Decoding tomorrow's tech, today

Dear tech friends,

Welcome to the latest edition of?BCG X Files, our monthly tech-focused BCG X LinkedIn newsletter.?

Without any doubt, the implementation of generative AI will impact our employment landscape, our ways of working, and this impact extends to leaders as well.

I'm beyond thrilled to?introduce?BCG Henderson Institute’s?new first-of-its-kind scientific experiment?on how people can?create–and destroy–value with?GenAI. Special thanks to Fran?ois Candelon and the team for bringing this insightful research to life. Conducted with more than 750 BCG consultants and renowned scholars?from?Harvard Business School,?MIT Sloan School of Management,?The Wharton School, and?the?University of Warwick, this study explores how generative AI can be used in real-world professional settings, focusing on tasks that reflect employees' everyday work. The findings from this research are truly fascinating and could have a profound impact on every industry.

For instance, people mistrust generative AI in areas where it can contribute massive value and trust it too much in areas where the technology?isn’t?competent.

The results clearly show that a blind deployment of next-generation AI in businesses is not the solution. Indeed, when employees use GenAI tools in creative tasks, their performance improves by 90%, but drops by 23% when solving complex problems.

Embracing generative AI requires significant change management, and a key challenge for companies today is striking a balance between harnessing AI for improved performance while preserving creativity. What's even more concerning is that new-generation AI standardizes employee production. To address this, businesses must choose automation wisely, targeting specific tasks rather than entire professions. They should also continuously assess human roles and adjust hiring strategies. The collaboration between humans and advanced AI will be a vital challenge in the next decade.

Explore more insights from this groundbreaking study here.

Want to get the BCG X Files in your inbox every month? Just hit the subscribe button. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us anytime in the comment section below.?

Enjoy!?

-Sylvain Duranton, Global Leader of BCG X

Harnessing Generative AI to Shape the Brands of Tomorrow | Kantar - 5 min read

BCG has joined forces with 凯度 for a collaborative Generative AI Project aimed at identifying applications for automated insight generation and summarization. The goal is to rapidly scale the company's capabilities to bring about an immediate transformative impact on our business.

Medtech Companies Must Move Faster on Generative AI | BCG - 12 min read

To harness the potential of GenAI in medtech, executives must act swiftly and strategically. BCG's 6P framework emphasizes the importance of addressing Policy, Platform, and Partnership issues while considering ethical and data-privacy concerns unique to healthcare.

Where Should Your Company Start with GenAI? | Harvard Business Review - 5 min read

Generative AI presents both long-term issues, like accuracy, privacy, and job impacts, and immediate opportunities and threats for businesses. Using a framework based on the amount of WINS (Words, Images, Numbers, Sounds) work and digitization level, companies can identify their urgency to adopt GenAI, with industries like software and financial services needing immediate adoption, while others can strategically plan for future implementation.

DeepMind’s Cofounder: Generative AI Is Just a Phase. What’s Next Is Interactive AI | MIT Technology Review - 12 min read

Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, is shifting focus from GenAI to interactive AI. He aims to create chatbots that can perform tasks by utilizing external software and human collaboration. He is leading this effort through his billion-dollar company, Inflection, comprising talent from DeepMind, Meta, and OpenAI, and backed by substantial specialized AI hardware from Nvidia.

Growth AI by BCG: Next-Gen Revenue Management | BCG - 2 min read

Growth AI by BCG – BCG X’s holistic suite of AI offerings designed to maximize the growth potential for CPG companies – has been recognized by Promotion Optimization Institute 's 2023 Planning Vendor Panorama Report, with four “Best in Class” distinctions: Artificial Intelligence, Financial Orientation & Simulation, HQ Analytics, and Bespoke RGM Solution.

The Physical Process That Powers a New Type of Generative AI | Quanta Magazine - 7 min read

Max Tegmark of MIT believes that physics can offer significant advancements to AI by replacing the inscrutable algorithms of neural networks with equations of physical processes. Tegmark's team introduced the Poisson flow generative model (PFGM) that represents data using charged particles, and its upgraded version, PFGM++, can simulate a wide range of physical dimensions, offering flexibility between robustness and ease of training, potentially revolutionizing AI-driven image generation and beyond.

New ‘Droplet Battery’ Could Pave the Way for Miniature Bio-Integrated Devices | University of Oxford Blog - 5 min read

Oxford researchers developed a mini power source inspired by electric eels. It uses nanolitre-sized conductive hydrogel droplets with different salt levels to harness energy from ion gradients. The device runs for over 30 minutes and can be used in wearables, bio-hybrid interfaces, implants, synthetic tissues, and microrobots.

Third-Party AI Tools Pose Increasing Risks for Organizations | MIT Sloan Management Review - 3 min read

As AI technologies become more prevalent, the risks associated with their misuse or errors have increased, leading to potential financial, reputational, and legal repercussions. A report by BCG and MIT Sloan Management Review highlights that 78% of organizations use third-party AI tools, of which 55% experience AI failures. To mitigate these risks, companies have to: expand RAI programs, evaluate third-party AI tools, prepare for potential regulations, involve CEOs actively in RAI initiatives, and invest in responsible AI strategies and teams.

UK’s Competition Watchdog Drafts Principles for ‘Responsible’ Generative AI | TechCrunch - 9 min read

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded an initial review of generative AI, proposing seven principles for its responsible development and use. These principles aim to ensure consumer protection, competition, and accountability for AI outputs, and they address issues such as access, diversity, choice, and transparency, especially concerning third-party AI tools.

Overwhelming Majority of Voters Believe Tech Companies Should be Liable for Harm Caused by AI Models | YouGov Blog - 5 min read

A recent survey from the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute (AIPI) shows that most American voters want AI companies held accountable for harm caused by their tech, supporting AI access restrictions. AIPI, an AI policy think tank, guides policymakers in addressing public concerns and advocating ethical AI oversight.

How AI Can Help us Understand How Cells Work—And Help Cure Diseases | MIT Technology Review - 6 min read

Despite cells being fundamental to understanding diseases, much remains unknown about their intricate functions and interactions. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, leveraging AI, is advancing the concept of a "virtual cell" to simulate and predict cellular behaviors, supported by vast data collection efforts and high-performance computing, aiming to revolutionize scientific discovery and disease treatment.

DeepMind’s New AI Can Predict Genetic Diseases | WIRED - 6 min read

A decade ago, ?iga Avsec shifted from physics to genomics. Now at Google DeepMind, he and his team created AlphaMissense, a machine learning tool based on AlphaFold. It predicts disease-causing genetic variants with 90% accuracy, aiding genetic research and treatment development.

Iron Dust Could Reverse the Course of Climate Change | NY Times - 5 min read

Despite reduced coal use in the U.S., the escalating global energy demand highlights the urgency for innovative climate solutions. Ocean geoengineering, using iron to boost algae growth for carbon absorption, emerges as a promising method, though concerns about its long-term ecological impact persist.

AI Startup Speeds Up the Creation of Climate-Resilient Crops | TechCrunch - 3 min read

Avalo, a startup based in Durham, North Carolina, uses machine learning to speed up climate-resilient crop development. Instead of traditional methods, Avalo pinpoints the genes for desired traits, like heat tolerance, for quicker crop development. Their goal is to democratize advanced genomics, transforming how diverse crops tackle climate change challenges.

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