Ever since Open-AI’s game-changing ChatGPT hit the scene with its remarkable (though not entirely faultless) ability to produce human-like text it would seem it is all anyone can talk about. And it’s easy to see why. With a little editing, the breakthrough chatbot can be used to do everything from writing emails and proposals, through to creating poetry and code. In fact, it’s even possible to pass some graduate-level exams. The result is a huge opportunity for businesses to automate key processes, streamline and enhance overall operations.
"I have Microsoft on my board," said Tori Miller Liu, president and CEO of the Association for Intelligent Information Management, a nonprofit in Silver Spring, Md. "I knew it was coming … and, still, watching it, I was like, 'Dang. That's something.' It felt like a fundamental shift.”
It's the job of HR to be ready for anything, but the newness of generative AI combined with the dizzying hype and potential legal ramifications can make it feel particularly intimidating to address. There are still so many unknowns, yet workers need guidance now along with reassurance that their skills—and jobs—still matter. Company leaders must plow ahead doing what they always do: the best they can.
"Step one is probably for any leader, or anyone in general, to approach it from a sense of humility," Liu said.
That includes doing a lot of listening and learning. People manager positions "ask for us to both be thinking about what our team is raising as problems … but also to be proactive and thinking carefully about what our team might not know yet," said Damien Williams, assistant professor of philosophy and data science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
As companies embrace the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and its transformative impact on various white-collar functions, they are faced with a critical question: Cryptopolitan is asking these questions and examines how GenAI should be managed responsibly. Who should be responsible for managing these AI initiatives? Determining the appropriate teams and departments to oversee AI projects can be challenging, as striking the right balance between enabling experimentation and mitigating risks is crucial.
Gen AI is also being used for good. Brandon Purcell, VP & Principal Analyst with Forrester and Jeremy Vale (researcher) shared how it is providing a positive impact.
AI for conservation.
Organizations are using computer vision and even audio recognition to detect elusive endangered species and in some cases poachers, as well. Synthetaic specializes in building models for situations where real image data is scarce to help organizations such as Save the Elephants protect wildlife by automatically detecting these animals and those who would do them harm.
AI for humanitarianism.
Human rights organizations seek to document war crimes and other atrocities carried out in conflict areas, but they are often inundated with massive numbers of images and videos to review. Computer vision allows them to scale their efforts. In Yemen, for example, VFRAME and its partners poured through nearly 6 billion frames of video footage to demonstrate the usage of BLU-63s — a cluster munition banned in more than 100 countries.
AI for safety.
A variety of AI technologies are rapidly improving the safety of workplace environments, leveraging real-time sensor data to detect potential hazards and suggest safety measures proactively. Machine olfaction, or e-noses, can help detect hazardous substances in industrial settings to provide early warnings. Augmented-reality wearables can offer workers a wide range of benefits, such as better training and notification of dangerous areas on job sites. Safety AI isn’t just limited to the workplace; companies like Datagen are developing advanced driver monitoring systems to detect tired or distracted driving.
AI for accessibility.
Accessibility use cases are exploding with the newfound prominence of generative AI. Transcription services, image captioning, alternative text (508 compliance), transcription and translation, and text-to-speech services are all easier than ever before to carry out automatically. Generative AI also enables previously impossible applications such as synthetic signers from Signapse, which allows any information to be converted into sign language videos for hearing-impaired individuals.
GenAI is not going away and there is so much we can do to be good stewards of the machine we created. Be a continuous responsible learner that helps you to be a leader in how we shape our future and jobs.
Reminder to think like a scientist and ask yourself - Just because we can, does that mean we should? (Isabella Johnston)
Contact Isabella on LinkedIn for speaking engagements or as a podcast guest.
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