What it's technology readiness level and how it could impact AI adoption

Even though I believe AI is going to plateau before the next real jump in the technology, I think there is still more room for AI usage before that happens.

This is due to TRLs, technology readiness levels. In some big corporations, normally the adoption of a new technology is not done quickly nor because someone decided so. There's a process to it and it doesn't matter if the technology adopted is created internally or brought up externally.

This process is what's called Technology Readiness Levels. Which is a series of stages that represent the maturity of the technology that's gonna be adopted and included within the company processes. For example, the below image is the one used by NASA.

The number of levels depends on the company, but normally there are three main stages shared across all organisations.

First one is the research phase. If the technology is being developed internally in this phase the initial research & draft/MVP is created. If brought up from outside the company, an integration draft is done. The outcome of this phase is to understand if the technology would benefit the company and how it would integrate in the current processes.

The second phase is the development one. If a technology has arrived to this level, it's because it has been decided the technology is worth to adopt and it can fit well in the current processes or improve them. In this phase the technology gets matured by developing more features or making a more realistic integration. The outcome of this phase is to have a working technology.

The last phase is what I call the production phase. In this phase the technology gets polished so it can be really used within the company without causing havoc, not breaking stuff, etc. The outcome of this phase is the technology ready to be used by the company adopting it and as soon as it exits the TLRs processes get changed and people start using it.

So why am I explaining all of this? Well, if you think about it, AI technologies like ChatGPT, Cursor, etc. are heavily used for mundane things or within companies with no processes. Basically, if AI provokes an error, nothing major happens, guns are not raised. However, you know there are several industries were AI basically cannot be used wildly, because an error could provoke a real havoc. That's why AI is not fully used within medical sector yet nor aerospace. I mean, how long we've been waiting for autonomous cars to be massively adopted?

And that's why I believe AI still has some room before it gets plateau (based on my prediction). Because a lot of companies must check all these TRLs checkboxes in order to use new technologies or processes. This means that more business opportunities for AI are yet to arrive. So be vigilant if you want to spot a good golden lily because things move quickly!

Now I'm curious about your thoughts and experience:

• Do you also think there will be more AI business opportunities?
• Which sectors do you think are still waiting to benefit from AI adoption?

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