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Collaborative AI: Practical tips for AI development

Developing Machine Learning (ML) systems in organizations brings unique challenges. In our research we learned that success comes when developers work with domain experts and decision makers throughout ML development.
The AIKNOW project, funded by the NWO Open Competition, followed AI from lab research to its use on the work floor. Over four years, researchers from the AI@Work group studied how AI is developed and applied within organizations. Based on in this in-depth ethnographic research, supported by the NWO grant ‘AIKnow: Is AI outsmarting us? The impact of AI on knowledge work", the team designed practical recommendations for AI development

In analyzing the research outcomes of the ethnographic studies two unexpected outcomes were revealed:

Firstly, traditional notions of collaboration are insufficient to describe the level of coordination required for effective AI implementation. Traditionally, there were clear lines between those who created technology (developers) and those who used it (users). However, with AI, these lines are blurring. This is because AI systems can learn and adapt on their own, which means that the process of creating and using them becomes intertwined. This blurring of boundaries challenges traditional ways of developing technology, which typically involves developers talking to experts in a particular field to understand their needs. With AI, this process is more fluid and continuous.

Secondly, the researchers examine the idea of "boundary spanning," which is when people from different groups work together to share knowledge. While this has been seen as beneficial in many cases, with AI, it's not always effective. In fact, having intermediaries between developers and users can sometimes create more barriers, especially with AI systems that are complex and difficult to understand. To harness the potential of AI in knowledge work, there's a need to empower individuals to develop new collaborative practices.

Together with practitioners the team developed practical recommendations for organizations and launched Managing AIWISEly — a new program designed to train professionals as AI Polymaths, equipped to co-produce data, co-explain, and co-deploy AI.

Click to download the flyer with practical recommendations

Avoid 3 ML Development Pitfalls with a Collaborative AI Approach

 Pitfall 1: Treating domain experts as users instead of co-designers

🙅 Unproductive Question:
How can we get experts to trust and use our models?

🙌 Productive Question:
How can we involve experts and decision makers in deciding what our model should focus on from the beginning

Pitfall 2: Aiming to produce “unbiased” predictions that experts will follow

🙅 Unproductive Question:
How can we produce predictions that are better and less biased than those currently offered by experts?

🙌 Productive Question:
What new insights, not currently available to experts but helpful for their decisions, can we realistically offer?

Pitfall 3: Underestimating the collective effort required to organize and label data

🙅 Unproductive Question:
What goals do we want to optimize for and what datasets are available for building new models?

🙌 Productive Question:
What specific goal can we agree on together with experts and decision makers, so that we can focus our data sourcing and labeling efforts on the most critical parameters?

Key Takeaways for Developers Working in Organizations

Tip 1: Co-design with experts

💡Involve experts early to ensure the model addresses real needs.

Tip 2: Give experts a new perspective

💡 Deliver new insights, not just accuracy.

Tip 3: Plan for data challenges

💡 Ensure aims are narrow enough to be operationalized.

These recommendations are based on ethnographic research conducted by Wendy Günther, Ella Hafermalz, Marleen Huysman, Tomislav Karacic, Anne-Sophie Mayer,  Anastasia Sergeeva, and Mario Sosa Hidalgo, from the AI@Work research group at the KIN Center for Digital Innovation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The research is supported by the NWO Open Competition Grant “AIKnow: Is AI outsmarting us? The impact of AI on knowledge work” (file number 406.18.E8.030). This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

In one project, a complex matching algorithm for recruiting job candidates failed because it didn’t align with the recruiters' existing workflow. In contrast, a simpler tool that spotlighted overlooked candidates succeeded by addressing a specific, practical need. Lesson learned: instead of developing ambitious cutting-edge tools, focus on supporting the everyday workflows of experts.

How do organizations implement Artificial Intelligence?

Marleen Huysman talks the research group and introduces the book about machine learning application  'S.L.I.M. managen van AI in de praktijk: Hoe organisaties slimme technologie implementeren'

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