Why Do Institutions Struggle to Keep Up with Technological Advances?

Established institutions struggle to adapt to technological changes, hindering progress. In contrast, startups leveraging artificial intelligence have an opportunity to outperform these incumbents by mastering data collection, potentially transforming many sectors through task automation.

Technology Evolves, Institutions Lag Behind

It’s a well-known fact that established incumbents often lag in responding to technological shifts. The average lifespan of an organization in the S&P 500 has decreased from 35 years in the 1970s to under 20 years today. This sluggishness is notably evident in the adoption of copilot technology and artificial intelligence assistants, which naturally fit into traditional work and record-keeping systems (for instance, sales agents using Salesforce).

How Can a Startup Overcome the Incumbent Advantage?

The key lies in mastering upstream data collection. Data related to loans or insurance policies are still often collected via email or PDFs. A startup can infuse artificial intelligence (AI) into this process to take ownership of the data before it even enters the traditional record system. For example, a virtual loan officer or an insurance agent, like the AI “Sarah” from Cascading, could handle the initial collection of client documents and scheduling of appointments.

The AI Revolution in Professions

A recent study by OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania showed that with access to “Long-Form Language Models” (LLMs), about 15% of all professional tasks in the U.S. could be performed significantly faster without compromising work quality. By incorporating software and tools based on LLMs (i.e., Vertical SaaS), this percentage increases to between 47% and 56% of all tasks.

These figures clearly indicate that a wide range of professions could benefit from the assistance of artificial agents in executing their tasks. In conclusion, we believe that the least apparent jobs hold as much, if not more, potential for AI agent integration, including switchboard operators, medical transcriptionists, and actuaries.