How AI can empower businesses to achieve ‘decision dominance’

AI-powered decision dominance in business: The SUDA model (Sense, Understand, Decide, Act) is emerging as a crucial framework for companies seeking to leverage artificial intelligence to gain a competitive edge in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape.

• The SUDA model, introduced in the 2023 book “Boundless,” outlines how AI can enhance a company’s ability to sense, understand, decide, and act more quickly and effectively than its competitors.
• By reducing the time between each stage of the SUDA model, businesses can achieve what the military calls “decision dominance” and “overmatch,” allowing them to make more informed decisions at an accelerated pace.
• Agentic AI, which can act on behalf of humans at all times, is expected to be the most effective way to minimize the time between sensing and acting.

The six levels of autonomous work: Each level represents an increase in AI’s capacity across the SUDA stages, accelerating decision-making and action-taking at various scales within an organization.

• The model encompasses a range of activities, from minute-to-minute tasks of individual employees to end-to-end business processes and strategic, enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Companies that can effectively reduce their “Sense to Act delta” will gain a significant advantage over those that cannot adapt to this AI-driven acceleration.

Military insights on decision dominance: The concept of decision dominance, borrowed from military strategy, provides valuable insights for businesses operating in AI-powered economies.

• U.S. Army Futures Command chief Gen. John “Mike” Murray defines decision dominance as the ability to sense, understand, decide, act, and assess faster and more effectively than any adversary.
• Key components of decision dominance include speed (both physical and cognitive), range (outreaching competitors and strategic positioning), and convergence (connecting different systems and institutions on a common data-sharing network).

Machine power multipliers: AI’s impact on business operations will extend beyond traditional productivity measures, creating capabilities that surpass human limitations.

• AI-powered abilities will be measured in terms of “machine power,” likely incorporating factors such as complexity, accuracy, and speed.
• This new digital workforce will be capable of handling more complex tasks, processing larger volumes of data, and operating continuously, leading to the emergence of novel productivity metrics.

Implications for the future of work: The adoption of agentic AI and machine-scale SUDA business operating models will have profound effects on how companies operate and compete.

• Businesses must prioritize speed, scale, intelligence, personalization, and trust to remain relevant in an AI-powered economy.
• Leaders and teams will increasingly rely on AI to make both strategic and immediate data-driven decisions, as well as to take effective action in response to rapidly changing conditions.

Adapting to AI-driven business environments: Companies must prepare for a future characterized by instability and rapid change, with AI playing a central role in decision-making and action-taking processes.

• The ability to leverage AI effectively across all stages of the SUDA model will be crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in increasingly dynamic markets.
• Businesses that fail to adapt to this new paradigm risk being outpaced by more agile, AI-enabled competitors.

Broader implications: As AI continues to reshape the business landscape, organizations must grapple with the ethical and societal implications of increased automation and decision-making capabilities.

• The rise of fully autonomous companies and AI-managed systems, such as robotaxi fleets, raises questions about the changing nature of work and the role of human oversight in critical decision-making processes.
• As businesses pursue decision dominance through AI, they must also consider the potential impacts on employment, privacy, and social responsibility, ensuring that the benefits of these technological advancements are balanced with ethical considerations and societal well-being.