AI in the Workplace

Even if you have a rule against it, your employees probably use ChatGPT for work. We know this from observation and a few useful stats. More than 92% of Fortune 500 companies are using ChatGPT. That’s according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2023. College-educated workers and young professionals (64% of users are 18-35) are the biggest users of ChatGPT (source). Never has a new tool been adopted into the workplace so quickly from the bottom up. AI is rewriting how work is done, and the vast majority of this new hybrid-AI work is happening with the help of ChatGPT. Pretending your teams are not using AI is not an option. If you have not already given them guidelines or training, now is the time. These are powerful tools that can help your organization. But, it’s important to include the good with the bad. It’s not as simple as “do this, don’t do that.” How AI is affecting workers and companies is nuanced and requires high-level thinking. This list of considerations applies to all AI tools. I center this approach on ChatGPT because that makes it more accessible and more easily understood since that’s what most people are using. Adapt for your use as needed.

Considerations for AI Use

Companies that best adapt to AI impacts will consider and respond to all of these considerations:

• Start Small: Quick wins are important to mitigate risks right away while setting a tone that’s supportive of innovation.
• Best Practice Training: Host company-wide training on ChatGPT best practices.
• Quick Policy Guidance: Employees should have a general idea of what they can and cannot use ChatGPT for when it comes to workplace use.
• Decide Who Is In Charge: Define a Center of Excellence team (CoE) to provide leadership, best practices, research, support, and training on AI for the whole organization.
• Model Best Use Cases: Identify where ChatGPT can best help your teams and create best practices around those opportunities.
• Name The Risks: Acknowledge and address potential risks associated with the use of AI tools.

Model Best Use Cases

Let’s spotlight some of the best use cases where ChatGPT excels:

• Research: Gather and summarize information on various complex topics
• Ideation: Assist in brainstorming with creative suggestions and alternative perspectives
• Drafting: Produce content outlines and other project scopes
• Editing: Checking for spelling, grammar, consistency, and other errors
• Analysis: Extracting key insights and patterns in large sets of data or text
• Summarizing: Condense lengthy documents, reports, or meeting notes
• Training: Real-time Q&A support for employee skill development
• Technical Support: Resolving common issues and software roadblocks

Name The Risks

ChatGPT presents a litany of opportunities and improvements for your team members, but we should ignore or shrug off the real risks associated with the use of AI tools:

1. Bad Info
2. Poor Content
3. Sophisticated Cyber Threats
4. Data Security Challenges
5. AI Bias
6. Protect your IP