That was the question recently asked on the BBC’s highly-respected ‘Question Time’ TV program a few weeks ago.
The age of AI is upon us!
Yet many of us are torn between unbridled optimism and a feeling of dread at the potential doomsday scenario AI could bring.
Let’s look at the positives.
On one hand, there appear to be amazing business opportunities and a dazzling array of innovation benefits linked to the potential for making our lives easier, solving the energy crisis and adding trillions of dollars to the global economy.
A group of Hong Kong-based CEOs and senior leaders who recently attended ‘The Sounding Board’ leadership focus group raised AI as THE stand-out opportunity for their businesses going forward.
BUT two months ago, there was a chilling warning from the CEOs of some of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, who flagged the clear and present danger of un-checked AI development and the risks facing humanity.
These disturbing and potentially apocalyptic outcomes prompted Time Magazine to publish an interesting piece titled ‘AI Is as Risky as Pandemics and Nuclear War‘.
In an effort to steer AI development, the UK government recently published a white paper setting out a 10-year plan as part of its National AI Strategy, with rules based on principles for regulators to support flexible innovation while at the same time ensuring AI is in safe hands and avoids unfair bias.
So who’s right? Will AI be a positive force for good or humanity’s worst nightmare? We don’t have a crystal ball, but we can prepare for an unknown future by arming ourselves with skills and knowledge, as well as having a solid plan in place.
To help you prepare for a future with AI, here are some helpful tips and information:
How to get ahead of the game
- Get educated – Invest time getting up to speed.
- Be involved – Now is the time to get involved while the train is starting to move out of the station.
- Make time – Reflect on what this could mean for you, your industry and your organisation.
- Create a plan – Have an AI vision and create an ‘AI policy’ for your organisation.
- Set guidelines – Establish procedures that enable you to trust and validate AI generated outputs.
- Get a coach – Studies show that coaches help stimulate new thinking and provide a safe place to reflect, receive outside input and develop future strategies. Click here to request a free exploratory chat.
The skills you need
Microsoft recently released their 2023 Work Trend Index Annual Report – ‘Will AI Fix Work?’, which reports on the findings of a survey completed by 31,000 people from 31 countries.
One of the survey questions asked the participants which skills they think will be most essential for their employees to learn in order to evolve with the potential technological advancements that AI will likely bring. Here are the skills they picked:
- Flexibility
- Emotional intelligence
- Analytical judgment
- Creative evaluation
- Intellectual curiosity
- Bias detecting and handling
- AI delegation (prompts)
Which of these skills do you need to develop?
We hope this thought provoking message will help you flourish in the new world.
As someone famously said – “I’ll be back”.