Prepping your team for Generative AI
The emergence of generative AI heralds a new era of creativity, innovation, and efficiency. But, as businesses embrace this cutting-edge technology, it’s vital to tread carefully. Teams need to have a strong plan in place, to help navigate the ethical, security and operational implications of this emerging technology.
Let’s dive deeper into a few of the major considerations for businesses harnessing generative AI, and how you can approach its use in your team.
Generative AI: What’s the big deal?
If you haven’t heard of generative AI at this stage (which is unlikely at this point!), it’s a form of AI based in language models that works to generate novel content based on prompts. It’s transforming the way teams across industries can work —boosting productivity, streamlining operations and acting as ‘another set of hands’ as teams work with reduced headcounts or try to do more with fewer resources.
But with all the good, comes the bad: content or programs created using public generative AI tools run the risk of breaching IP laws, failing compliance obligations and exposing data to serious breaches. So while these tools can do wonders in terms of productivity, it’s important to approach their use with caution, and have strong rules in place to mitigate any risks.
Some of the major issues flagged with material produced by generative AI are:
- Inaccurate data
- Plagiarism or IP breaches
- Data leaks through third-party APIs
- Bias
- Security and privacy risks
How to use AI effectively in your organisation
As generative AI tools become more and more embedded in our work days and processes, the solution isn’t to avoid: but rather to ensure you’ve got the right ‘guardrails’ in place to steer use of this technology in the right direction. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can harness generative AI safely, securely, and ethically:
Use it for the right tasks: balancing human intervention
Incorporating generative AI into business practices requires careful consideration of its application: you can’t aim to replace humans with generative AI. Instead, it’s about identifying the areas that could be enhanced by the tool.
By strategically deploying generative AI in tasks where it can augment human capabilities rather than replace them entirely, organizations can use the technology to streamline operations, enhance creativity, and improve decision-making processes. Balancing the strengths of both human expertise and machine efficiency fosters synergy, allowing businesses to tap into the best of both worlds.
Bring all teams along
Generative AI isn’t just a tool for data scientists and engineers; it has the potential to impact every aspect of your organisation: from marketing and design to customer service and operations.
It’s essential to involve all teams in the conversation surrounding its implementation. By fostering cross-functional collaboration and ensuring that diverse perspectives are heard, you can harness the full potential of generative AI while mitigating potential risks —across the whole organisation.
Prioritise safety and security
With great power comes great responsibility, and this holds true for generative AI. This technology has advanced rapidly —faster than the security and safety protocols that surround it. This means that as you integrate this technology into your business processes, it’s crucial to prioritise safety and security within your organisation at every step —not rely on the security of the AI applications being used.
Implementing robust safeguards, such as encryption, access control, and data anonymization, can help protect sensitive information and mitigate the risk of misuse. Additionally, conducting regular security audits and staying abreast of emerging threats can ensure that your systems remain resilient in the face of evolving cybersecurity challenges.
Setting limitations and guardrails
While generative AI offers immense potential, it’s essential to establish clear limitations and guard-rails to prevent unintended consequences. By defining the scope of permissible uses and identifying potential risks upfront, you can mitigate the likelihood of ethical dilemmas or negative outcomes.
This may involve setting thresholds for AI-generated content, implementing content moderation mechanisms, or establishing ethical guidelines for AI development and deployment. Ultimately, putting thoughtful limitations in place can help ensure that generative AI is used responsibly and ethically in your organisation.
Train your team
As generative AI becomes increasingly prevalent in the workplace, it’s essential to invest in ongoing training and upskilling initiatives to ensure that your team remains adept at using this technology effectively.
Providing comprehensive training programs and resources can empower employees with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate generative AI tools confidently.
Embedding generative AI into your business operations requires careful consideration and proactive measures to ensure it’s used responsibly. At Bespoke, we’re excited to offer courses to help teams learn the skills needed to harness the power of AI, safely, securely and ethically —to help you and your team boost efficiency, supercharge productivity and fast-track adoption of this emerging technology.
If you’re ready to jump on board with generative AI, get in touch to build a learning path tailored to your team’s long term goals.
