Finding the Real Impact of AI: Beyond the Noise

When I started building iOS apps in 2009, it was an incredibly exciting time. The possibilities seemed endless. A new device that could shape-shift into any interface you could dream of. The static buttons on previous devices were no longer design or engineering constraints. Today we take sophisticated multi-touch glass displays for granted, but at the time it was the wild west filled with excitement and opportunity. Some incredible applications were developed.

There was also a flood of useless imitation apps. No offense if you're the creator of a fart app 😷

In a very similar way, AI is an unlock to previously restrictive human-to-computer interactions. I'm inspired by some of the amazing things being created, but I also see a similar pattern of useless (or over-hyped) creations that add little to no value.

So how can we use this incredible technology to make our world a better place? There's endless opportunity, but we need to start thinking outside the echo chambers and understand both the technical capabilities and how they thread into the products we're building today.

Three AI Challenges Every Team is Facing

1. Understanding What's Actually Possible

AI has opened doors to features that just a few years ago seemed impossible or impractical. But separating realistic opportunities from sci-fi wishful thinking isn't always clear. What can current AI technology actually deliver for your specific use case?

2. Deciding What Should Be Built

Just because we can build something doesn't mean we should. In this new world of AI abundance, the hardest question isn't "can we?" but "should we?" Which AI features will create real business impact versus just adding complexity, cost and distraction?

3. Actually Building It Right

Even with a clear vision, implementing AI that scales, performs reliably, and integrates seamlessly with existing systems requires both deep technical knowledge and product thinking. The intersection of the two is where real opportunities are born.

How Ravn Helps Navigate These Challenges

Discovery & Exploration: We start by understanding your product and users, then explore what's genuinely possible with current AI capabilities. We want to hear your ideas and discuss how they could be implemented—plus share insights from our own AI experience.

Strategic Focus: We help evaluate which AI features will drive actual business impact. Through an iterative approach, we can identify high-value opportunities and create a roadmap that balances innovation with practical results.

Expert Implementation: Our team has hands-on experience building AI-powered applications that scale. We understand both the technology and the product challenges that come with integrating AI into real-world systems.

Real Impact in Action

Here's a recent example: we built a system that processes profile PDFs and uses AI to compare any two profiles, surfacing fascinating connections that would be nearly impossible to spot manually. It identifies shared interests, complementary skills, potential collaboration opportunities, communication style matches, and even flags potential friction points—all to help facilitate more meaningful human connections.

What makes this powerful isn't just the pattern recognition—it's that the AI can synthesize subtle details across different sections of lengthy documents and present insights in natural language. Instead of generic matching based on keywords, it understands context and nuance to reveal connections that feel genuinely valuable and often surprising.

The key wasn't the AI itself—it was understanding how people actually want to connect and using AI to surface insights that make those connections feel effortless.

Where AI Stops Being a Buzzword

At Ravn, we've always believed in building technology that makes a real positive impact in users' lives. The magic happens at the intersection of deep technical knowledge and product thinking—that's where AI stops being a buzzword and starts driving real results.

Ready to explore what's actually possible for your product? Let's start with a discovery conversation to discuss your challenges and explore how AI could make a real impact in your business.