I want to bring one perhaps cautiously critical perspective to the debate and some of the buzz around AI.
The key points of this text as summarised by ChatGPT 4.0:
- Artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, is changing the world of work, requiring thoughtful consideration in the development of an organisation’s skills.
- The comparison between AI and driving underlines the importance of balancing the benefits and drawbacks of AI, such as laziness and skills degradation.
- Organisations should consider how to combine the benefits of AI while maintaining the skills and core competences of their staff.
Artificial intelligence and change
Artificial intelligence in its various forms has been part of our lives for a long time. It’s in cars, smartphones and, well, everywhere. Now, generative AI and different language models, led by ChatGPT, are revolutionising our lives and work in many ways. I won’t go into more detail about AI here. I know that there are better presentations on the use and features of different language models already available. That is why I will say a word about AI from the perspective of the development of organisational competences.
AI affects learning in the same way that a car affects mobility. Imagine a situation where you have previously travelled by bicycle or on foot, using your muscles. Now you suddenly have the technology to get from one place to another with just a slight push on the pedals and a turn of the wheel. That’s a huge advantage! In theory at least, you can go further and faster than ever, with increased efficiency and automatic multiplication of profits. Yes, there are advantages and opportunities if you look at it from only one reasonably narrow perspective. But there are downsides to that scenario. The same is true of artificial intelligence.
Driving has contributed to making us lazier, more comfortable, stressed and busy, not to mention environmentally damaging. The use of our own bodies for mobility has decreased. You can probably see what I mean when I compare AI to driving? AI is already enabling a lot of things, but used without careful thought it has its dangers for organisational excellence . How are you letting AI shape the culture, the way you learn and develop in your organisation?
How to combine the benefits of AI with core competences?
With all this buzz, have you had time to think about what you want from AI? What are the core competencies that you want to hold on to and own? And what makes sense to outsource to AI? Cycling improves fitness, but the journeys are shorter and often slower than in a car. Doing it yourself develops your thinking better, but is usually slower and sometimes even of lower quality than relying on AI. How do you combine the benefits of AI, but retain your core competencies and capabilities across the organisation? How do you maintain the learning and skills of your staff?
I myself am excited about the possibilities of AI. It’s a great tool for sparring thinking. In a way, it helps you go further and achieve more. But like driving a car, that natural effort and movement is negligible. I see that now, and even more so in the future, a successful organisation needs to invest in developing the skills of its staff, including through traditional methods, while ensuring that core competences remain in their own hands. Define early on how much and what kind of benefits you want from AI. It may seem tempting now to automate tasks and make a semblance of savings. But think carefully about whether you are losing an invaluable resource – human capital and resilience – in the process. Does it make sense to erode that learning capacity of an organisation? However, in the event of a sudden crisis, the ability to survive ultimately depends on a workforce with a good knowledge and learning capacity.
In the next blog post, I will reflect on micro-learning. Is it yet another way to undermine our already weak concentration, or does it offer a great opportunity to lower the learning threshold and diversify the offer?
Author’s introduction:
Simo Marttinen, a former classroom teacher, current civil servant and a fairly long-standing digital educator. Lives in Jyväskylä, enjoys cooking and knows and thinks he knows about many things.
