Allow me to start the year with a perspective on the future of innovation.
Despite everything that went on in the world, BlueCallom had a great 2021 and 2022 started with a big boost.
LINEAR VERSUS LATERAL THINKING
It is no news that linearly managed business process transformation like digitalization or creating breakthrough innovation, has never really worked out. Linear thinking for any type of complex structure is not a good idea.
In the fall of 2021, we worked feverishly on finding better ways to visualize the difference between linear and lateral thinking. At the same time, I was asked by our data scientists and engineering team to visualize the data flow in each innovation process episode that feeds the AI system. All charts I’ve seen of lateral processes were hopelessly convoluted visuals where virtually every piece of a process was connected with at least half of all the other processes.
To visualize the complexity we had to build a bridge to a linear model. Once I looked at the process connections, I realized a pattern of parallelism – some actions ran in parallel, and some even in different directions. While a core process is active, a few processes can break out and run outside the core, and some even in different directions.
AI is the first technological way
to build laterality with a computer.
Laterality could be shown linearly, visualizing the lateral process. When looking at the AI from autonomous driving, we see a very similar mechanism.
The chart below compares a linear process on the left column with a lateral process and its many columns to the right. How it works and how this can serve the human mind is described further down.
Managing complexity is a very difficult task – no matter what. And if we need to ask teams to creatively innovate but also manage highly complex processes we will either lose the creativity or the manageability. Is that the end of managed innovation? No – not at all. We decided to use Artificial Intelligence for managing almost infinite complexity and all we need to do is to train the system in a way that guides their human companion through the maze. GPS? Compass? Stars? Yes, nothing new but in a very different world transforming the future of innovation.
HOW AI CAN SERVE THE HUMAN MIND – NOT DISPLACES IT
With the above learning, we made two important decisions:
- We will not ask anybody to become a lateral thinker – instead, we decided to build solutions that do what humans are not so good at, like following complex lateral processes. We are using AI, Neuroscience, and Genetic Computing as the first Human Intelligence Augmentation solution. It is designed to help people stay on top of processes no matter how complex they are. This frees the brain to do what it can do best, including innovate, create, socialize, identify meaning, see opportunities, work on unique things, entertain, and countless other talents.
- We will focus on making those innovative and creative jobs highly predictable so they can be judged, assessed, and analyzed before making major investments and giving long-term commitments. Therefore, we developed a unique and very powerful Innovation KPI Framework with 1 core KPI: “Success Probability”. Roughly 200 “Contributing KPIs” and approximately 20,000 data points are used by multiple algorithms to compose the one, ultimate Innovation Success KPI. The BlueCallom KPI Framework is a novel design of cascading KPIs leading to one “Mother Of All KPIs”.
Human Intelligence Augmentation was an original idea from Douglas C. Engelbart, documented in October 1962. Engelbart hoped that very intelligent machines would help the human mind to perform tasks of nearly endless complexity. However back then this was technically not yet possible. Today we are stepping on his shoulders and are introducing what he has envisioned.
Deep Innovation Design-based innovation processes consist of 10 episodes, with approximately 12 major tasks each and approximately 10 activities in each task. More than 70% are creative, ideation-related tasks that work with stimuli and patterns that we learned from neuroscience. With an innovation team of 10 people, we are dealing with approximately 1,200 thought, research, or feedback objects. With reviews, considerations from previous episodes, and predictions for new episodes, we reach a staggering 20,000 aspects to consider in such an innovation project. Far too much for a normal human brain to keep in mind while being in a creative process. Either you work more creatively than you can’t manage administrative work at the same time or you follow the rules and never create any substantial innovation. Our laterally organized AI system however can take off all the administrative and coordinative work and let the ingenious minds flow freely, Reports, worrying about what the next steps should be, process orientation, and other administrative works are taken care of by the AI system.
AI will not replace people.
But people using AI will.
Human Intelligence Augmentation will augment the level of human intelligence that is hard to fathom today. It will give average humans the capability to solve solutions with AI together that even the smartest ones could not solve alone. Only time will tell how long it will take.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM BLUECALLOM IN 2022
VISION – Our vision remains unchanged, we exist to build the most predictable innovation and business transformation solution helping teams elevate the way people do things.
GROWTH – You may have noticed that we are looking for quite a number of people to join the team and support our vision in the future of innovation. A pretty elaborate hiring process is helping us to find the best possible talents including AI experts and neuroscientists. If you have any connections or ideas to help is get the right talents, we would really appreciate it.
PRODUCT – We can imagine that you want to get your hands on the new system or see it in action. A beta test version and demos for BlueCallom DEEP II are scheduled to be available for selected customers soon. We will publicly introduce it in May 2022.
IN 2022 – We will be able to demonstrate the first step of what was thought to be impossible any time soon: an AI system that will augment human intellectual capabilities beyond its natural capacity – and – without drilling holes in the skull. The dream of the late Douglas Engelbart to create Intelligence Augmentation is now becoming a reality.
HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AUGMENTATION This year we envision the first customers to work with human intelligence augmentation to run their innovation projects. The BlueCallom AI solution is built so that executives will experience a never-before-seen degree of predictability from complex processes in real time. Innovation or change management teams will experience a level of intellectual support by getting suggestions, reminders, data, and feedback. Envision using BlueCallom, similar to driving a car with GPS and augmented reality. You will still want to decide where to go, what to see, and where to stay – even to drive if you want. But the GPS will tell you the fastest way to your destination, where to find gas stations, restaurants, and points of interest. It even navigates you around traffic jams or accidents. Also in BlueCallom, you will still need to create the ideas, explore the hopes and dreams of your customers, and define the purpose of your innovation, But reporting, reminding you on meetings, not forgetting what your previous research indicated, reminding you to consider how to bring it to market or not forgetting to consider a great user experience and hundreds of other consideration for an excellent outcome is managed by the AI system. Soon you will be able to do all that by talking and listening to your team and to your BlueCallom – no more computers.
INNOVATION SUCCESS PREDICTABILITY – BlueCallom’s Human Intelligence Augmentation and its approximately 20,000 data points, aggregated throughout the entire process, are allowing the AI system to calculate a never-before-seen innovation success predictability. Executives can observe the success prediction in real-time and conduct their risk assessments, decisions to move forward, and any financing approvals.
WHERE WILL WE TAKE IT LONG-TERM?
To build a better future of innovation, we need everybody to be able to innovate and rapidly resolve complexity. Our contribution is to build a solution that allows almost everybody to build their own future. A future of new materials, new technology, new medical systems, new renewable energy, new medication, new transportation, new mobility, new distribution structures, new education models, and more. BlueCallom will further invest in research and science, both on computer science and on neuroscience getting a deeper understanding of how our brain behaves and how we can interface with its natural “APIs”.
Our future lies in building systems and solutions that can amplify and augment the human intellect. With our learning from Neuroscience and AI, Human Intelligence Augmentation is the core of our own development. By the end of 2022, we will invite all our business friends and customers to the first BlueCallomPredict, a small conference for Innovation Thought Leaders to look ever deeper into that future of innovation. 🙂
INNOVATION THOUGHT LEADER ROUNDTABLE – If you are interested in contributing and supporting our work from the outside, we will continue to develop collaboration with our customers and Innovation Thought Leader Roundtable members. The next Innovation Thought Leader Roundtable will be in March 2022. You will find more info at: https://dev.bluecallom.com/innovation-thought-leader-roundtable/
This is the most exciting, compelling, and also the most challenging venture I ever had the opportunity to work in. I’m deeply grateful for having amazing minds support this journey.
I wish you a great 2022, whatever is around us, and thank you for all the support! Together we can do even more for the future of innovation.
Axel Schultze and the BlueCallom Dream Team