Artificial intelligence has become a buzzword in the AV industry and across the world, but its meaning and importance varies depending on who you ask. Whether it's already here or not, AI is more than just hype or a passing fad. Its impact is significant and will continue to grow, impacting every person, business, and workflow as a tool, threat, or opportunity.
For many, ChatGPT is the vehicle for understanding AI. This is due to the publicity it has received, the accessibility it offers, and the value it has demonstrated to nearly everyone in recent years. However, while it may seem like a recent breakthrough to the general public, AI has actually been around for decades.
Learning lessons
AI comes in many forms and sources, some of which we commonly implement: Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant are examples of AI that are already mainstream, but they don't offer the power, flexibility, and value that today's AI-powered chatbots can easily provide.
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To be clear, it's important to understand what AI is. According to management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, “AI is the ability of a machine to perform cognitive functions associated with the human mind, such as perceiving, reasoning, learning, interacting with the environment, solving problems, and even exhibiting creativity.”
One category of AI is machine learning, which consists of algorithms that process large amounts of data and inputs to make predictions or recommendations without your specific instructions. Examples of these include facial recognition, product recommendations, predictive text, and autocorrection.
A further specialization within machine learning is deep learning, and then generative AI. With tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, DALL-E, Claude, and others popular, generative AI is what most people refer to when talking about AI. (Note: GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformers, models designed to generate human-like text in response to prompts, and is the driver behind the scenes of many AI tools.)
Harness the power
There are a multitude of products, services, and purpose-built applications that claim to use AI to address specific needs and solve common problems people face at work and in their daily lives, but how can AV professionals harness the power of AI within their organizations?
Beyond driving product development with more customer-centric features and benefits, AI also offers opportunities to advance business by simplifying mundane tasks, reducing content creation and coding development efforts, and improving efficiency, each of which improves outcomes by saving time and increasing productivity.
While using AI may not be mandatory, it can become a distinct competitive advantage and superpower for businesses that adopt it.
In today's business environment, especially small and medium-sized businesses, most teams are lean, with each member wearing multiple hats and working hard to meet the demands of their primary focus and secondary responsibilities. Any way to reduce the time spent on any activity is beneficial, especially for tasks that are time-consuming, don't require expertise, or have low rewards.
This is where AI comes in to help. Used effectively, AI can increase productivity, reduce clerical tasks, and streamline processes while providing a cost-effective alternative to increasing expenses, billable hours, outsourcing, and leaving tasks unfinished. The challenge is investing the time and money to effectively implement AI, understand where it can have the greatest impact, and determine how to apply it.
Select a task
With tools like ChatGPT, you need to spend time understanding the prompts that will produce the best results in the shortest time. Also, keep in mind that AI is good, but it is far from perfect. So, while the work generated by AI can be very impressive, you need to check it for accuracy and adjust the personalization and style to make sure it doesn't look unnatural.
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When it comes to AI-powered software applications, it's important to narrow down and prioritize your specific list of tasks and look for tools that meet those needs, rather than being sold on a solution that offers a lot of features that don't address your critical needs. Using multiple applications focused on serving specific roles is more effective than seeking an all-or-nothing solution.
Where do you start? We recommend identifying tasks that are boring and time-consuming, that are outside of your area of expertise, or that don't require your involvement. Common answers include:
• Take meeting notes
• Transcription
• Write the code
• Research (alternative to Google)
• Creating content ideas and outlines
• Creating an email message
• Creating social media posts
• Schedule an appointment
• Send reminders and follow-ups
Prioritizing this list in order of impact will provide guidance on where to apply AI and how it can provide the most value.
Competitive Advantage
AI will not replace humans or eliminate jobs, but those who do not adopt AI will be replaced by those who do. This applies to people in any role. Some may see AI as cutting corners, cheating, or avoiding work, but learning to use AI is a skill that creates leverage, identifies value, and then leads to mastery that will increase efficiency and drive greater results. Following this formula will give you a distinct advantage over those who resist, avoid, or do not invest in AI adoption.
While using AI may not be a necessity right now, it can become a distinct competitive advantage or superpower for those who embrace it. Just like when computing and the Internet first entered the business world, early adopters struggled at first and felt the pain of change. Then, as they leveraged the power of these tools and realized the competitive advantage they offered, they began to reap the benefits.
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AI offers a similar opportunity. Imagine what would happen to your business or career if you didn't embrace the technologies that you've come to use every day: mobile devices, the cloud, search engines, etc. The power of AI is similar to those tools that have become non-negotiable.
Learning how to use AI and apply it to your needs can bring you value in the short and long term, as long as you use it effectively with the right mindset and a practical approach. AI won't do the work for you, but it can help you get more done, more efficiently, in less time.
