AI, the Magician in Your Pocket: But Can You Trust the Trick?

Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT made its grand entrance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the new omnipresent force. It’s like the almighty—everywhere, all-knowing, and oddly comforting. From coffee chats to corporate strategy meetings, AI is being summoned like a digital genie. But unlike the genie, we’re still figuring out what the wishes actually mean.

So, what is AI, really?

Let’s start from the basics. AI is a technology trained on massive datasets to mimic human behavior. Imagine a super-intelligent child who never forgets, never sleeps, and always has an answer—whether you asked the right question or not. The real magic lies in transformers, or Large Language Models (LLMs), which power tools like ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Google Gemini, Meta Llama, and Copilot.

But here’s the kicker: even the creators of these models don’t fully understand how the outputs are generated. It’s like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat—except the magician doesn’t know how the rabbit got there either. The data flows, the answers appear, and we all nod in awe. But when AI starts influencing strategic decisions, the question becomes: How do we trust something we don’t fully understand?

Let’s go one layer deeper.

AI isn’t about creating original ideas. It’s about retrieving and repackaging existing knowledge—sometimes hidden, sometimes forgotten. In today’s world, where every tap, swipe, and scroll generates data, forgetting is human. AI steps in not as a creator, but as a curator. It’s your personal librarian, consultant, and brainstorming buddy rolled into one.

Here’s a better analogy: AI is like your personal productivity sidekick. It doesn’t wear a cape, but it might as well.

• A Product Manager can use it to uncover hidden customer needs and design smarter features. For example, one PM used ChatGPT to simulate user personas based on Reddit threads and ended up redesigning an onboarding flow that increased retention by 30%.

• A Fund Manager can back-test investment hypotheses with lightning speed. One quirky use? An analyst used Claude.ai to compare the tone of quarterly earnings calls with stock performance—turns out, “cautiously optimistic” CEOs often outperform “bullish” ones.

• A Consultant or Sales Leader can tailor solutions to client needs—both the obvious and the latent. A sales head used Copilot to analyze CRM notes and discovered that clients who asked about sustainability—even casually—were 40% more likely to convert when offered ESG-aligned solutions.

But here’s the real challenge: it’s not about knowing what to ask, it’s about knowing how to ask. Prompting is the new skillset. The better your question, the better your answer. AI doesn’t replace thinking—it amplifies it.

Now, let’s talk about the real data wizard behind the curtain: Dun & Bradstreet (D&B).

Since 1841, D&B has been building the world’s largest B2B database. Our proprietary data and patented corporate linkage technology are the backbone of quality-driven solutions. This isn’t just data—it’s trusted data. And when AI meets D&B’s data, it’s like giving the magician a map, a compass, and a spotlight.

Here’s where it gets powerful: D&B’s data isn’t just vast—it’s deeply connected. Our linkage technology allows businesses to see relationships between entities that are invisible to most. For example, a client used D&B’s corporate linkage data to identify that a struggling supplier was actually a subsidiary of a thriving conglomerate—saving them from terminating a valuable contract.

D&B’s AI-enabled solutions aren’t just smart—they’re strategically smart. They help clients navigate complex business landscapes with confidence, backed by data that’s been refined over decades. Whether it’s risk management, lead generation, or strategic planning, D&B’s tools are designed to support every step of the journey.

And here’s the kicker: when AI is powered by high-quality, proprietary data like D&B’s, it doesn’t just answer questions—it helps ask better ones. It transforms decision-making from reactive to proactive.

So yes, AI is mysterious. It’s powerful. It’s a little weird. But when paired with trusted data like D&B’s, it becomes the most reliable partner in your business toolkit.

The future isn’t just about artificial intelligence—it’s about augmented intelligence. And with D&B, you’re not just watching the magic—you’re directing the show.