Scrutinizing The Other AI And What Business Leadership Needs to Know

Artificial Intelligence or AI has certainly been front of mind for businesses, investors, consumers, and politicians alike. This new technology while still in its infancy has the potential to redefine how human beings work, create, and interact. While AI is being seen as a great disruptor in the course of human events, we must acknowledge the other AI which has its own level of importance in a changing business landscape. The other AI I am referring to is the Anxiety of Indifference. As we enter this new epoch of change, there is a shift where the backdrop of innovative technologies, and styles of working to heightened culture wars are not only shaping our modern sensibility but highlighting an undercurrent of anxiety and indifference. ?This feeling of dread or uneasiness combined with a lack of interest or apathy can be a deadly combination. Leadership needs to be cognizant of the other AI and how it is impacting organizational growth.

?We are certainly seeing examples of the other AI in terms of the DEI debate. Leaders must ask themselves the questions, what are they weary of, and how does this lack of concern benefit the business? In a moment of elevated polarization, these challenges of seeming woke, and embracing levels of difference are seen as a possible negative. Though the data shows that in business the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion has nothing to do with critical race theory or even ADA compliance, but rather something deeper, the significance that human variation is good for business both internally and externally providing value from a human capital side, customer acquisition and increased revenue. The question with the other AI that is most overpowering is, what do we fear?

?It is the other AI that nourishes our deep-seated fears and plays on our biases and preconceptions. In doing so, organizations limit their capacity for innovation, creativity, and growth. So how do organizational leaders engage in mitigating this type of AI and lean in toward discovering a new path of growth? First, leadership must recognize individually and collectively the greatest challenges ahead and what is causing these levels of apprehension. It is in this moment by acknowledging these pain points that one moves away from indifference and creates a level of action. It is these degrees of action that become the antidote to apathy.

?Whether one is a startup or a robust organization, they are all prone to the other AI which is a malady that can metastasize quickly. This is a moment where organizational leadership can start developing a new framework to broaden their perspective when it comes to areas such as DEI, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Accessibility. While some may consider these marginal to fundamental business goals, perhaps they should think again. These elements are imperative to the future of business in the digital age.

I hope that while the emergence of AI in the realm of technology is profound, one needs to be mindful of the other AI and recognize that unwarranted fear and apathy leads us down a very treacherous path that embraces a true loss of competitive advantage.

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