Author: Michael Fruhling

As we all know, most organizations are not short on ideas. They already have long lists of improvement opportunities, initiatives, and problems that “should be fixed.” AI is only accelerating this. It can generate tons of appealing sounding options instantly and make almost any issue appear reasonable and urgent.But while ideas are now cheap, action is not. Every decision to work on something carries real costs: budget, time, people, and organizational attention. Those resources are limited.

People often talk about AI in extremes, either as a magical idea machine or a looming replacement for human creativity. I see it differently. AI is a thinking partner: fast, clever, and occasionally brilliant. That said, I also wouldn’t let it drive me, or anyone I care about, around in my car without supervision.When used with discipline, curiosity, and pressure testing, AI can dramatically accelerate IP creation across categories I work in: footwear, bedding, PPE, produce preservation, takeout packaging, even ice-cream scoopability.