Developing services based on Artificial Intelligence

Sammanfattning: This thesis explores the development process of services based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology within an industrial setting. There has been a renewed interest in the technology and leading technology companies as well as many start-ups has integrated it into their market offerings. The technology´s general application potential for enhancing products and services along with the task automation possibility for improved operational excellence makes it a valuable asset for companies. However, the implementation rate of AI services is still low for many industrial actors. The research in the area has been technically dominated with little contribution from other disciplines. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to identify development challenges of AI services and drawing on service development- and value-theory to propose a process framework promoting implementation. The work will have two main contributions. Firstly, to compare differences in theoretical and practical development challenges and secondly to combine AI with service development and value theory. The empirical research is done through a single case study based on a systematic combining research approach. It moves iteratively between the theory and empirical findings to direct and support the thesis throughout the work process. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample. It consisted of two groups of interview participants, one AI expert group and one case internal group. This was supported by participant observation of the case environment. The data analysis was done through flexible pattern matching. The results were divided into two sections, practical challenges and development aspect of AI service development. These were combined with the selected theories and a process framework was generated. The study showed a current understudied area of business and organisational aspect regarding AI service development. Several such challenges were identified with limited theoretical research as support. For a wider industrial adoption of AI technology, more research is needed to understand the integration into the organisation. Further, sustainability and ethical aspect were found not to be a primary concern, only mention in one of the interviews. This, despite the plethora of theory and identified risks found in the literature. Lastly, the interdisciplinary research approach was found to be beneficial to the AI field to integrate the technology into an industrial setting. The developed framework could draw from existing service development models to help manage the identified challenges.