Generative AI capabilities to boost workforce productivity

Allow me to highlight the importance of generative artificial intelligence (AI) again, given this exciting development information technology (IT) teams and their leaders have to think strategically about how to upskill workers so that they can reap value from these tools.

Research shows this productivity boost can only happen if technology leaders put in the work to support business employees during this transition.

But IT teams and their leaders have to think strategically about how to upskill workers so that they can reap value from these tools, especially as vendors embed generative AI capabilities throughout business units.

One of the most crucial aspects of effectively and efficiently using conversational generative AI models, like ChatGPT and others, is the prompt.

Prompts are the instructions or guides given to an AI tool that informs what content is needed, the parameters and context. We have to understand that based on what is asked, how it’s asked and what details are included, prompts can alter what a tool generates as a response.

In other words, prompts are the key to reaping value, but not all of them are created equally.

Becoming a good prompter

IT teams need to familiarise themselves with the tools and identify common use cases that would benefit the business.

Most good prompts have these six things in common:

• Clarity: clear and easy to understand

• Specific: specificity about the information or output they seek

• Context: they include relevant context such as background information, purpose of the response and target audience

• Understand: shows understanding of the AI system

• Concise: prompts that are to the point

• Structure: includes a question format or a clear framework

Good prompters aren’t distracted by the “shiny new toy” and are always thinking about what’s best for the business, rather than encouraging the use of a new technology just for the sake of it.

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Upskilling workers

Once IT teams get comfortable with using the tools and creating prompts based on business specific needs, they then need to share some of that knowledge with other business employees.

As generative AI becomes more pervasive in the business world and workplace tools, enterprises can support employees by providing education on how to use them effectively.

There are several ways IT teams can support other business units during this transition. IT teams can create chat prompt libraries and examples, level set expectations on what workers can and cannot accomplish with generative AI today and formulate a code of conduct with what kind of data is okay and not okay to insert into prompts.

The generative AI tools are creating a new sort of user experience for other technologies, just like we trained people (during) digital transformations to use certain types of digital tools. This is just like that same training.

Technology advances, adoption follows, and in the case of ChatGPT, businesses are intrigued by the mostly favourable public reaction and engagement. This has led business technology leaders to imagine how they might customise generative AI models for their enterprises’ goals and needs.

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Governance frameworks and ethical models

In conclusion, allow me to focus on IT Governance as these emerging technologies evolve. These high-risk, high-reward technologies require frameworks and ethical guidelines.

Governance models should include guiding principles focused on privacy, data security, algorithmic transparency within AI models and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

The technology is the easy aspect, but these governance models are very critical for emerging technologies, like generative AI, ChatGPT and others, to work effectively within an organisation and come to the right outcomes.

Legislation also plays an important role in developing and implementing AI-powered solutions. IT departments will have to closely watch the evolving laws and regulations and implement them into governance models.

Generative AI adoption, like cloud transformation or “as a Service” systems, requires a level of modernisation that most companies need to embrace.

Contributed by: Henry J. Schumacher (schumacher@eitsc.com), President of the European Innovation, Technology and Science Center Foundation (EITSC).

This article was first published in BusinessMirror on 18 April 2023.