It’s always the beginnings of AI gamingBut we’re already seeing many positive developments that are helping businesses – and their employees – work smarter and more efficiently. And we’re only at the beginning of this revolution. What’s next?
By 2027, AI promises to have developed capabilities far beyond those we know today, which means it is now essential to develop an investment plan. I believe that innovations in AI have the potential to change the way humans interact with technology, both as consumers and in the workplace.
AI will accelerate a change already underway in the way we search for and consume information, from a primarily text-based world to a multimodal world of video, audio, and new types of media. In this sense, I think advances in multimodality hold the most promise for AI, because they make workers much more productive and smarter.
For business leaders and those in charge of talent acquisition and management, it’s time to start strategizing on how to deploy AI in ways that allow technology professionals to better focus on higher-level, more strategic initiatives; this will include AI-powered training and development programs, as well as new ways to generate ideas.
AI as a time saver for tech professionals
I have recently been studying the ways in which AI promises to help young tech professionalsbut today I want to broaden the vision to include everyone in technology and why it’s essential to have an enterprise-wide strategy to harness the power of AI.
AI is transforming how workers search for knowledgereplacing traditional search such as Google with a chat-based or even results-based approach.
What do I mean by “outcome-based”? Generative AI tools allow us to ask for a specific outcome, such as a piece of code, an email, or even an entire business case. With AI, workers don’t need to research different approaches, but can let AI decide the best solution.
There are caveats to this, of course. Workers need to double-check the output of generative AI to ensure that what they’re receiving is of genuine quality and will fit well into the overall workflow; this is especially critical with code snippets, which need to work well within a larger software package.
If used well, generative AI can dramatically speed up not only an individual workflow, but the pace of a business itself. AI tools can generate emails, answer initial customer service calls, fill out product descriptions, and much more. They can handle code completion and debugging to the point where software developers can quickly identify and fix issues instead of spending hours debugging code, which means getting quality software to market much faster.
In theory, AI will have an even greater impact on the development of the technology stack in the coming years, simplifying the process of designing and managing cloud and data infrastructures. With the help of AI, cloud architects could quickly analyze usage patterns, optimize resource allocation, and automate infrastructure deployment based on best practices. As a result, companies will be able to respond much more quickly to their changing technology and business needs.
AI improves human decision making
AI will soon be able to detect inefficiencies quickly and at scale. For industries that regularly deal with large amounts of data, such as utilities, AI has the potential to eliminate much of the guesswork involved in manual inspection and system monitoring. Meanwhile, companies that sell to consumers have already adopted generative AI to analyze sales trends and identify areas for improvement. For example, a supermarket chain could use AI (assisted by data scientists and engineers) to extract critical insights from massive sales data sets and then make decisions about which products to reduce, discontinue, or double down on.
Another use case I found particularly interesting: AI-powered bots trained to understand company data. These bots can provide insights into product features, internal processes, and the code base. For example, an AI assistant trained to identify trends and outliers in real-time data could help with fraud analysis and prevention.
By using computer vision and machine learning algorithms such as deep convolutional neural networks, technology professionals can identify anomalies and make fixes or adjustments before the impact of a system outage becomes detrimental.
I’ve also seen how AI is starting to play a role in helping businesses simplify the search for shared knowledge from hours to seconds. This is a game changer for summarizing massive amounts of information for decision makers. With AI-powered solutions, businesses are increasingly able to use natural language queries to instantly find and derive actionable insights that might otherwise be buried in an obscure application or database. The bottom line: technology professionals and other workers will be able to act on their business’ strategic priorities faster than ever before, and with more useful information at their disposal.
Turbocharged AI Training and Development
AI has the power to transform the way organizations train their employees, improving job satisfaction and retention.
With Generation Z entering the workforce, employers are beginning to restructure their training programs to accommodate the preferences of a new generation of employees. For example, to keep employees engaged, organizations are incorporating immersive learning techniques such as gamification and adaptive learning.
AI can provide a crucial new ingredient by personalizing training for each worker. Everyone learns differently, and the more a professional feels supported to grow in their job, the more satisfied they will be.
For example, in the field service industry, technicians and engineers can specialize in many different areas, from large-scale solar panel installation to medical equipment repair and maintenance. Using AI-powered programs to simulate real-world scenarios and personalize training can highlight junior technicians’ aptitude for particular specializations and tailor their careers accordingly. They are more likely to stay with a company that provides them with a clear growth plan and personalized training.
In the future, AI-powered training programs could transform text-based training materials into more accessible formats like audio and video. This alone could impact how much tech professionals learn without creating new content. Bottom line: For companies that are interested in it, AI could become absolutely crucial for recruiting and retaining employees.
The future is coming fast
AI is already transforming the landscape for technology professionals and organizations. In the years to come, the pace of this evolution will only accelerate, impacting everything from training to cloud architecture. That’s why it’s crucial to start investing in AI strategies at every level of your organization now. With that in mind, here are some key takeaways:
- Leverage generative AI tools to automate routine tasks and increase productivity.
- Focus on next-level problem solving and innovation.
- Verify AI results to ensure quality and alignment with business objectives.
This is part 6 of my article series: From Calculated Risks to Quantum Progress: Charting the Course for Transforming Tech Talent. You can read the previous article here.
