Pushing the Boundaries of AI

Building on my earlier point specifically regarding ChatGPT, the free functionality it offers is exceptional.

However, this accessibility has led many companies to experiment with AI without fully understanding the risks, particularly the potential loss of intellectual property. As part of their AI strategy, businesses should carefully evaluate not only what they aim to achieve but also how they approach and implement these tools.

Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries at a breakneck pace, and the entrepreneurs driving this innovation are at the forefront of this revolution. From groundbreaking applications to ethical considerations, these visionaries are shaping the future of AI. What does it take to innovate in such a rapidly evolving field, and how are these entrepreneurs using AI to solve real-world problems? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Julian Harris.

Julian Harris, CEO and Founder of RobobAI, has a distinguished track record of establishing and growing successful technology businesses across Europe and Asia. Recognizing the critical juncture at which global organizations find themselves, Julian co-founded RobobAI, an innovative AI-driven platform designed to enhance the ethical and commercial management of supply chains.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

I grew up in a predominantly working-class area in the south of Wales, surrounded by mining and industry. The main street reflected the town’s heartbeat, with 10 pubs, 10 churches, and a rugby field. While I didn’t push myself too hard at school, I had a natural talent for mathematics, which earned me a place at a nearby grammar school — an opportunity afforded to only a few. After completing my O Levels and A Levels, I went on to Swansea University to earn a degree in Civil Engineering, eventually moving to London after graduation to begin my career.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I have so many; I’ll share my book when it’s written!

One experience that stands out is the sale of my AI-driven data company, Inawisdom, during the COVID pandemic in 2020. Founded in 2016, Inawisdom specialized in AI data science on the AWS stack. Completing such a significant transaction entirely remotely, without any face-to-face meetings, felt surreal and marked a stark departure from the way I had conducted business to that point.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’m grateful to a lot of people I’ve had the fortune of knowing and I appreciate the contribution of what I’ve learned from each of them along the way. The standout was probably my first business partner, Chris. Looking back and watching others, I think the hardest thing to do was to take the first step from the safety net of corporate life to uncertainty and promise of entrepreneurship. He gave me the courage and support to do this, and I’ve never looked back.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have a few favorites, but at the top of the list is Sir Isaac Newton’s phrase “standing on the shoulders of giants.” No one succeeds in a vacuum. We need to acknowledge and respect the work of those who came before us and laid a foundation for us to build upon.

You are a successful business leader. Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

🔵     Hard work — As quoted by the golfer Gary Player, the harder you work the luckier you get.

🔵      Luck — I think there are a number of successful people that fail to recognize that luck played a role. That said, luck is about positioning and being in the right place at the right time with the right product, connections, and skills to act on it. Back to point one — you need hard work to position yourself for opportunities

🔵      Commercial savvy — At the core, you need the smarts to know what is going on but you also need the ability to cut through noise, be able to recognize opportunity, and then have the pants to act.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Share the story of what inspired you to start working with AI. Was there a particular problem or opportunity that motivated you?


We had been working in supply chain analytics for some time and actively watching the initial growth of AI’s capabilities.

The core problem we saw was that large organizations couldn’t get a clear view of their global supply, which kept them from seeing opportunities to better manage their spend. With the explosion of the IoT, data growth was only going to accelerate and the problem increase.
With AI’s capability to rapidly consume large volumes of disparate data to uncover patterns which articulate clear opportunities for businesses to manage their spend, it become obvious that we needed to invest in integrating this into our platform.

Describe a moment when AI achieved something you once thought impossible. What was the breakthrough, and how did it impact your approach going forward?

Isn’t this a daily occurrence at the moment? I didn’t think AI would be driving cars so quickly, like the AI enabled ‘autopilot’ feature that now comes standard on every new Tesla.

Closer to the work we do is the velocity at which LLMs and ChatGPT are evolving and the capabilities that they are unlocking at lightning speed. In essence, technology providers and their customers (business and consumers) are all learning in parallel. The likes of Open AI are lowering the bar to entry by making sophisticated functionality available either free or a low cost. This comes with risks from lack of governance and privacy, but it also demands that technology providers work harder to aggregate value and stay in front of the ever-shifting AI status quo.

Talk about a challenge you faced when working with AI. How did you overcome it, and what was the outcome?

As I mentioned, with the increased accessibility of LLMs and ChatGPT, we are being challenged by the growing belief of C-suite leaders that their business needs are catered to by these free models. Even if they do understand that they need to develop their own models, they believe that the key components largely exist and they don’t necessarily attribute value to the expertise of data engineers coupled with deep industry knowledge — in our case, of procurement and payments data management — and the nuances specific to each industry vertical. The reality is that there are a multitude of ways to structure large volumes of data. Niche knowledge and experience is needed to draw out genuinely valuable insights.

Can you share an example of how your work with AI has had a meaningful impact (on others, on business results, etc.)? What was the situation, and what difference did it make?

Collectively, global organizations have the opportunity to positively impact human rights, the environment and be more inclusive of indigenous, diverse, and small businesses. Our RobobAI platform leverages AI to help these organizations sculpt their data into a clear vision of how they can optimize management of their supply chain. By understanding their current reality, organizations can do their part in building a better future world through evolving the ethical and commercial management of their supply chain.

Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five Things You Need To Know To Help Shape The Future of AI”?

1.  The energy demands of AI pose a significant challenge to future environmental goals. Many may not realize the immense strain AI places on energy consumption due to the substantial data processing power required by cloud infrastructure. As AI continues to gain mainstream adoption, it could potentially double the power usage of processing units in data centers, leading to increased costs and a considerable environmental impact.

2.  With the innovation of any new technology comes the potential for it to be used for good or for evil. Beyond the widespread fears of AI replacing jobs, deeper concerns revolve around privacy and control. Clear “guardrails” for how AI engines collect and use data are still largely absent. Imagine scenarios where a company’s customer service bot behaves rudely, makes discriminatory remarks, or commits to unrealistic promises. Consider the implications of AI recording sensitive doctor-patient consultations, confidential meetings, personal photos, children’s learning journeys — all being tracked, stored, and potentially becoming part of publicly accessible data in the future.

3.  Building on my earlier point specifically regarding ChatGPT, the free functionality it offers is exceptional. However, this accessibility has led many companies to experiment with AI without fully understanding the risks, particularly the potential loss of intellectual property. As part of their AI strategy, businesses should carefully evaluate not only what they aim to achieve but also how they approach and implement these tools.

4.  More specific to the work we do with clients, we find that, as a rule of thumb, for every $1 you invest in AI you should invest $5 in data quality. 80% of companies estimate that 50–90% of their data is unstructured, in a world where companies are experiencing 63% average data volume growth each month. AI is only an intermediary — it will provide a future vision based upon your past history. Without a clear view of your past, you can’t expect a clear vision for the future.

5.  An IDC survey of CIOs from July revealed an AI proof-of-concept (POC) success rate of less than 10%, with 30% of respondents unable to specify how many of their AI POC projects met target KPI metrics. This raises critical questions about how CIOs define success or failure and whether robust ROI frameworks are in place to guide evaluations. A lack of visibility into business outcomes translates to missed opportunities and wasted investments. To ensure success, organizations must first clearly articulate the business challenges AI is intended to address. This is a crucial step we take with all our clients, followed by identifying use cases, validating approaches, and establishing clear metrics to measure results and deliver ROI.

When you think about the future of AI, what excites you the most, and how do you see your work contributing to that future?

AI excites me because of its transformative potential to solve complex challenges and empower leaders to focus on strategic decision-making rather than manual tasks. At RobobAI, we harness AI to enhance supply chain visibility, enabling finance and procurement leaders to leverage data for driving business growth and building competitive advantage.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who want to innovate in AI? Can you share a story from your experience that illustrates your advice?

My advice to entrepreneurs looking to innovate in AI is to focus on solving a specific problem that has a clear demand and is valuable enough that customers are willing to pay for it. Specialize in a niche where you can excel, as the big industry players are already investing heavily in general AI and large language model development, making it difficult to compete directly. Be crystal clear on how you differentiate and the unique value your solution brings to the market.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I would be interested to meet with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. He’s widely respected as a visionary leader and a highly intelligent individual, and I’d value the opportunity to have talk with him about innovation, leadership, and the future of technology.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I invite people to connect with me via my LinkedIn profile here. And welcome them to visit our website, and follow our social channels, LinkedIn, YouTube and X.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.

This article originally appeared in Medium. Read the source article here.