Welcome to my Futurewise newsletter, where we will discuss the intersections of people, technology, and everything in between. You can learn more about me and what I do here.
Generative AI is here to stay, and the impact is felt at every level of an organization. We will have a shift in how we work, and AI will augment tasks to yield higher productivity. Individuals, companies, and government authorities must contribute to integrating AI into our workplace and everyday lives. In my last article, I shared a few individual strategies to do that. Now, this article is all about companies' role for a better world with AI.
As IBM CEO Arvind Krishna shared, the real opportunity of AI lies in its successful deployment, not just its invention. A successful AI integration will enable businesses to stay relevant in the quickly changing work landscape.
So, how do companies seamlessly integrate AI into their business and make their people feel excited about it? You can read numerous articles on this, with tons of suggestions. Below, I am putting three that resonate with me most:
1. Invest in talent as much as you invest in technology.
Culture comes from Latin ‘cultura’, meaning ‘to cultivate, grow’. Fostering a growth mindset should be the foundation of your company’s culture; reskilling/upskilling enables growth. To successfully integrate AI into the culture, companies must align talent investment with technology to ensure they provide their employees with the necessary tools to grow. A company's success relies on how it prepares its employees for the future.
2. Leaders play a vital role in how their teams perceive AI.
As we adopt AI into our business processes, we must also embrace it in our workplace culture. Leaders must actively engage with their teams to gauge their mindset around AI adoption.
Continuous coaching about the required new skills and the new models of working will help employees cultivate an AI mindset. Leaders are responsible for constant messaging around human-machine partnership, emphasizing human skills (like emotional intelligence, creativity, and decision-making), and leading their teams to excel in those skills. Employees are looking to their leaders to see how AI is a collaborator and enabler, not a treat.
3. Companies should have ethical principles on AI usage.
These are ‘guardrails’ for adopting AI responsibly in terms of work and operating models. The EU just announced a framework for this through the AI Act. At IBM, we have these fundamental principles for AI trust and transparency:
The purpose of AI is to augment human intelligence
Data and insights belong to their creator
New technology, including AI systems, must be transparent and explainable
Our commitment to these principles and continuous communication around them build trust with both our clients and employees.
According to IBM’s 2023 Global AI Adoption Index, AI is good for your business’s bottom line, but that’s just the beginning of what makes it valuable. When a company invests time and energy into ensuring that all employees see the exciting new world with AI, the result is a more efficient workplace and better-engaged employees.
At IBM, we created this new, exciting world and deployed AI to tackle repetitive tasks, helping free up our employees’ time to take on higher value and strategic work. Automation has taken most of the routine paperwork. The initial GenAI use cases IBM focuses on are in 3 categories: Human Resource and talent management, Customer service workflows, and IT processes. In my next article, I will discuss IBM’s HR story of being client zero and how we implemented AI in our HR Processes. Stay tuned!
A collection of references and insights:
To learn more about AI Ethics and building trust in AI: IBM AI Ethics
To explore on how jobs and skills will evolve over the next five years: World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2023
To deep dive on Changing Role of Leadership to embrace AI: IBM Newsroom
IBM’s learning and resources to learn AI skills in less than 1 hour: IBM SkillsBuild
The views expressed in this newsletter are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, company, or colleagues.