Artificial Intelligence as a partner for Professional Growth

There have been many moments that have changed our lives, some personal and some professional. When we delve deeper, we always find a common ELEMENT: TECHNOLOGY. Today, I want to share some reflections:

1. Computers in the 90s allowed us to gain speed in the way we did our work. In my case, as a student, it was my main tool along with books to learn.
2. The cellphone enabled faster connections to facilitate collaboration regardless of distance.
3. The internet democratized access to information and more connections that accelerated the process of globalization.

All these changes and many more leveraged what Alvin Toffler mentioned in the third wave of power, the construction of a digital village. This "village" has been further enhanced at the organizational level through the concept of digital transformation and the search for efficiencies to add more value to our society.

This transformation has also been enhanced because there are fewer "industrial" workers and more "knowledge" workers. In the last 3 years, it has been further accelerated thanks to the COVID19 pandemic, and investments in what we call Artificial Intelligence (AI) doubled (from 71 to 177 trillion USD).

In the last year, in particular, access was given to one of the most simplified tools for knowledge workers called CHAT GPT, there were many for years, however, they had not achieved mass adoption (in 5 days they surpassed one million users).

The role of technology in knowledge workers

All of this has changed the way we work, and as "knowledge workers," we must be willing to adopt new technologies to continue improving our performance. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can help us process large amounts of data, identify patterns and trends, and make more informed decisions. I want to dedicate the last words of this article to share how we can take advantage of AI as a partner for our professional growth.

Professional growth is a continuous process that ends up being INFINITE and involves acquiring new skills, knowledge, and competencies to improve our performance capacity at work. Technology, and particularly AI, is becoming that essential tool for processing large amounts of data and learning from them, identifying patterns and trends, and thus making more informed decisions.

AI can be an effective lever to improve our competencies as knowledge workers. AI can help us automate routine tasks such as data analysis, report generation, and research, allowing us to focus on tasks of higher value.

Some specific examples...

Chatbots: Chatbots are software programs that can interact with customers through online chats or social networks. Using AI, chatbots can learn from customer interactions to provide more accurate and personalized responses in the future. In fact, a study found that 47% of companies are using chatbots to improve the customer experience.

GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer): The GPT language model uses AI to predict the next word in a sentence or paragraph. This model can be used in various applications, such as creating automatic summaries, translating languages, and generating marketing content. In fact, the GPT-3 language model is capable of producing high-quality content that is difficult to distinguish from content produced by a human.

Virtual Personal Assistants: Virtual personal assistants, such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, use AI to understand user questions and provide accurate answers. These assistants can also perform tasks such as scheduling meetings and searching for information online, allowing knowledge workers to focus on higher-value tasks.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA): RPA uses AI to automate manual and repetitive tasks. For example, a financial services company used RPA to automate the account reconciliation process, reducing the time needed to complete the task from two hours to just 10 minutes.

Final Thoughts

AI can be a powerful lever for improving our competencies as knowledge workers. It can help us automate routine tasks, personalize learning, and allow us to focus on tasks that require human intelligence and creativity.

However, we must also be mindful of the potential pitfalls of AI, such as bias and ethical concerns, and be critical in evaluating when and how to use it to ensure that we are using it ethically and responsibly. Ultimately, AI is not a magic solution for all our work-related problems, but a tool that can support us in achieving our professional goals and aspirations.

As we continue to navigate the ever-changing technological landscape, let us embrace the potential of AI as a partner in our professional growth and development.

How are you using AI to improve your performance at work? Share your ideas in the comments below.

Here are two links where you can learn more. The first is a weekly newsletter of tools that empower you at work. The second is a bit of the history of AI and what the future might bring.