Recently, I have had many business executives ask me to describe the AI data value chain, so here is a deliberately simple two pager that compares the data chain to the oil production cycle. The lifecycle of oil from a raw commodity to a usable product that powers the world economy is a useful proxy to understand how data and AI is transforming the world. It starts with raw items – oil and data Oil follows a clear journey from the well to the consumed product, a similar trajectory applies to data.