Terry Ragon discusses how generative AI is reshaping industries, addressing common concerns about job displacement, and AI "hallucinations" while emphasizing the critical role of human oversight. Learn why companies are increasingly moving towards "computing as a service" and how a strong culture focused on client success and innovation is key to long-term growth in unpredictable times.
Presented by Terry Ragon
Video Transcript
Below is the full transcript of the READY2025 Welcome Keynote with Terry Ragon.
[00:00] Well, thank you. Thank you. Seems like I should be thanking you, actually – but wow. Welcome, and thank all of you for coming here today. It’s always great to be able to see you in person, and I appreciate that many of you have been coming here for many, many years. It’s also nice to see all the new faces as well.
[00:27] I know that coming here is a significant investment of your time, and we’re going to do our best to make this a valuable experience. It will be no surprise that this is a very unpredictable business environment. Fortunately, it’s not impacted us, and the economy is strong – though who knows what’s going to happen. I’ve always believed that in unpredictable or difficult times, it’s best to stay focused on the basics: focus on client success, be responsive to your needs, and build exciting technology that’s of value to you.
[01:07] On a more positive note, unpredictable or difficult times always come with opportunities as well, so we’ll be especially alert for those. While the business environment is unpredictable, I would say that the technology directions are not. I see this as a very exciting time for technology.
[01:27] Last year, I spoke at length about how generative AI is a generational change in computing that will have a huge impact on how people work – and it will impact all of our businesses. What I’ve seen since then only confirms my belief that we are in the early stages of a massive shift in computing. We’ve built AI functionality into all of our products, and we continue to invest heavily in how we can transform both the user experience and the technology layer through AI.
[02:01] There are two fears that I often hear verbalized about GenAI – both of which are legitimate concerns that are often used as arguments against using AI. The first is about displacing people from the work that they do. This, of course, is a fear that occurs with every advance in technology, and today there are many people predicting massive job losses due to AI.
[02:35] It’s true that new technology often results in dislocation, which can be painful for those who experience it. Yet in almost every case, advances in technology have resulted in greater productivity and more rewarding roles, without a net long-term loss in jobs. A good example is the advent of word processors, which made typing pools obsolete – freeing people up to do more challenging and interesting work.
[03:02] There will, of course, be opposition to the introduction of AI, as there is with every new technology. Even today, we still see people around the world opposing electronic medical records, yet to my knowledge, EMRs have never led to a net reduction of jobs. What they have led to is better patient care.
[03:27] The second concern I often hear is about the tendency of AI to hallucinate – that is, to make up answers. Fortunately, the technology is improving, and there’s increasingly less hallucination, but it certainly remains a problem. I often think of GenAI as a new form of user interface – one in which we can converse with computers much the same way we converse with other humans. Of course, what humans say is not always correct, and neither is GenAI. Just as you may wish to check what someone tells you, you may want to check what you hear from AI.
[04:03] This is why we advocate that anytime you use GenAI to generate an answer or summarize data, you include links to the source material for the relevant components of each answer. Our experience with pilot sites indicates that careful introduction of AI results in a very high degree of accuracy – and it receives an enthusiastic response from users. However, it’s important to remember that AI is an assistant, and it’s humans who are always responsible for all decisions.
[04:42] Our experience shows that well-planned change management is especially important in introducing AI into sophisticated settings, such as AI-assisted medical records. Based on our pilot programs, we often initially disable AI’s ability to answer certain types of questions – because when someone is first presented with a new technology they’re suspicious of, the last thing they want is to be told how to do their job. Of course, these features can be turned on later as people become more comfortable.
[05:17] Another important trend is that companies increasingly want to consume computing as a service – or to put it differently, to manage applications and data services rather than computers. This is a trend that has been growing for some time, and we’ve been providing such services for years from data centers in multiple locations around the world. However, due to rapid growth and demand, we’re making a major investment in upgrading our managed service capabilities globally.
[05:50] These are truly exciting times, as changing paradigms create an opportunity for us to evolve, grow, and rethink our business – which we are doing. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about culture. After all, it’s our values and culture that sustain us long-term and have allowed us to grow and thrive for 47 years – and we expect to last at least another 47 years.
[06:16] The essence of who we are is this: a creative technology partner with a passion for excellence and client success. So how do you sustain this long-term? You sustain innovation and client focus through culture – a culture that values innovation will attract innovative people. A culture that embraces client success will attract people who want to produce value.
[06:47] Once again, thank you all for being here today. Thank you for your trust. Thank you for your business. Like everyone from InterSystems, I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible over the next couple of days. So if you see me standing around, I hope you’ll walk over and say hello. Thank you.