Of all the words in the dictionary, Sarah Franklin says that “balance” is probably her favorite. Especially when it comes to companies that employ AI.
Franklin heads Lattice, an employee performance software company founded by Jack Altman, and is now worth $3 billion. On the stage at SXSW London and in conversations with TechCrunch, she talked a lot about balance. There’s the opportunity to find it and the risk of not having it between this AI revolution.
“We put people first,” Franklin told TechCrunch, referring to the lattice.
While some companies are promoting AI as a way to replace a huge number of workers, some technicians are more openly speaking about the importance of balancing companies. We are continuing to increase human employees by using AI assistants and “agents.” In SXSW London, Franklin said that trying to completely replace human workers might seem like a good idea in the short term for cost saving reasons, but such a move might actually be unattractive to customers.
“It’s important to ask yourself: “Are you building for AI success first (or do you build for customer success first?” She added that trust is the most important currency that founders or startup companies have, and building trust with consumers is the most important thing. “It’s good to increase efficiency, but you don’t want to exchange trust.”
Franklin also emphasized the importance of transparency, accountability and responsibility when it comes to AI. Leaders need to be transparent with their employees about what AI is doing, and AI must be narrowly applied to certain goals, so people must understand how it works, and humans must be accountable for what AI will ultimately affect.
“Otherwise, we serve AI, whereas AI and AI are serving us,” continued Franklin.
In an interview with TechCrunch after the arrival of SXSW, Franklin said Lattice provided positive insights and built an AI HR agent to help employees in one-on-one meetings. The company also has a platform that allows Lattice clients to create their own custom agents for their business.
Franklin has asserted that humans must oversee AI technology implemented by the company. “This is how we balance the regular checks we’re used to in the workforce,” she told TechCrunch.
She believes that the winner of this AI moment in history is someone who learns how to put people first. According to Franklin, it is one of the most important guardrails a company can have with AI.
“We’re all responsible for making sure we’re doing this for the people of society,” Franklin said. “We can’t exchange human connections, and the winner will be a company that understands that.”