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Overcoming the “Chicken and Egg” Problem in GenAI: A Path to Innovation with Security and Performance

Oz Wasserman

August 13, 2024

As Heads of AI and VPs of Engineering explore generative AI (GenAI), they encounter a "chicken and egg" problem: the various benefits and capabilities of GenAI are juxtaposed against obstacles like performance limitations, high costs, stringent security requirements, complex legal frameworks, and rigorous compliance mandates.

With the adoption of GenAI, leaders face a fundamental question: Does the promise of GenAI outweigh the complexities of its implementation?

The Innovation Dilemma

Gen AI is one of the most exciting developments to emerge in the tech industry in the last few decades, because it has the potential to drastically shift how businesses operate. From operational efficiency to expansion capabilities, it’s going to change how we approach and solve problems across every sector.

Here are some examples that illustrate the transformative capabilities of GenAI:

Application Area How GenAI Transforms It Business Impact
Customer Support GenAI can analyze past interactions and customer preferences in real-time, personalizing interactions. • Reduces workload for support agents by hours
• Increased sales thanks to personalized recommendations
• Longtail increase of customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Cuts operational costs
Predictive Maintenance GenAI can predict equipment failures by analyzing sensor data, allowing proactive maintenance strategies. • Reduces downtime due to unexpected maintenance needs
• Lowers maintenance costs
• Extends equipment lifespan
• Improves production efficiency and safety

The competitive advantages are substantial. But with such promising innovation at our fingertips, why the dilemma?

Despite the capabilities of GenAI, there are three major challenges putting a pause on widespread adoption:

  1. Performance issues: Slow and inefficient performance can deter organizations from changing established workflows. Does the practicality of integrating new technologies outweigh the potential benefits?
  2. High costs: The investment required to implement GenAI makes the return on investment (ROI) uncertain, especially in scenarios where the end value is not clearly visible.
  3. Security and compliance risks: Stringent requirements and potential risks create barriers to experimentation and operational deployment, particularly with the need for secure and compliant data handling.

Case Study: Seeing it in Action

Let's take a look at a real-world example. Imagine a technology company wants to improve its financial reporting with a new application called the Financial Co-Pilot. This tool aims to reduce the time financial analysts spend on reports—from weeks to minutes—freeing up many hours for the analysts to work on more strategic asks that move the business forward.

Here are the questions that leaders might consider when weighing the investment.

  1. Performance: Does the app perform fast enough to meet analysts' expectations without causing delays or errors that could undermine trust in the tool?
  2. Accuracy: does the app help the analyst get meaningful data that is accurate and helpful to achieve their task faster?
  3. Return on investment: Does the business impact—such as speedier reporting and increased efficiency—justify the investment required for development and ongoing maintenance?
  4. Data security: Given the sensitivity of the financial data involved, can the company ensure robust security measures are in place to protect this data from potential leaks or breaches?

Now you see the "chicken and egg" problem in action. If the financial co-pilot application is to revolutionize financial reporting for this company, it needs to be fast, secure, and cost-effective.

But achieving that trifecta is a high hurdle.

Financial co-pilots can change how financial analysts work, but how do we remove implementation blockers?

Opsin's Approach to GenAI Innovation

The good news? Opsin solves the “chicken and egg” problem that AI leaders are facing.

Here’s how:

We secure applications from the ground up.

Opsin starts with security, embedding it deeply within the architecture of applications like the Financial Co-Pilot. This ensures robust protection from the outset, maintaining system security without compromising on performance. Our security orchestration ensures that the sensitive financial data and the level of access to it stays updated based on the organization’s security policies

Opsin’s platform allows financial analysts responsible for certain reports to access only the data they need for their tasks. Similarly, contractors from different subsidiaries are granted access solely to the information necessary for improving their reporting and operational work. This tailored access is continuously updated to align with the organization’s security policies--ensuring that data protection measures evolve with changing needs.

We enable fast-paced development and experimentation.

Opsin's approach accelerates development cycles, allowing for rapid iteration without the usual slowdown from compliance and security checks. For applications that need to stay ahead of market demands and technological advances, Opsin facilitates continuous synchronization and advanced access control mechanisms that ensure efficient real-time data handling—without creating bottlenecks.

We’re seamless and secure by design.

Opsin offers seamless integration, enabling you to begin interacting with your data in just a few clicks for a quick and easy start. Whether you prefer on-premise or cloud deployments, our flexible deployment options ensure that you can choose the best setup for your business needs.

We orchestrate performance by managing model integration and optimization across providers like OpenAI and Google. This means you always have access to the best tools without compromising the security and integrity of your data. Our comprehensive backend management handles all aspects of performance, cost, and security—allowing you to focus on achieving your GenAI goals.

We ensure transparency and compliance.

Opsin rigorously adheres to legal and privacy standards, implementing comprehensive auditing processes that track and log every interaction. This helps you stay within the stringent requirements of regulations like SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA. Our platform is designed to scale with your operations, accommodating increased loads and complex data environments without performance degradation.

Opsin's approach to build GenAI applications securely

Benefits of a Trusted and Secure GenAI Environment

Imagine a more trusted and secure approach to innovation. Here are the key business benefits of that kind of environment:

  • Accelerated innovation cycles: By simplifying the management of infrastructure, performance, and security, companies can focus on innovation.
  • Lower operational costs and higher ROI: Removing the need to navigate complex security and legal issues reduces costs and allows teams to focus on core business goals—improving ROI.
  • Enhanced Security and Trust: Starting with a secure foundation helps prevent data breaches and ensures compliance, which builds trust both within the organization and with clients. This approach also helps avoid costly penalties.

Conclusion

We've examined the "chicken and egg" problem inherent in adopting GenAI. But despite the hurdles of performance issues, high costs, and stringent security and compliance demands, the benefits of GenAI—such as improved operational efficiency and expanded capabilities across sectors—cannot be ignored.

Opsin's innovative approach provides a viable solution by prioritizing security, performance, and compliance from the ground up. This strategy allows for rapid development and deployment cycles, without compromising on security and performance. We encourage AI leaders to embrace this methodology for a seamless transition from experimentation to full-scale production.

With Opsin, you don't have to choose between the chicken or the egg—you get to enjoy both. More chicken, more eggs, please!

About The Author

Oz Wasserman

Oz Wasserman is the Founder of Opsin, with over 15 years of cybersecurity experience focused on security engineering, data security, governance, and product development. He has held key roles at Abnormal Security, FireEye, and Reco.AI, and has a strong background in security engineering from his military service.

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