Summary

Artificial Intelligence is all around us and provides great opportunities to improve the quality and efficiency of our work. This week we explore how to use Artificial Intelligence at work.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to episode 210 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we examine how to use Artificial Intelligence at work.

Artificial intelligence is a complex and evolving field. It can feel overwhelming to consider how to use AI at work. In reality, AI is built into so many things, that you’re already using AI multiple times per day. To help clarify, AI expert Juliette Powell talks about Artificial Intelligence as triple A systems - algorithmic, autonomous and automated. With this definition, it’s easy to see how your organisation is already applying AI. Here are some steps you can take to implement and use AI well at work.

Collaborate with Artificial Intelligence experts. While leaders don't need to be AI experts themselves, collaborating with professionals in the field is crucial for successful implementation. AI is not just a technology upgrade, it’s a completely different way of approaching work. There are risks implementing something that we don’t understand, so using experts to guide your thinking will help.
Establish clear governance. The application of Artificial Intelligence has ethical considerations. It’s possible to create adverse impacts on minority and other groups through the use of AI, so we need to proactively measure fairness and equity implications. Establishing clear governance around the use of AI will assist with this. We also need to consider data protection principles. Providing AI systems with access to your data may create privacy risks that need to be actively managed. Those accountable for AI governance should develop clear guidelines for employees to minimise these and other risks.
Identify high-impact use cases. Not all tasks require the intervention of AI, so leaders must strategically identify areas where AI can make the most significant impact. Conduct a thorough analysis of your business processes to pinpoint repetitive, time-consuming, or data-intensive tasks that could benefit from automation.
Education. Provide employees with the resources and opportunities to upskill and reskill in areas related to AI. Workshops, training programs, and online courses can help employees understand AI concepts, its applications, and how to integrate it into their daily tasks. By investing in education, leaders not only empower their teams but also create a workforce that is adaptable to the dynamic nature of AI technologies.
Encourage safe-fail experiments. It’s best to apply Artificial Intelligence in a way that minimises risk. Many organisations implement AI by first running the work through parallel processes to measure the impact on quality and efficiency. They are then able to objectively compare any benefits of AI with the traditional process without risking the quality of delivery.
Invest in quality data infrastructure. Artificial Intelligence is only as good as the data it uses. It’s easy for the implementation of AI to be let down by poor quality and out of date records. Assessing the quality of data being fed into AI will improve the outcomes you are likely to achieve.

Artificial Intelligence will continue to provide benefits to organisations looking to improve their performance. Being informed and considered helps us to manage the implementation of new systems in a way that maximises benefits and minimises risks.

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