Editorial
It’s the best and worst of times for generative AI tools. Some workplaces using ChatGPT are seeing a massive uptick in productivity, while others are experiencing significant growing pains. A July study from MIT found workers using ChatGPT were able to complete projects 40% faster, with output quality that measured 18% better. Yet recently, Boston Consulting Group found workers using the tool performed 19% worse than their peers.
How can that be? The answer could come down to leadership.
ChatGPT is a transformative tool with the power to unlock a new level of productivity, but too many workers are uncertain of how best to use it. Others often feel a need to hide their efforts from employers so they’re not thought of as lazy or cutting corners. Some also fear it will produce embarrassing material, much like when two lawyers unknowingly provided a legal brief full of fictional cases and citations to a judge, courtesy of ChatGPT.
Regardless, those who ignore the efficiency gains that come from a tool like ChatGPT will cost their company financially and competitively. With this in mind, leaders need to accept the great potential of this technology and allow staff to experiment — so long as there are safeguards in place to protect work quality and mitigate risk.
ChatGPT and Gen Z
ChatGPT can help companies produce work at scale without as many labor-intensive tasks. It can automate writing processes, analyze content, develop messaging for vital documents like contracts and more. It can even be used in chatbots to automate processes and answer questions, driving better customer experiences (CX) with improved support and response times.
In marketing, for instance, ChatGPT can be used to create first drafts of materials, generate email campaigns and provide responses. If you’re creatively stuck, it can produce ideas, simplify research and make complex concepts understandable. It can streamline workflows, optimize processes and much more.
Many employees, particularly those from Gen Z, are eager to apply generative AI tools to their work, but this could introduce risk if left unchecked. ChatGPT relies on data it collects from the public internet. That means it could generate content that infringes on someone else’s intellectual property or contains offensive or inaccurate details — creating potential issues for which your company could be held liable.
Yet leaders should harness Gen Z’s talents, and the key to that is effectively integrating them into your AI strategy. These digital natives possess tech familiarity that can be especially valuable when pursuing emerging areas. For example, they’re versed in newer communications channels, know how to reach people who use them and usually better understand what makes for an effective CX.
The trick is integrating them into multi-generational teams, often led by those with traditional business backgrounds who may lack experience with newer tools or avoid them entirely. By bringing everyone together and sharing information, a company can have the best of all worlds.
Related Article: Employees Say Execs Too Slow on Generative AI Adoption
Gaining Control
It’s time for companies to revisit policies in order to bring in new hires from Gen Z, keep experienced veterans and prevent legal repercussions from the use of ChatGPT. The following tips can help make this process easier.
- Set policies and audit usage: Tools like ChatGPT aren’t going away so it’s crucial to develop policies for usage and guidelines to help employees leverage it. Insist that it’s not used for client-facing work until it has been thoroughly vetted for potential negatives. Exercise caution when using free or open source technology, because the data typically comes from the public internet. Tools should be trained on approved databases only. Management should also regularly conduct supervisory check ins and audit usage. Note that there are detection tools out there that can ensure teams aren’t using AI where it shouldn’t be applied.
- Encourage experimentation: Learning by doing is one of the best ways to retain information. Encourage your staff to try ChatGPT, just not with privileged information. As teams use the technology, the pros, cons and questions will emerge. This will allow for those teachable moments that enable all to understand what is safe, and why all materials produced must be thoroughly reviewed.
- Develop a core team: Assemble a group of core users to evaluate generative AI tools and report back with insights that’ll help determine usage policies. Make sure Gen Z is represented so you can learn how to best integrate them into multi-generational teams. Use this group to determine best practices and generate excitement throughout the organization about the potential reward of generative AI.
Get Reworked Podcast: Why Your Workplace Needs a Generative AI Use Policy
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The Final Review
There is a “black box” element to generative language tools like ChatGPT. Sometimes, there’s no way to trace the origin of source information, making it difficult to ascertain if it’s factual. Tools like Perplexity and Waldo try to cite sources, enabling users to check if information is valid, but there’s still a way to go for these. Therefore, it is vital to review all materials produced by ChatGPT for inaccuracies, appropriateness and plagiarism.
Despite such legitimate risks, the future of ChatGPT is extremely promising. This technology will make employees’ lives easier and empower them to achieve more, all while lowering overhead and speeding up production. But in the end, it’s not the tool alone that drives productivity, it’s how it’s used. The responsibility for managing this, and realizing its rewards, is entirely on the shoulders of leadership.
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