Most of the posts I have looked at from other classmates start with some definition of Artificial Intelligence (AI). I like the one that defines AI as a sub-field of computer science with the goal of enabling the development of computers that are able to do things normally done by people — in particular, things associated with people acting intelligently (Hammond, 2015). The question then is how we relate this to the world of business. AI producing intelligence is defined in the text as detecting and interpreting signs that indicate a situation which needs attention (Haag, 2016). With this in mind, the biggest advantage I see is that of saving a ton of time and money in the form of man-hours. What took a human with a calculator hours to compute can now take a computer program fractions of a second to perform. The major disadvantages of AI though, aren’t AI’s fault at all but an error in the human programming of the AI or the input of information into the system done by, you guessed it, a human. An example most of us can relate to is military finance. I seriously don’t know of a single person in the military who hasn’t had some issue or error with the finance department at some point in time in their career. Most, if not all, of the time it is someone entering an incorrect code or fat fingering numbers that cause us to receive the incorrect pay or bonus. Higher education institutions can benefit from AI in many ways. One way Southwestern uses AI is through the use of the program called SafeAssign. This AI program simply compares submitted papers with multiple databases throughout the Internet. What used to take dedicated and very thorough instructor hours now takes an AI program no time at all. Not only does SafeAssign save untold man hours, it also does a more complete and accurate job. In our current project of finding the correct AI application to handle financial information for a small business, I feel the phases that will deal with selecting and integrating the best program are phases 4-6. In the development phase, we will be creating or organizing the information we want the AI program to handle and prepare it for testing. In the testing phase, we will take the information and input it into the program to find any issues or “bugs” that result from the information. Finally, we will implement the program by switching over to the chosen program and letting it become the “new normal”, if you will. Hammond, K. (Apr 10, 2015) What is artificial intelligence. What is artificial intelligence (AI), and what is the difference between general AI and narrow AI? Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com/article/2906336/emerging-technology/what-is-artificial-intelligence.html Haag, S. & Cummings, M. (2012) Information Systems Management. For the Information Age,98-99. New York City, New York: Mcgraw-Hill Irwin