For years, folks have been talking about the coming AI revolution, about how it’s going to change everything, and about how it is going to cost a lot of people their jobs.
Well, the future is now – and if you are a business leader, you need to start dealing with it today. But don’t take my word for it:
The AI revolution is transforming industries and organizations around the world. As a business leader, it's important to understand the potential of AI and how it can be used to drive business growth and success. This means staying up to date on the latest developments in the field and learning about the potential applications of AI in your industry. It also means being proactive in incorporating AI into your business, whether through the adoption of new technologies or the development of internal AI capabilities. Finally, it's important to consider the ethical implications of AI and to ensure that your use of the technology is responsible and aligned with your company's values.
That passage was written by Open AI’s ChatGPT, a free research AI model that was opened to public last week. It was a response to my question, “What do business leaders need to know about AI?” and it took less than 10 seconds to generate.
It is also completely accurate.
The future of AI is finally here – and business leaders need to take note.
So was its response to my request to write a blog post on the state of Agile in 2022. In less than 20 seconds, the AI generated a 453-word article that was 100% grammatically correct, cogent, and offered valuable insights – explaining that agile has moved beyond the domain of software development where it was born to drive broader business transformations while at the same time warning that those efforts often fail when not coupled to a culture that fosters collaboration and open communications between departments and functions.
That could put a lot of content creators out of a job, but bloggers are not the only ones who need to worry.
Last week, marketeer Zain Kahn asked the AI to perform the same series of tasks that an employee at a marketing firm might be asked to undertake for a client: create an SEO strategy for a website, develop a list of target keywords, write a content strategy for the website, develop 10 blog ideas, then write one of those blogs itself. He even asked the AI to create metadata and simple code for the website to optimize it for bilingual search.
Then he rated its performance.
“I'd rank it as a 5/10. The equivalent of an SEO marketer with 1-2 years of experience earning around $50k/year. Not excellent, but definitely more competent than an SEO intern,” Kahn wrote on Twitter. “All of this took me 5 minutes. In the real world, all of this would probably take at least 5-10 hours.”
In response, one witty marketer posted a revised version of his resume listing his only skill as “chatbot query writer.”
What else is this going to disrupt?
- Search engines: Why go to the trouble of googling a topic, then clicking on a website to find the answer you’re looking for when you can just pose your question directly to the AI and get a comprehensive answer? I asked it who the greatest American general of World War II was and was told that Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur were all compelling candidates for that title, explaining the relative merits each commander.
- Education: I am sure some fast-thinking (but otherwise lazy) students have already used ChatGPT to write their homework papers for them. I asked it to compose an 800-word paper on the key themes in the novel Of Mice and Men and it promptly produced an original essay discussing the American Dream, loneliness, and the bond between George and Lennie. How would a teacher or professor prove I hadn’t written it myself?
- Consulting: Why hire Bain when you can type in “develop a business strategy to grow retail sales of diapers in India” to an AI and, in less than 30 seconds, get back a pretty comprehensive plan to “focus on increasing brand awareness, building customer loyalty, expanding the company's distribution network, and developing a range of products that are tailored to the specific needs of the Indian market” while at the same time pursuing partnerships with local charities to provide free diapers to poor families with a portion of the revenue generated from sales to middle-class consumers. Obviously, there is a lot more to a good business strategy than that, but not as much as consultants would like you to think.
Is it any wonder then that more than a million people signed up to use this experimental AI last week?
Every leader should be asking themselves what this means for the future of their business.
So should songwriters. Before logging off, I asked ChatGPT to compose a rap song in the style of Eminem about how hard it is to write a good Forbes column:
Verse 1:
I sit down at my desk, ready to write
But the words just won't come, no matter how hard I try
I'm trying to make this Forbes column the best it can be
But my mind is blank, and I'm starting to see
Chorus:
The struggle, the struggle to write a good Forbes column
It's real, it's tough, and it's taking its toll on me
But I won't give up, I'll keep on fighting
Until I finally get this column right
Verse 2:
I stare at the screen, feeling the pressure
I need to deliver, or my readers will desert me
I know I have the talent, I just need to find the flow
But it's like my mind is a blank slate, and I don't know where to go
Chorus:
The struggle, the struggle to write a good Forbes column
It's real, it's tough, and it's taking its toll on me
But I won't give up, I'll keep on fighting
Until I finally get this column right
Verse 3:
I keep typing, trying different approaches
But nothing seems to work, and I'm starting to lose hope
But then, out of nowhere, I finally hit my stride
The words start flowing, and I know I'm on the right side
Chorus:
The struggle, the struggle to write a good Forbes column
It's real, it's tough, but I finally overcame
I kept on pushing, and now my column is a hit
The struggle was worth it, and I'm feeling like a king
Outro:
The struggle is real, but I never gave up
Now my Forbes column is the talk of the town
I kept pushing, and now I'm on top
The struggle was worth it, and I'm feeling like a king.
