measurement
What It Means
Measurement is the systematic process of assigning values, numbers, or categories to describe characteristics of something you want to understand or track. In AI systems, this includes both quantitative measurement (numerical metrics like accuracy rates or processing times) and qualitative measurement (understanding context, user behavior, or why certain outcomes occur through observation and analysis).
Why Chief AI Officers Care
Effective measurement is essential for demonstrating AI system performance, meeting regulatory requirements, and making data-driven decisions about AI investments. Without proper measurement frameworks, CAIOs cannot prove ROI, identify bias or fairness issues, ensure compliance with emerging AI regulations, or systematically improve AI system performance over time.
Real-World Example
A CAIO implementing a customer service chatbot needs quantitative measurements like response accuracy (85% correct answers) and response time (average 2.3 seconds), plus qualitative measurements through user interviews to understand why customers abandon conversations mid-chat, revealing that the bot's tone feels impersonal even when providing correct information.
Common Confusion
Many organizations think measurement only means collecting numbers and metrics, missing the critical qualitative aspects that explain the 'why' behind the data. Others confuse measurement with monitoring - measurement is the systematic assignment of values to understand performance, while monitoring is the ongoing observation of those measured values over time.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare AI, measurement encompasses clinical performance metrics (sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy), ...
Finance: In finance, measurement encompasses quantifying risk exposure, performance metrics, and regulatory compliance through st...
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Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"(Quantitative) (1) act or process of assigning a number or category to an entity to describe an attribute of that entity; (2) assignment of numbers to objects in a systematic way to represent properties of the object; (3) use of a metric to assign a value (e.g., a number or category) from a scale to an attribute of an entity; (4) set of operations having the object of determining a value of a measure; (5) assignment of values and labels to aspects of software engineering work products, processes, and resources plus the models that are derived from them, whether these models are developed using statistical or other techniques; (6) figure, extent, or amount obtained by measuring"Source: aime_measurement_2022, citing ISO/IEC 24765
"(Qualitative) (1) a way of learning about social reality [...][that uses] approaches [...] to explore, describe, or explain social phenomen[a]; unpack the meaning people ascribe to activities, situations, events, or [artifacts]; build a depth of understanding about some aspect of social life; build "thick descriptions" (see Clifford Geertz, 1973) of people in naturalistic settings; explore new or underresearched areas; or make micro-macro links (illuminate connections between individuals-groups and institutional and/or cultural contexts). (2) [approaches that] can make visible and unpick the mechanisms which link particular variables, by looking at the explanations, or accounts, provided by those involved. "Source: Leavy_OHQR_Intro
"Qualitative measurement engages research methods and techniques to provide information about the nature of phenomenon. Qualitative methods are designed for systematic collection, organization, description and interpretation of non-numeric (textual, verbal or visual) data (Hammarberg et. al, 2016). Qualitative measurement generally answers questions about why, for whom, when, and how something is (or is not) observed, whereas quantitative measurement answers questions about what is observed. Elements assessed using qualitative measurement may include contextual norms or meaning, socio-cultural dynamics, individual or collective beliefs, and complex multi-component interactions or interventions (Busetto et. al, 2020)."Source: Hammarberg_2016_Busetto_2020
"Documentation of assumptions and methods used is a foundational element of qualitative measurement, as the choice of single or combined methods is made based on the phenomenon and its context (Russell & Gregory, 2003). When appropriately paired, qualitative and quantitative measurement can provide corroboration or elaboration, demonstrate use cases, and/or identify conditions for complementarity or contradiction (Brannen, 2005)."Source: Russell_2003_Brannen_2005
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