Exploring Evaluative AI for SME Strategic Decision-Making at IDEAL 2025
Published:
Next week, I will be presenting my latest research at the 26th International Conference on Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning (IDEAL 2025) in Jaén, one of Europe’s leading conferences on intelligent systems, learning technologies, and AI in practice. The event gathers academics, industry professionals, and practitioners to discuss innovations in AI, machine learning, and decision support systems, making it an IDEAL platform to share applied research in emerging AI methodologies.
In my session, I will present an approach based on the Evaluative AI paradigm, where AI not only provides recommendations after a decision is made but also actively assists humans throughout the decision-making process. This involves:
- Evidence-based co-reasoning: AI supports human decision-makers in evaluating data and evidence.
- Hypothesis testing: AI assists in exploring strategic options through scenario analysis.
- Context-aware reasoning: AI provides decision support that considers organizational context, constraints, and objectives.
The ultimate goal is simple but ambitious: to make responsible, transparent, and participatory decision intelligence feasible for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), without requiring huge budgets or complex infrastructures.
This research is being conducted as part of my Industrial PhD at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) within the Doctorats Industrials program of the Generalitat de Catalunya, following the Design and Creation methodology (Oates, 2006). This approach emphasizes creating solutions that are grounded in real-world practice while maintaining strong theoretical foundations, bridging the gap between academic research and industrial application.
Links and resources
- Article: The full paper is available in the IDEAL 2025 proceedings via Springer here
If you are attending IDEAL 2025, I would love to connect in person and discuss how Evaluative AI can be applied in SMEs to enhance strategic decision-making.
