AI is revolutionary and its relevance for your organisation

When OpenAI’s generative AI platform, ChatGPT, was made accessible and free to the world, it sparked a tidal wave of questions surrounding the future of work and automation. Articles flooded social media, claiming AI would replace all jobs, while others speculated that creative roles were now becoming redundant, due to its ability to produce poems to its advanced coding capabilities.

The overhype was evident, and for many, this was just another trending topic that would fade after a few weeks.

On the contrary, this new technology has been transformative in the landscape of work. Please read on to understand why it’s important for your organisation to be aware of this ongoing evolution and its impact on the future of work.

AI has already impacted every industry, from occupations in coding and media, to roles in finance and healthcare. The BBC posted an article about AI being used in liver cancer treatment at a Cambridge hospital, resulting in better accuracy in determining the perimeter of a tumor and healthy tissue around it. AI’s usefulness and effectiveness as a tool in certain contexts are undeniable.

Its most surprising impact, as highlighted by one of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman, is that: “In reality… we have made great strides in cognitive labour, and we have not made very much progress on physical tasks.” Brockman elaborates on the surprising potential impact of AI replacing work that requires attention to detail and tasks that demand little need for human judgment.

By replacing these ‘types’ of jobs or parts of jobs, it may seem to allow an organisation to save more money and increase ‘productivity’. As a result, many organisations have used this reasoning to eliminate numerous occupations where their perceived value is considered ‘non-productive’ and ‘menial’.

However, focusing solely on these factors as the means to judge an occupation’s value is deeply problematic.

By emphasising these factors, one can easily overlook aspects of a job that have implicit value. Implementing AI may eliminate elements of relationality or authenticity, which could remove what was highly valued by a customer, patient, or team member. For instance, an individual may have been fundamental to a team’s cohesion or essential in driving the team towards a goal.

Perceiving the value of work solely in terms of ‘productivity’ and ‘results’ reduces a job to individual outcomes, rather than recognising the individual’s contribution to the whole. This can result in an organisation whose health is fundamentally hindered, despite the intention to benefit it.

AI is a new aspect of the work landscape, and understanding how to use and interpret the compatibility of emerging technologies with your organisation is essential for its health and future flourishing.

Technologies like AI can be an asset to your organisation with the right strategy, healthy practices, and behaviours. However, with the wrong application, it can be detrimental to an organisation’s development.

At Tricordant, we help you to build and maintain an organisation that is both sustainable and effective – creating a healthy, effective organisation.