What to do if you're feeling outpaced by AI
AI is moving fast and, let’s be honest, it can feel (very!) overwhelming to keep up, especially if it’s outside your comfort zone or usual realms of work. Whether we like it or not, AI is the future – we have to get on board in some capacity or we risk being overtaken by others who are being brave and giving AI a go. Lots of teams and businesses are adopting new technologies like AI but there are still heaps of people out there who know that AI is here, but haven't really got a clue how they can use it. Many leaders I speak to feel this way but are hesitant to admit it. So how do you bridge this gap quickly and start leading meaningful conversations about how AI can support your team?
Focus on generative AI
It’s generative AI that’s likely to be of use in most role. That’s the type of AI that can produce content. Plenty of professionals are already using it for workshop content ideas, suggesting gaps in current materials, and providing guidance on what types of learning resources might be best suited to delivering on a particular topic. And you can simply open ChatGPT (search for it and it’ll come up), type in your first prompt, and off you go on your AI journey.
You’ll soon discover what most of us have:
It’s really helpful for basic things.
Everything it says needs to be taken with a pinch/tablespoon/small bucket of salt.
It all needs to be made much better by your expertise and critical thinking skills so that you end up with something that AI has done perhaps the first 20% on and you’ve done the rest.
The better your initial prompt is, and your subsequent instructions to get AI to alter what it’s delivered to you, the better the output.
What’s amazing though is just how easy it is to have a go and, within 20 minutes, you know so much more than you did about how to use AI.
Talk to your team
Armed with my four helpful hints above and your own knowledge of what it’s like to use generative AI, you can now have a conversation with your team about what you want it to be used for and what you don’t. You should also admit the gaps in your knowledge and encourage your team to do the same as it’ll make for a much more positive conversation where you can genuinely find out what they are thinking and take time to reflect.
3 resources to help your understanding of generative AI:
A great explainer from McKinsey on what Generative AI is: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-generative-ai
A leader’s guide to AI from Swiss university, IMD: https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/artificial-intelligence/a-real-leaders-guide-to-ai/
How d: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/talk-your-team-using-ai-harvard-business-review/
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