In the past year, I’ve been learning and talking a lot with other Change Leaders and Project Managers about Generative Artificial Intelligence, or GenAI. This is an exciting time for people who lead changes in their organizations, because GenAI can help them perform better in their jobs and perhaps even achieve better outcomes on the changes they implement.
Many Change Leaders are already using this AI technology to help with things like sending messages, creating content, planning strategies, identifying and resolving risks, automating mundane tasks, creating training materials, analyzing data, and even creating chatbots.
Using AI can have positive work impact by saving time, improving communications, and bringing more and fresh ideas in the work we do. We are helping our clients consider: 1) AI in technology implementations; 2) new roles related to AI to their org charts; 3) how to build new AI skills; and 4) the cultural transformation to adopt AI. In California, we support the State’s new directives, policies, guidelines, and toolkit to encourage the safe and responsible use of GenAI in the public sector.
But there are also some challenges. Some people do not understand GenAI, some are afraid it might take away their jobs, and there are risks around security and privacy. It is important for Change Leaders to promote formal rules around how GenAI is used and to consider potential ethical issues, security breaches, and the effects of misinformation. The industry’s best practice is to always have a “human-in-the-loop” to check sources and manage these risks. Remember that AI is meant to help us, not replace us.
At Highlands Consulting, we think about all these things when we’re deciding how and when to use GenAI for our clients’ benefit. We take the potential challenges, risks, and issues seriously, and we follow our clients’ guidelines for AI usage. And we always make sure there’s a human involved in the process.