The document discusses how artificial intelligence can help project managers leverage big data through knowledge mitigation. It notes that AI has the potential to automate the analysis of large, complex data sets and provide summarized outputs to enhance human decision making for projects. A research project is proposed to examine how project managers can use elements of AI to support knowledge mitigation from big data in complex projects as part of the ongoing fourth industrial revolution.

1. University of Sussex Business School | SCIENCE POLICY RESEARCH UNIT @SPRU
Artificial Intelligence in Project Management
Stepping Out of the AI Winter Into the 4th Industrial Revolution
Dr Nicholas Dacre
Associate Professor
Dr Serkan Ceylan
Senior Academic
Fredrik Kockum
Doctoral Researcher
Department of Decision Analytics & Risk
University of Southampton Business School

3. • Ironbridge, Shropshire, designed by Shrewsbury architect Thomas Pritchard
• Combining engineering expertise and new iron-casting techniques
• Opened in 1781, built with 378 tons of Iron, the world’s first Cast-iron bridge
• Dawn of the Industrial Revolution
Source: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/iron-bridge/history

5. • NGD Data Centre, Europe’s largest server farm, Newport, Wales
• 20,000 server racks over 750,000 square feet
• Runs on 100% renewable energy
• IBM cloud based services, Watson, Blockchain, IoT
Source: https://www.nextgenerationdata.co.uk

7. 4th Industrial Revolution
Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Klaus Schwab. In Geneva: World Economic Forum

9. • Professor John McCarthy
• Coined the term ‘Artificial intelligence’
• 1956 Dartmouth AI Conference
• Explore how machines may reason like a human
Andresen, S. L. (2002). John McCarthy: father of AI. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 17(5), 84-85.
Artificial Intelligence

10. Artificial Intelligence Winters
• AI has a long history of being the next big thing

11. So why is AI going through a resurgence now?

12. Artificial Intelligence in the 4th Industrial Revolution
• Professor Klaus Schwab
‒ “Unprecedented and simultaneous advances in Artificial
Intelligence (AI), robotics, the internet of things,
autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, nanotechnology, bio-
technology, materials science, energy storage, quantum
computing...are redefining industries, blurring traditional
boundaries, and creating new opportunities”

13. AI in Project Management
2019 Survey of Project Professionals
• 91% aware of AI
Kockum, F. (2019). The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Project Management Best Practice.

14. AI in Project Management
2019 Survey of Project Professionals
• 91% aware of AI
• 90% believe AI will be part of PM practice
‒45% within 5 years
‒36% within 10 years
‒9% within 20 years
Kockum, F. (2019). The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Project Management Best Practice.

15. AI in Project Management
2019 Survey of Project Professionals
• 91% aware of AI
• 90% believe AI will be part of PM practice
‒45% within 5 years
‒36% within 10 years
‒9% within 20 years
• 86% see AI as a an opportunity for PM practice
• 88% not received any AI training
Kockum, F. (2019). The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Project Management Best Practice.

16. AI in Project Management
• Dr Nicholas Dacre
‒“AI takes us from Machine Learning to Machine Thinking,
it provides an executive interface between us and Big
Data and helps us build better decision making
bandwidth”

17. AI in Project Management | APM Research Premise
• Project Managers are increasingly exposed to digital
processes and big data as part of the 4th industrial
revolution, but how can they overcome ‘process
paralysis’
• Big Data
‒ Volume, how much?
‒ Velocity, how fast?
‒ Variety, how different?
‒ Total worldwide generated data in 2017 was 2.5 Quintillion
byte, equal to 90% of the entire global historical data of the
world

18. AI in Project Management | APM Research Premise
• Artificial intelligence has the potential to support
knowledge mitigation processes of big data,
whereby artificial intelligence undertakes data
analysis and summarises key outputs
‒“How can project managers leverage big data
knowledge mitigation through elements of artificial
intelligence in complex projects?”

19. AI in Project Management | APM Research Premise
• A growing paradigm of artificial intelligence
research and practice, is focused on its ability to
mitigate knowledge from large sets of unstructured
and structured data.
• Effectively, artificial intelligence offers an
opportunity to hone the technological prowess and
efficiency of automated computer based machine-
learning processes, to analyse and mitigate
knowledge from big data sets to enhance human
decision making.

20. AI in Project Management | APM Research Premise
Conceptual Framework

21. AI in Project Management | APM Research Premise
12 Months Research Process
• Stage 1
‒ Premise
‒ Qualitative Data Collection
‒ Analysis
• Stage 2
‒ Quantitative Data Collection
‒ Analysis
‒ Initial Findings
• Stage 3
‒ Disseminate Findings Research Conference
• Stage 4
‒ APM Showcase
‒ Final Report
‒ Journal paper Development

22. Professor Klaus Schwab
• “Unprecedented and simultaneous advances in Artificial Intelligence
(AI), robotics, the internet of things, autonomous vehicles, 3D
printing, nanotechnology, bio-technology, materials science, energy
storage, quantum computing...are redefining industries, blurring
traditional boundaries, and creating new opportunities”
• “The changes are so profound that, from the
perspective of human history, there has never been
a time of greater promise or potential peril.”
Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Klaus Schwab. In Geneva: World Economic Forum

23. Thank you, any questions?
Nicholas.Dacre@Southampton.ac.uk