Top Stories 2024-05-17 12:25:00 –
Despite or perhaps because of the massive publicity generated by generative artificial intelligent (GenAI) in the past 18-months, many people still harbor misconceptions about the capabilities, usefulness and potential impact. Some people believe it is a passing trend or a threat to human creativity. It’s a unique dilemma for young professionals: Do you “buy in to the hype” and use AI as a guidepost for professional development and your ambitions? Or do you follow the traditional path and focus on developing more traditional skills and following conventional trajectories, or do you “buy into the hype” of AI?
In the 1990s, the internet’s rise gave professionals new tools. Communication barriers fell, and marketing reached a wider audience. New types of business were created, not to mention new working methods. At a time when opinions about the Internet were deeply divided, people starting their careers faced the decision of whether to embrace the vast opportunities and uncertainties that a potentially revolutionary technology could bring.
Early adoption of the internet has many advantages, despite its potential pitfalls. GenAI is a rapidly evolving and complex landscape. It’s perfectly normal to have doubts and apprehensions about its use in professional and private settings. As a tech entrepreneur, I have seen how this technology can transform businesses.
Yes, there are risks (such as becoming overly dependent on GenAI or feeding private data that is supposed to be protected). GenAI is a great tool, but the benefits are more than enough to justify its use (increased productivity, creative inspiration, etc.).
As history has shown, you can gain an advantage in the competitive world if you adopt a balanced view that maximizes these benefits – especially early on in your career. You need to overcome five limiting mindsets in order to achieve this.
Here’s how.
Top Stories Mindset #1: GenAI is overhyped, and you think it underperforms.
Since the release of ChatGPT, we have been exposed to two conflicting narratives: either large language models are amazing or they are problematic plagiarism. It reminds me of the old axiom that says you can judge the intelligence of a person by how well they can climb a branch. Many negative opinions about LLMs stem from misguided expectations.
The Reality: If you’re not impressed with LLMs in general, it may not be because of the purpose you use them for. It could be that you aren’t using them properly. LLMs are based on prompts, which you can use to generate text, images, videos and more. The ability to use “zero-shots” (in which context is not provided along with your prompt), is a feature that sets these models apart from other types AI. However, their true utility can only be unlocked by refinement and iteration.
Bottom line: You need to go beyond simple prompts if you want great responses from LLMs like ChatGPT or Claude. Treat prompting as a skill and you will see your results improve over time. A simple prompt such as “Write me an application letter for a position at Google as a software engineer” will yield generic results. You’ll start to see the magic when you realize you can upload your resume and ask AI for a cross-reference to a specific role by providing a job description. The better your results will be, the more personalized you make your prompt.
Top Stories Mindset #2: GenAI is not trusted by you.
GenAI is a subject that raises valid concerns. In most cases, it is not a good idea to trust GenAI with fact-checking, current research, or simple math. (LLMs have a lack of intelligence and cannot “know” whether their outputs are true.
The Reality: GenAI’s untrustworthiness is a limiting belief, despite being based on facts. Even though there are many sources and tools that can be trusted without hesitation, this includes everything from Wikipedia to high-impact academic journals, even our own minds. To the extent that we find these things useful, we establish a working relationship — whether or not they are trustworthy — to maximize their utility and maintain certain safeguards.
Bottom line: GenAI is not something you should learn to trust. Learn to use GenAI for your own benefit, despite its unreliability. It may present false information as truth or reflect biases in its training data. You should check the work of a colleague, or a classmate if you are the one presenting it. You could, for example, verify the author and the source or check the date of publication or research. You can use fact-checking software like Google Fact Check Explorer in order to ensure that the output is accurate and credible. GenAI, despite its limitations, is a very valuable tool if used with these considerations.
Top Stories Mindset #3: GenAI is not something you think you need.
GenAI is a powerful tool that can be used to your advantage. You may still think that LLMs are only useful for basic tasks, such as writing a cover email or drafting a letter.
The Reality: In my daily meetings, I hear from senior executives in industries such as healthcare, defense and education that LLMs are a great way to increase efficiency. GenAI can be used by early career professionals to streamline tasks, improve their output, and make them stand out. GenAI can be used to draft emails, reports, develop presentations, conduct research, summarize findings, brainstorm ideas, and prepare for meetings and interviews. By leveraging GenAI strategically you can free up your time to do higher-value tasks, accelerate the development of your skills in those areas and position yourself as a forward-thinking leader on the job market. GenAI is a versatile technology of our time.
Bottom line: Even if GenAI outputs and their associated efficiency gains are not needed in your current job, this is likely to change. As AI becomes more prevalent and improves, and as you advance in your career and take on roles with increased responsibility and competition, you will need it to meet the changing standards of business and productivity.
Top Stories Mindset #4: GenAI is a threat to you (subconsciously or conscious).
This category includes creative professionals in marketing, strategy, writing, and design. The more AI threatens your work, your field, or your long-term prospects, the more you’ll want to keep it away.
The Reality: Since the hype surrounding LLMs began, there has been a widespread zero-sum mentality that GenAI is a replacement for humans’ skills. But this is missing the point. It complements our abilities, and serves as a productivity multiplier, while also helping to eliminate tedious and mundane tasks that people don’t like to do. Canva conducted a survey with 4,000 marketing and creativity leaders. 70% of respondents said GenAI helps their teams in creative capacities, and 28% reported saving up to five hours per week due to AI-driven efficiency increases.
Bottom line: GenAI is a threat to many careers that is more dangerous than not using it. You will gain a competitive edge in the workplace by developing skills that complement AI, such as critical thinking and solving problems. The emerging paradigm continues the emphasis that GenAI won’t be taking your job. But someone who uses GenAI effectively will likely take your job now or in the future.
Top Stories Mindset #5 You think the future is uncertain.
Why would you bind yourself to a future in which AI is important if you didn’t know it was the case? It’s a fair question. When you compare GenAI with, for example cryptocurrency and NFTs “wait and see” seems like a logical strategy.
The Reality: Early adopters are gaining a competitive edge in fields such as marketing, software engineering and even law by leveraging AI to increase efficiency and productivity. This is true whether it’s for tasks related to research, content creation, or any of the other fields GenAI impacts. Moreover, highly-respected people in academia, government, and business all over the world have stated that AI is becoming an indispensable tool not only in business but also in society.
Bottom line: Whether it’s AI or another aspect of your professional journey, those who embrace uncertainty proactively experience a variety of psychological and personal benefits. In this case, the exponential growth of AI means that the gap between those who embrace AI now and those who do not will only grow.
This is a pivotal time for young professionals. You’ll be able to use this powerful tool if you can cut through all the noise and develop an understanding and appreciation of this new breed technology.
GenAI is not a panacea and should not be blindly relied upon. But, equally important, it should not be feared or avoided because of limiting beliefs such as those described here. GenAI is a powerful tool that can help you gain an edge over your peers.
Source: Harvard Business