Investigate, Implement, Improvise: Three Steps for Navigating the Latest Generative AI Boom

Over seventy years ago, Alan Turing penned one of the first essays on artificial intelligence. In it, he presciently described our present situation: “We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” Then as now, AI’s long-term prospects are hazy, but its short-term future is rife with challenges and opportunities.

That shouldn’t be news to anyone: Our current AI boom is just the latest since Turing helped invent the concept. When I began my career at Deloitte in 1991, AI had already been used to develop chatbots, and just a few years later, it enabled an IBM computer to beat legendary chess master Gary Kasparov. Deloitte, along with the greater business community, has been immersed in AI for years (see pic directly below from 2018!), and our professionals have long built and implemented tech-enabled solutions. Now, as Generative AI sweeps onto the scene, we are advising business leaders through the latest upsides and obstacles.

Many executives are already trying the waters: the latest Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey reports that 55 percent of CEOs are evaluating and experimenting with Generative AI—and there’s reason to believe that number will only continue to rise. Their outlook is generally positive, with majorities believing this innovation will increase efficiency and growth. Still, Generative AI’s ceiling remains uncertain, presenting a challenge to any executive trying to stay ahead of change without betting the farm on a potential fad.

Having spent my career at the intersection of business and technology—with a particular focus on ethical, equitable technology—I believe that the best thing we can do to prepare ourselves for the future of Generative AI is just that: prepare. So, I propose a three-step approach for business leaders, a strategy that applies not just to Generative AI, but every emergent technology.

Step 1: Investigate

I’ve long advocated for executives to become “tech savvy.” Before making any decisions about a particular technology, you should familiarize yourself with it, have a foundational understanding of its potential impact for driving change and opportunity, and then infuse your strategies with that first-hand knowledge.

For example, I wasn’t sold on the metaverse as a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity, but I knew I needed to get a handle on it. I quizzed my colleagues who were budding experts, and then I dipped my own toes into virtual reality. Yes, I put on a V/R headset, and yes, there are pictures (not included). I might not have seen the future, but I did see for myself.

I’ve experimented with Generative AI itself, too. Last fall, I tested out a popular chatbot powered by Generative AI by asking it to write my short bio. The first few sentences were accurate, but by the second paragraph, the bio had devolved into a collection of inaccuracies: it seemed the chatbot had confused me with another female C-suite leader. That experiment crystalized so many of the contradictions inherent to Generative AI: it’s powerful, but imperfect; it’s independent, but requires human oversight; it’s biased, but it’s trainable.

Everyone should experiment with Generative AI to learn these contradictions themselves. Crucially, though, investigation doesn’t equal immersion. You don’t need to become a computer scientist. You just need to know enough to make informed decisions—and, critically, to seek out the actual experts.

Step 2: Implement

Once you’re sufficiently fluent with the technology, you can begin to lay out a vision for how it can show up within your organization. Again, less is more in these initial stages. You don’t want to go overboard, but you also don’t want to be the leader who dismissed the internet as overhyped.

Instead, make an honest assessment of your company’s needs and goals. Ask yourself : How can this technology increase efficiency and productivity? How much training and acclimating will our employees need? What role could this tech play in our business five or ten years down the line? And who will be most impacted—both positively and negatively—by its uptake?

Of course, new technology always carries risks, but the mere presence of risk shouldn’t deter you from experimenting altogether. The same Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey revealed a little over a third of CEOs are implementing Generative AI in some form. That number will increase if we continue to examine not only the challenges to AI implementation, but proactive ways to address them.

Step 3: Improvise

You may think Generative AI just doesn’t fit within your business strategy. But you’ll only know for sure if you try it out—and then, try it out again. It may be the case that AI does have a place in your organization, just in a different way than you anticipated.

A technology like this one, which seems to be evolving exponentially, demands that you evolve with it. That requires flexibility, openness, and commitment. But it also requires a certain distance. You can’t spell “improvise” without “improve.” Don’t just change for the sake of changing: Keep your concrete goals, and your organization’s core values, nonnegotiable, while leaving the exact way you’ll achieve those goals and values open to discussion.

Such a stance is a vulnerable one. You need courage to maintain it—the courage to admit mistakes, feel uncertain, and take a leap into the future. Indeed, courage is the ultimate virtue behind each of these steps, and in this tumultuous moment more broadly. We might not know much beyond what Turing called “the short distance ahead”—but we do know how to meet change with a brave face, a clear strategy, and an open mind.