The Whisper Smart Devil and the Insanely Deep Blue Sea

Let me start by saying that if I was a CIO, General Counsel, or CSO, blocking access to generative AI tools on your corporate network makes sense. I hear you. There are enough screenshots of ChatGPT generating hilariously wrong answers and artists throwing their hands up at large-scale diffusion models generating seemingly original art in their style.

But I want you to consider a bit of technology history here. In the late 90s, companies went through a similar dilemma when it came to the internet, but well before Google arrived on the scene with a search engine that just worked, companies had come to terms with it - it became a case of "well, I don't think we can attract any employees if we block the internet", and that's just for starters. On a smaller scale, companies went through the smartphone revolution by first preventing any and all corporate information on personal devices before becoming comfortable with modern device management tools (like Intune).

But as they say, it is tempting to be wedded to one's favourite analogies, but as someone who has been playing around with every single AI tool that has been released in just the last few months, I (and my extended team) can tell you that this upcoming wave is just something else. If the original internet was a cat let loose among chickens, the generative AI era is Cocaine Bear.

Let's see some examples

1. The Competitive Edge: Employees using AI-powered tools like ChatGPT are experiencing a significant boost in productivity. For instance, customer service teams using LLMs are able to handle a much higher volume of customer queries, freeing them up to address more complex issues. The difference between you and a company adopting these tools is not just night and day, but a few years! Open source tools like langchain can now help companies plugin their knowledge base and query it with natural language!
2. Democratizing Access to Expertise: Generative AI tools have the potential to provide expert knowledge to employees who may not have specialized training in a specific area. Right now, GPT-4 gives you high-quality, well-documented code for requirements you can state in simple natural language! This has the potential to transform the entire IT landscape! All code is now effectively Low-code! Another example is AI-powered legal or financial advisors that can assist non-experts in navigating complex regulations and financial analysis. This democratization of expertise can lead to more well-informed decisions and increased efficiency in day-to-day tasks. We will move from an era of super specialization to an era of generalists who know how to use AI in areas outside of their immediate expertise, and this has the potential to change organizational structures ground-up in the near future!
3. Enhancing Creativity and Innovation: My personal favourite use of GPT-4 (which, I have to say, feels about 100 times better than the current, free version of ChatGPT) is as an all-knowing brainstorming partner. If you know how to write the right prompts, it can help teams generate new ideas and solve problems faster. By simulating human-like conversation, these tools can provide fresh perspectives and foster a collaborative environment that drives innovation.
4. Personalized Learning and Development: As someone who has designed and built large-scale learning platforms for TCS, I can tell you that generative AI is a game changer. It can tailor training programs very precisely to individual employees' needs, helping to upskill your workforce more effectively. This personalization can lead to increased employee satisfaction, retention, and overall organizational performance. Just take a look at Khanmigo and you'll see what I mean
5. Improved Decision-Making: One of the biggest categories of work in any large enterprise is support teams that crunch numbers and generate reports and analytics that help with decision-making. Upcoming tools like M365 Copilot will democratize that by letting anyone work with large volumes of data and make sense of it without knowing the first thing about advanced Excel, Python, or R. By enabling more people to derive insights in real-time from data, companies can optimize their strategies, better allocate resources, and identify potential risks before they escalate.
6. Content is Queen: If you are in a digital marketing role, generative AI tools like Midjourney , Eleven Labs and Wonder Dynamics will turbocharge the ability to create stunning visuals and even entire videos in a very short time. You can go from concept to finished product in hours!

In conclusion, while it's essential to consider security and legal implications, companies that choose to take a conservative approach to AI tools risk missing out on these game-changing benefits. To put it in perspective - I strongly believe that this is a bigger leap in personal productivity than even the original internet or smartphone. Of course, a good bit of it feels like the usual Silicon Valley hype machine, but there is something different about this - In just one month, we've gone from one company that hogged all the AI spotlight (OpenAI) to thousands of companies and a ton of open source variants .

Instead of avoiding the technology altogether and adopting a wait-and-watch approach, I strongly suggest implementing an agile approach of giving access to a small, influential group of employees across the organization, setting up appropriate IT and Legal safeguards, and creating a first draft of responsible AI usage policies to ensure the ethical and secure deployment of AI tools within your organization.

In conclusion, we are at the dawn of the AI era, and we firmly believe that embracing these tools will revolutionize the way we work. By integrating AI-powered solutions into day-to-day operations, companies can transform productivity and maintain a competitive edge in this rapidly evolving business landscape. Now is the time to invest in AI adoption and reap the benefits of the AI revolution. Don't let your organization be left behind. Remember how we look back at the conservatism that blocked corporate access to the internet back in the day? Don't be that person for the AI era.

What is your company's emerging stance on generative AI? How has it helped you personally become more productive? Share your stories in the comments section!

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