‘Digital twins’ transform business according to research in the Harvard Business Review

A Charles Sturt University AI expert and colleague say new efficiencies are within reach for businesses of all sizes, with the ability to marry generative AI tools with 'digital twin' technology to model organisational processes and supply chains.

• A Charles Sturt University artificial intelligence (AI) expert and a colleague say new efficiencies are within reach for organisations of all sizes
• In their recent article in the Harvard Business Reviewthey observe modelling of organisational strategic decision-making prior to its execution has been unreliable, until now
• They argue this has changed with the application of generative AI and advances in 'digital twin' technology now offering innovative cost-effective solutions that are revolutionising strategic decision-making for organisations of all sizes

A Charles Sturt University AI expert and colleague say new efficiencies are within reach for businesses of all sizes, with the ability to marry generative AI tools with 'digital twin' technology to model organisational processes and supply chains.

They argue it's worth organisations, large and small, reconsidering generative AI-enhanced digital twins to boost the success of strategic decision-making.

Executive Director of the Charles Sturt University Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Futures Institute (AICFI) Professor Ganna Pogrebna (pictured above, right) and Dr Graham Kenny, a recognised expert in strategy and performance measurement, make their case in their article 'Digital twins can help you make better strategic decisions' recently published in the Harvard Business Review.

They say business managers have long dreamed of trialling their strategic decision-making prior to its execution, although the methods available haven't been very reliable, until now.

Even when handled well, strategic change can be extremely disruptive to organisations and, at its worst, bad strategy can demolish a business.

But this has changed with the application of generative AI and advances in digital twin technology.

Professor Pogrebna said while predicting the impact of complex change scenarios has traditionally been a 'roll of the dice', there is now an accurate and accessible way to forecast the outcomes of such scenarios.

"Introducing generative AI-enhanced digital twins is a cutting-edge technology that combines the power of artificial intelligence with digital twin systems," Professor Pogrebna said.

"Digital twins were previously used for physical objects like wind turbines or building sites but can now be applied to organisational processes and supply chains.

"This technology is no longer exclusive to large corporations; it is now within reach for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well."

Professor Pogrebna said by leveraging generative AI tools, SMEs can analyse existing customer data and generate detailed virtual models of various customer segments.

"These digital twins are fast, inexpensive and advanced, providing managers with unprecedented flexibility to experiment with changes before implementing them," she said.

"CEOs and senior executives can now trial their strategic decision-making prior to execution, fundamentally rewriting the rule book on strategy design."

"This technology is no longer exclusive to large corporations; its reduced cost makes it accessible to small and medium enterprises as well, to analyse existing customer data and generate detailed virtual models of various customer segments."

The Charles Sturt University AICFI is well advanced in the development and application of generative AI digitals twins in agriculture.

This was formalised with the announcement earlier this year of the award of a $1.59 million grant to the AICFI and the Charles Sturt Gulbali AgriPark to lead the AgriTwins project as part of CSIRO's Next Generation Graduates Program.

The AICFI plans to recruit 12 new PhD students to create 15 digital twins in agriculture and it is also in the early stage of discussions for the use of digital twins in defence and mining.

Media Note:

To arrange interviews, contact Bruce Andrews at Charles Sturt Media on mobile 0418 669 362 or via [email protected]

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