Change is the only constant. However, the change is only as big as the catalyst that caused the change. In my line of work, there are changes caused by catalysts that are technological or non-technological in nature. An example of a non-technological catalyst in recent years is COVID. This non-technological catalyst created how people worked and interacted. It also affected Digital Adoption heavily due branches and other in person support is unavailable. On the other hand, a technological catalyst like the introduction of the first smartphone (iPhone) has introduced new capabilities based on the device to companies and consumers and has also changed behavior and interactions for both. People have very powerful cameras that take breathtaking photos and video that also allow for Mobile Deposit. Folks can take selfies - something that didn’t exist - and also authenticate in their banking mobile app using the same front-facing camera.
I believe that the introduction combined with the popularization of Generative AI via OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a technological catalyst equal to (if not more than) the introduction of the iPhone that will create huge disruptive change. If it still sounds far-fetched, let’s look at consumer adoption of some popular brands: Spotify took 150 days to get to 1 Million Users and Instagram took 75 days to achieve the same. OpenAI, via ChatGPT, reached 1 Million Users in just 5 days. If we associate a brand or platform’s success with user readiness to consume, we can definitely say that consumers are ready to us (and already using) Generative AI in the form of ChatGPT
When it comes to the human factor, the most common emotion easiest to stir up for any change or disruption is fear. It’s not hard to create fear from having no control over potential changes that will affect you or even potentially being replaced as a worker in your organization. However, being the person to hand the “tough-love” pill, control for everything never existed and everything is replaceable - it is up to us, as individuals who can perform tasks and an organizations that sell a product or service, to understand how the world is changing and change our methods into how we achieve our goals. When the world moved to streaming services when watching TV and movies, we all got rid of VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray players in our homes - because the goal of watching TV or movies hasn’t changed but rather we changed our methods into the most convenient and what makes most sense. We need to look at our skill sets as individuals as VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray players that perform tasks or methodical process that achieve a goal. One control we have is never associating ourselves to our skill sets - as an example, you are not a programmer but being a programmer is just one of your skill sets with a goal to build applications. Prioritize your goal and change your methods as often as you can to stay relevant in your space - start adding AI to your skill sets. AI should be a skill set every individual should carry with them from here on out - you will not be replaced by AI, you will be replaced by a person who uses AI.
"AI should be a skill set every individual should carry with them from here on out - you will not be replaced by AI, you will be replaced by a person who uses AI."
When I look forward with Generative AI as part of our stack, there are two important roles that I see people who use AI take on more - Prompter and Labeler. Prompters are folks that will be able to invoke Generative AI platforms to generate the output needed will minimal effort and will know how to navigate the Generative AI world as it relates to your business - I would equate them in today’s world to a Financial Analyst on your team who is your go-to for all Excel formula/automation or maybe even a Graphic Designer who can use Photoshop like nobody’s business.
A labeler on the other hand is someone who is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) that can look at the outputs generated by the Prompter to determine accuracy and fine-tune the future outputs to maximize efficiency. Think about an underwriter that reviews an AI generated underwriting and spot checks the accuracy, corrects the inaccurate details before sending to their client, and fine-tunes the AI models to generate more accurate underwriting pertaining to the use case more accurately next time.
The human factor will always be a critical variable for any technology - usage will typically determine success/profitability and usability will range depending on how great product managers, developers, and designers build features and capabilities. We are entering a very exciting time where Generative AI is introducing more usage of AI and also making tasks and information more conversational. As usage and demand for more features and capabilities increase over time, existing jobs/tasks/skill sets may disappear (just like the VHS format) and there also will be new ones that will emerge (just like streaming media and gaming).
As individuals, we have the responsibility to control our destiny and be ready for the journey with AI ahead. Let’s be aware of what platforms are out there, potential use cases based on how we do things today, and up-skilling opportunities to keep our methods relevant to continue achieving our goals.
As an organization, we have the responsibility to enable the use of AI ethically and responsibly. We need to understand how our and our consumer’s behaviors are changing with the technology and adapt as the world implements and changes their social norms or even from a regulatory front to continue achieving our goals while keeping our organization and consumers safe from technological abuse from bad characters that exists everywhere that will also start using AI as part of their arsenal.
