The three questions every board should ask before investing in AI

Before your board approves another AI investment, there are three questions that need honest answers.

Question one: What specific outcome will this produce?

What specific business outcome will this AI investment produce in the next twelve months? Not "efficiency gains." A measurable outcome with a number attached.

Question two: Do the users understand it?

Do the people who will use this technology every day understand why it exists and how it works?

Question three: What happens to the humans?

What happens to the humans whose work changes because of this technology?

Most boards can answer question one. Few can answer question two. Almost none have thought seriously about question three.

This is why AI investments fail. Not because the technology is immature. Because the human strategy is absent.