Stay on the leading edge: Embrace the future of AI
As someone who loves technology and all that it brings to our lives, I’m always interested to read up on future trends. The rate of change is so fast today that keeping up with it all can seem a little daunting, but it’s truly something I’m passionate about.
Talking amongst friends, colleagues and customers lately, the topic I’ve found coming up time and time again, is Artificial Intelligence, (or AI for short), and its increasing impact in our lives. Specifically, the talk turns to the future of work, which, if you read the headlines, is about to be severely impacted by the rise of AI.
While I’m sure that it sells more newspapers both in print and online subscriptions by painting a doomsday scenario, for me, the reality will be far different than the disaster zone some outlets paint. Change means that its coming to us whether we choose to accept it or not, so in any case, we’re far better served by embracing what’s coming than simply battening down the hatches.
Data becomes king
Forgetting the headlines for a moment, there’s one thing that really excites me the most about AI: The ability to process and analyse data faster and more effectively than ever before. And for business, this opens up so much opportunity.
AI can process data and provide insights far faster than we can as humans. This shouldn’t be seen as a negative; in fact, it’s a great opportunity to really understand our markets and customer behaviours so that we can provide better products and services that more closely meet their needs.
How you collect, store, share, and ultimately use your data will be crucial to your future success. Having a strong, robust way of managing your business information now will set you up for the future, where controlling your data will be a competitive advantage.
Work will change and we’ll adapt
The question AI does raise is: If a machine can do certain tasks faster and more efficiently than us, what will that mean for work?
Yes, some roles will change, there’s no doubt that will happen. But this isn’t the first time this has happened in human history. From the industrial revolution onward, the role of work has always changed. Technology has dominated the change over the past 50 or so years, and every time we’ve adapted and created opportunities that have led to new jobs being created. In my view AI is no different, some jobs will disappear but others will be created in their place.
Let’s use the example I raised above about data: Imagine you could free up your team from mundane data-driven tasks to work more on solutions for your customers? I truly believe we can unlock a currently hidden creative streak in our people if we let them focus on providing outcomes for customers rather than just pushing paper.
Embrace change and benefit from it
The great Winston Churchill is quoted as saying “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often”. I believe that we should look at the positives that AI will bring, both in terms of business intelligence and the way we work. Embrace the change and make it work for you, whether you’re in business, or simply looking at the future of work.