By Joe McKendrick – Let’s face it, artificial intelligence is probably one of the best management tools to come along since the first commercial computers rolled out decades ago. It can show and predict when customers are ready to buy, it can tighten up supply chains, and help prioritize the work of teams. The management potential of AI algorithms is unlimited. Still, when it comes to actual leadership, AI falls flat on its face.

“AI will be able to do almost any managerial task in the future. That is because of the way we define management as being focused on the idea of creating stability, order, consistency, predictability, by means of using metrics — e.g., KPI,” says David De Cremer, founder and director of the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind at the National University of Singapore Business School and author of Leadership by Algorithm: Who Leads and Who Follows in the AI Era?

Still, AI is beset by bias and overhyped promises. Most organizations reported some failures among their AI projects, with a quarter of them reporting up to 50% failure rate, a survey by IDC showed. Lack of skilled staff and unrealistic expectations were identified as the top reasons for failure.

Still, there are zones where AI has potential to excel in a big way — such as at repetitive tasks in which it could replace many managerial functions. That’s as far as AI’s potential reaches — inspired, visionary business leadership is still very much a human skill, De Cremer points out in a recent interview published at Knowledge@Wharton. AI algorithms can never replace the qualities of human leadership. The perception that AI may be in charge is understandable — “we are moving into a society where people are being told by algorithms what their taste is, and, without questioning it too much, most people comply easily. Given these circumstances, it does not seem to be a wild fantasy anymore that AI may be able to take a leadership position.” Read On: