Book Synopsis

Transform AI potential into organizational results through the Applied Intelligence framework

More than 80% of AI projects fail - twice the rate of traditional IT initiatives. Applied Intelligence: Principles for Building an AI-First Organization bridges the gap between executive vision and practical implementation by providing technical leaders with timeless frameworks that remain relevant as technology evolves. Drawing on their experience leading Pattern to become the world's largest ecommerce accelerator, authors Jacob Miller and Jeremy Mumford deliver actionable guidance for turning proofs of concept into production systems.

Applied Intelligence organizes AI success around five core components:

• Design AI Systems to Deliver Impactful Output
• Power AI with High-Quality Input Data
• Engineer, Optimize, and Integrate AI Models
• Create Trust through Robust Observability
• Scale Transformation through Effective AI Enablement

Readers will discover the Service as a Software mindset to build AI-first capabilities, best practices to consistently manage context engineering at scale, and a clear playbook to maximize user trust by disaggregating trust into its underlying elements so each can be intentionally strengthened.

The book also provides:

• Practical guidance on building AI workflows and agents incrementally, avoiding the all-or-nothing trap that cause project failures
• A democratization of expertise framework, including comprehensive unstructured data governance strategies including knowledge acquisition, curation, and AI-optimized search methods
• Repeatable processes for AI provider evaluation, model selection, hosting decisions, and advanced configurations
• Implementation strategies for monitoring inputs and outputs, establishing security and privacy controls, tracking resources, and building accessible AI foundations
• Guidance on the foundational platforms necessary to scale AI systems across an entire organization

Perfect for technical CEOs, CTOs, leaders in Data Science and AI, Directors of Engineering, and others shaping or executing AI strategies, Applied Intelligence serves as a foundational reference for decision makers who want to establish best practices and inspire the transformations necessary to sustainably harness AI's potential.