Déjà vu? Examining Issues in the Adoption of AI for Small and Medium Sized Businesses from Historical Perspectives

The revolution of AI is happening at a breathtaking pace and at a profound level unlike any other technology breakthroughs that we have ever seen before. Huge amounts of capital and human resources investments are propelling AI into new heights at a speed not measured in years but measured in days or weeks. These tremendous changes not only present challenges to resources rich big corporations but also to many small-to-medium sized companies and organizations, which in general lack the understanding and means to quickly adopt new technology breakthroughs. A lot of these companies are eager to embrace AI in their operations but are challenged by either the understanding of AI or how to adopt AI. This research proposes that these challenges can be examined through a historical perspective by looking at what these companies faced when there were other types of technology breakthroughs. Past Information Systems (IS) research has examined many challenges and issues facing these small-to-medium sized companies and should be able to help these companies navigate through the choppy waters of AI adoption by providing clear pathways and strategies.