Here's how you can enhance your career growth by leveraging artificial intelligence as a thought leader.

To kickstart career growth with AI, embrace the technology beyond tech expertise. Learn AI basics like machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics. Understanding these concepts enables task optimization, industry forecasting, and personalized customer experiences. Lead initiatives and discussions, establishing yourself as a forward-thinking professional in your field.

Get started with (gen) AI both in professional and private live. Most learning happens in action in this field. Test domains where you are knowledgable and others to learn about quality and limitations. Do not forget to reflect on your experience and how your way of interacting with AI impacts the result. Remember, that you are not using a tool - but you are learning a new form of human-machine-collaboration.

Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) as a thought leader can significantly enhance your career growth. Here are some practical steps to consider: 1. Stay informed. Continuously learn about AI advancements, trends, and applications. Understand how AI impacts various industries and domains. 2. Develop AI literacy. Familiarize yourself with AI concepts, terminology, and technologies. This will enable you to engage in informed discussions and contribute valuable insights. 3. Thought leadership content. Create and share thought-provoking content related to AI. Write articles, blog posts, or give talks on AI’s implications, ethics, and future possibilities.

The good news is that most of the 'base' AI tools have a free layer. So you don't have to pay to start, making it easier to embrace AI. Start with the large language models (LLMs)—ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Notice how each has strengths and weaknesses. Play around with prompts and add as much detail as you can when asking them to do something for you. Assume it's a teenager on work experience and give it step-by-step instructions in a similar fashion.

Deepening your understanding of AI is crucial. Continuously learning through courses, webinars, and industry publications is key to staying updated with the latest advancements. Engaging in hands-on projects allows you to apply AI concepts practically.

Continuous learning is crucial in the tech-driven world, including AI. Seek out educational resources like online courses and workshops focused on AI to enhance understanding and effectively apply solutions in your domain. Staying updated on AI trends demonstrates innovation and self-improvement, enabling you to guide others and influence strategic AI use in your industry.

Audit courses, programs, etc., to ensure they will give you what you need. It's easy to get shiny object syndrome and book yourself onto a program purely because you see the letters 'AI' and think, "I need to be on that program because everyone is talking about AI." Instead, focus on your current business pain points. Struggle with content creation? Find a program, workshop, etc., specifically on how to engineer great prompts to use on LLMs (such as ChatGPT and Gemini) so you can create on-brand content at 5X your current speed. Worried about your slow customer service? Focus on programs that teach you about AI chatbots and how to 'train' AI with your expertise so it can act on your behalf for basic queries. And so on.

Leveraging AI can propel your career growth as a thought leader. Stay updated on AI trends, incorporate AI tools into your workflow, and create content exploring AI's impact on your field. Engage with AI communities, collaborate with experts, and speak at AI events to expand your network and share insights. Embrace continuous learning, lead AI initiatives, and position yourself as a visionary in AI ethics and innovation. By integrating AI into your thought leadership approach, you can stay ahead of the curve and make meaningful contributions to your industry's future.

Networking is vital for career growth, and AI enhances its effectiveness. Use AI-powered tools to analyze your network and identify influencers, mentors, or collaborators. Engage with them for learning and partnership opportunities. Participate in AI-focused online forums to broaden your network and stay updated on industry developments, fostering collaborative innovation and shared success.

Innovation drives thought leadership, and AI fuels new ideas. Use AI to identify market gaps or process inefficiencies to address. Develop AI-powered products/services or enhance existing ones. Through wise innovation with AI, solve real-world problems, demonstrating leadership in change. Innovative solutions showcase expertise, becoming a cornerstone of your professional brand.

The good news here is that, in order to get the best out of AI, you will inadvertently learn how to explain complex AI concepts to a broad audience. To get the best out of AI, we need to learn how to speak with it (and it's NOT how you speak to a human). E.g. If I asked you to make me a cup of tea, I would assume you know what tea is, how to make it, where the kitchen is, etc. With AI, you need to be aware that it may not understand all the 'embedded' instructions that you've committed because you assumed it would understand. Getting the best out of AI involves you becoming incredibly clear about what you want it to do. This skill comes in handy when you need to explain to others about complex AI concepts. You'll find that you don't assume

1. Network with experts. Connect with AI professionals, researchers, and practitioners. Attend conferences, webinars, and workshops to expand your network. 2. Collaborate across disciplines. AI intersects with diverse fields. Collaborate with experts from data science, engineering, business, and other domains to gain holistic insights. 3. Embrace ethical AI. Advocate for responsible AI practices. Address biases, transparency, and fairness in AI systems. 4. Lead AI initiatives. Propose and lead AI projects within your organization. Showcase your ability to drive innovation and solve real-world problems. As AI continues to evolve, thought leaders who understand its impact and contribute meaningful insights will stand out in their careers.

Sure … you can take courses in AI, read up on ML, delve into specifics… I suggest a different tactic. Learning by friendship. Sit down with your preferred bot. I still prefer ChatGPT. Treat her like a friend. Have long conversations with her. Create art. Play around, and have fun. I can think of no better way. BTW - I got early academic access to ChatGPT. Back then, every single conversation tended to end with me being hit with ?this question is not allowed? or something similar. Challenging the boundaries of the bots self awareness wasn’t cool at that time… :)

Don't get overwhelmed with what feels like a myriad of AI tools. Keep in mind that most are not fully-fledged AIs themselves but 'wrappers', i.e. a branded version of a more generic AI. For example, the vast majority of image AIs use Stable Diffusion in the backend (one of the main 3 image AIs along with DALL-E and Mid Journey). There may be 1000+ of these tools, but they're all fueled by just one AI. Also, I've witnessed a 'standardisation' happening across tools. This means the tools are starting to use similar language, similar set-ups, etc. which means even a new tool will feel somewhat familiar (a bit like driving a new car—it's a little odd, but you can still drive it!