We are being promised robots who may do our laundry in the foreseeable future for a $20,000+ investment (thanks, Elon!). But there is also legitimate nervousness about the impact of AI, whether it will turn superhuman on us, use up all the energy in the world, or stop us from learning or doing anything at all. All this is mixed in with the excitement and dread about podcasts, images, and videos generated by Google, Co-pilot, Runway, or Midjourney.
So, what does AI mean for the future of communications and any industry?
Studies by the big consultancies highlight that GenAI has had its a-ha! moment in 2023, and the speed of change predicted over the coming months and years makes most of us feel queasy. Should we fret that our job will be taken by an uber-smart chatbot or someone who knows how to use it? As humans, we often fear the unknown. We don’t understand how something works, so we put it in the scary bucket and hope we still have a job in three months. Approaching AI with caution is sensible, but not without harnessing and exploring the opportunities.
How should businesses approach AI? Many companies have set up AI taskforce teams to look at AI and see what it can do. Some are truly innovating, others focus on off-the-shelf solutions with limited resources that end up in dead-end projects because it isn’t up to scratch. Yet.
The reality is that AI will have a significant impact. How fast it will change the world around us is still unclear. Customer support teams are starting to feel the effect first, but what about your wider business and your people? AI isn’t and shouldn’t be the domain of the CTO alone, it should be firmly on the desk of any senior leader.
Dario Amodei,
CEO of Anthropic
If predictions from CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI are true we may have super intelligence to deal with sooner than we think, so as a business it’s time to understand the opportunities and risks that are on our horizon and how to handle them. Not just on a ‘how does Co-pilot work’ level. You need to understand AI, have a strategy and a plan and you need to start executing fast.
From a stakeholder communications perspective, AI will make its way into your double materiality assessment. You’ll need to spot and communicate AI-related opportunities, risks and your strategy. If you haven’t already, this is the moment to engage your workforce and get them AI literate and confident but in a responsible framework that you set up.
And you’ll need to do it fast. It’s time to act. And fear not; we are here to help.
We are offering two types of workshops to help you on your AI journey:
1. AI C-suite one-day workshop – designed for business leaders and C-suites to bring you up to speed with AI trends, how AI works, and how to map out risks and opportunities. Level up on your AI knowledge across the board and explore how AI best fits into your business strategy and operations. You will finish with a plan, clear priorities and practical steps to start actioning.
2. Interactive AI team workshop – a half-day creative workshop to get sizeable teams to explore AI tools in a fun and engaging way. There will be a briefing pack with some of the latest AI tools, and we will facilitate the workshop for you on site or off site. Perfect for AI task force teams, HR, L&D, technical and communication teams who want to explore AI with a larger group of people to broaden everyone’s understanding of AI and how to use it.
Julia Scanlon,
Director of Digital
To find out more and discuss how Gather can help embrace your difference, contact Julia Scanlon, Director of Digital, julia@gather.london