ENTERPRISE IT
unable to harness this new technology and work effectively with AI . The challenge for organisations is how to work out what that impact is going to be and how to navigate there quickly .”
Harnessing business benefits Among the advantages , Britt notes two key benefits . First , productivity will receive a significant boost , enabling tasks that once took hours to be completed in seconds .
“ When employees and managers have got complex decisions to make , the AI is there to come up with a first set of recommendations , so it will boost productivity . In some cases , it means that you can work with a smaller workforce or a smaller department to achieve the same output .”
Second , automation will free employees to engage in higher-value work . “ We can focus on things that really matter rather than some of the administrative tasks ,” he adds . Additionally , he believes generative AI can help tackle complex challenges like climate change and employee mental well-being .
“ We ’ ve got challenges around climate change , we ’ ve got challenges in the workforce about driving employee engagement , and we ’ ve also got challenges around dealing with mental wellbeing and mental health of our workforce . These are problems that I think generative AI is going to help us to solve .”
Starting points for organisations Organisations seeking to harness the benefits of AI should consider three points : people , process , and technology . “ Organisations need to prepare their staff for the massive and significant re-skilling that is going to be required ,” Britt stresses . The process involves rapid experimentation
to find the best use-cases for AI , while on the technology front , the entire operating model must be reconsidered . “ You can ’ t put new wine into old wine skins ,” he quips . “ The same principle applies with generative AI . You can ’ t just take generative AI and put it into your old organisation . You can ’ t just automate a bad process and assume that things are going to run more smoothly .
“ Organisations have to deconstruct their operating model , how they work today , how they serve their customers , how they develop their products and services , and rethink it with a generative AI lens .”
74 November 2023