CSIRO Outlines Framework for Smarter AI Decisions Before Projects Commence.
CSIRO Outlines Framework for Smarter AI Decisions – As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in systems supporting electronic security, automation, and smart infrastructure, decision-makers are being urged to apply more rigorous evaluation before proceeding with AI projects.
A CSIRO paper authored by Stefan Hajkowicz presents a structured framework to assess AI investments, aiming to reduce the high failure rate of many AI initiatives, which fail to meet operational imperatives.
The paper notes that while AI projects can support automation, threat detection, and operational efficiency, more than 80 per cent fail due to poor initial selection rather than technical limitations.
Effective evaluation requires not only technical and financial analysis but also stakeholder engagement, risk planning, and system integration. The goal is to avoid technology-led projects with unclear objectives and instead focus on those tightly aligned with business or community needs.
Key evaluation areas include data availability and governance, upfront and lifecycle costs, strategic alignment, and ethical risks such as bias or lack of transparency. The framework also highlights the importance of adaptable project planning, qualitative reasoning, and integration with broader systems of people, processes, and technology.
The use of multiple decision-making tools such as benefit-cost analysis, real options analysis, and multiple-criteria scorecards is recommended, particularly when projects involve non-financial outcomes like public trust, safety, or service equity. Scenario planning and sensitivity analysis are also encouraged to account for technical uncertainty and shifting operational environments.
The paper recommends managing AI initiatives as a portfolio of investments, balancing high-reward projects with lower-risk implementations. This approach, drawn from modern portfolio theory, can help organisations increase the chances of success while maintaining flexibility to adapt as technologies and use cases evolve.
CSIRO stresses that AI’s value in critical infrastructure, city systems, and business operations is not found in the technology alone, but in how well it integrates with the operational environment.
That means evaluation methods must consider broader impact on workflows, system performance, human operators, user and public outcomes. You can read the full framework below or find more SEN news here.
“CSIRO Outlines Framework for Smarter AI Decisions Before Projects Commence.”
