The arrival of artificial intelligence (AI) in quality management has been met with a mixture of hype and skepticism. Is it just a faster anomaly detector, or is it truly transformative?

The answer depends on how we frame the problem. If we see AI merely as a way to speed up quality processes we already have, we miss 90% of its potential. This approach only gets us a slightly faster horse when we could be building a spaceship.

To unlock the revolutionary value of AI, we must adopt the strategic framework laid out by Richard Susskind, one of the leading experts on the effects of AI on society: We must think beyond automating what we currently do to innovating new capabilities, and most powerfully, eliminating the need for entire tasks altogether. This is the blueprint for the next generation of quality that changes the quality department from the company’s necessary hand brake into its strategic accelerator.

Let’s break it down.

1. Automate: Do the current job better

The first wave of AI adoption is the necessary foundation. It’s about granting quality teams immediate relief by making current, repetitive human tasks faster, cheaper, and more reliable.

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