.
Article

Why businesses need explainable AI—and how to deliver it
– As artificial intelligence informs more decisions, companies’ AI systems must be understood by users and those affected by AI use. Actions in two areas can maximize AI’s benefits and minimize risk.

Scaling for impact

Article

How to unlock the full value of data? Manage it like a product

– Creating reusable data products and patterns for piecing together data technologies enables companies to derive value from data today and tomorrow.
Report

IoT value set to accelerate through 2030: Where and how to capture it
– New research shows that the Internet of Things offers significant economic value potential, particularly in standardized production settings, but companies must achieve scale to capture it.
Article

Scaling AI like a tech native: The CEO’s role
– Embedding AI across an enterprise to tap its full business value requires shifting from bespoke builds to an industrialized AI factory. MLOps can help, but the CEO must facilitate it.
Article

Winning with AI is a state of mind
– Companies capturing lasting value from artificial intelligence think differently, from the C-suite to the front line. Here’s how to make the shift from opportunistic efforts to a truly AI-enabled organization.

Optimizing data strategy

Article

Data ethics: What it means and what it takes

– Every company must establish its own best practices for managing its data. Here are five pitfalls to avoid based on our conversations with experts and early adopters.
Article

How data can help tech companies thrive amid economic uncertainty
– Amid rising pressure on tech companies to boost performance, better data management can pave the way to sustainable growth.
Article

AI-driven operations forecasting in data-light environments
– Too many companies still rely on manual forecasting because they think AI requires better-quality data than they have available. Nowadays, that’s a costly mistake.
Interactive

The data-driven enterprise of 2025
– Rapidly accelerating technology advances, the recognized value of data, and increasing data literacy are changing what it means to be “data driven.”
Interview

How a tech company went from moving data to using data: An interview with Ericsson’s Sonia Boije
– Ericsson’s head of data enablement explains how the company is enabling its people to make full and effective use of data.

Building trust

Article

Why digital trust truly matters

– Consumer faith in cybersecurity, data privacy, and responsible AI hinges on what companies do today—and establishing this digital trust just might lead to business growth.
Interview

Mozilla’s Mark Surman: Let’s make AI as trustworthy as seatbelts
– The Mozilla Foundation’s president explains that creating trustworthy AI products not only is ethically urgent but can also pay off in company profit and customer value.
Article

Localization of data privacy regulations creates competitive opportunities
– Around the world, new regulations are promoting data localization. To comply, companies must be agile in their investments, but those that get it right could increase their revenues and market share.
Article

Model risk management 2.0 evolves to address continued uncertainty of risk-related events
– Organizations this year plan to enhance their MRM framework capabilities—including risk culture, standards, and procedures—and to upgrade their validation resources with MRM 2.0 firmly on the agenda.
Article

What the draft European Union AI regulations mean for business
– Proposed EU rules are just one more step toward global AI regulation. Here’s how smart organizations are preparing for compliance—and managing AI risk.

Executive guides

Interactive

Executive’s guide to developing AI at scale
– Developing artificial intelligence and analytics applications typically involves different processes, technology, and talent than those for traditional software solutions. Executives who possess a solid understanding of the basics can ensure they’re making the right investments in their tech stacks and teams to build reliable solutions at scale. We’ve created an interactive guide to help.
Interactive

An executive’s guide to AI
– Updated with the latest artificial-intelligence developments, our interactive helps business executives learn the ABCs of AI.
Interactive

The executive’s AI playbook
– It’s time to break out of pilot purgatory and more effectively apply artificial intelligence and advanced analytics throughout your organization. Our interactive playbook can help.

DATA SCIENCE FOR PRACTITIONERS

Insights from our Medium blog by data science professionals, for data science professionals.

Framework-Centred Design: 3 Design Techniques to Create Technical Products
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3 Ways To Drive Value When Design And Analytics Collide
Read the post
Read all insights on our Medium blog

Industry perspectives

Report

On the brink: Realizing the value of analytics in insurance
– Insurers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa invest significantly in advanced analytics but have unlocked a fraction of the potential value. How do top performers tip the balance in their favor?
Interview

Mars exploration pushes the boundaries of AI: An interview with NASA’s Vandi Verma
– Take a seat at Mission Control as NASA’s Vandi Verma details the AI and software powering the Mars rovers and how her field of robotic operations has advanced over the past 20 years.
Interview

How LEGO plays with data: An interview with chief data officer Orlando Machado
– The iconic toymaker is unlocking the value from data to help rethink processes, surface new opportunities, excite consumers, and empower internal colleagues.
Article

The future is now: Unlocking the promise of AI in industrials
– Five proven use cases show how artificial intelligence is creating value for advanced industrial companies.

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More insights

Article

South Korea’s next sales frontier: Retail media networks
– As consumer spending shifts online, many traditional retailers have been caught flat-footed. Retail media networks hold huge promise—but... retailers need to seize the opportunity.
Interview

Author Talks: In the ‘age of AI,’ what does it mean to be smart?
– As artificial intelligence gets better at predicting human behavior, a business psychologist encourages people to strengthen the... uniquely human skills that machine learning has yet to tap.
Interview

Entrepreneur First CEO Matt Clifford on early stage talent investing
– One of Europe’s top talent investors talks about his unique approach to backing companies before they exist and how to find... the “edge” in a potential founder.
Article

The data and analytics edge in corporate and commercial banking
– As corporate and commercial banks serve increasingly complex needs, new data- and analytics-powered tools can help the front line... understand their customers and improve sales.
Article

Generative AI: Unlocking the future of fashion
– While still nascent, generative AI has the potential to help fashion businesses become more productive, get to market faster,... and serve customers better. The time to explore the technology is now.
Article

Advancing metals and mining in Southeast Asia with digital and analytics
– Southeast Asia is a top producer of base metals, including nickel and copper, but its downstream-processing industry is lagging... behind. Investing in digital and analytics could enhance productivity.
Article

The AI-native telco: Radical transformation to thrive in turbulent times
– Artificial intelligence, when deployed at scale, can help telcos protect core revenues and drive margin growth. But capturing... this opportunity will require a wholly different approach.
Article

Digital and AI-enabled wealth management: The big potential in Asia
– The region’s mass-affluent and affluent segments are growing fast, and their demand for wealth management is evolving. Successful... strategies will use digital and AI to access—and win—this market opportunity.
Interview

Life-centric banking with an analytics edge
– Bank Jago’s Peterjan van Nieuwenhuizen explains the value a life-centric banking approach has for AI banks.
Article

Clearing data-quality roadblocks: Unlocking AI in manufacturing
– An agile, data-centric approach can help clean and enrich data needed for machine learning. To move forward, manufacturers need... to set up the right teams with the right tools.
Article

What is generative AI?
– Generative artificial intelligence (AI) describes algorithms (such as ChatGPT) that can be used to create new content, including... audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos. Recent breakthroughs in the field have the potential to drastically change the way we approach content creation.
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