Sometimes we wonder how people ever survived the 1800s without electricity, cell phones, computers, 7-Eleven and Starbucks, for God’s sake. Children of the next century may contemplate what life would have been like without artificial intelligence (AI).
As much as we might like to ignore it, this AI fad doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. The trendy source for accessing universal knowledge of anything and everything has already surpassed the era of bell-bottom trousers, mood rings, and platform shoes.
We must accept it. So, how do we adapt? Just ask AI Overview.
“Adapting to AI requires shifting to a mindset of continuous learning, curiosity, and experimentation, treating AI as a collaborative tool rather than a replacement. Embrace it by integrating AI into daily workflows for efficiency, developing critical soft skills (like prompt engineering and ethical judgment), and staying flexible as technology evolves.”
We should not fear artificial intelligence, just as we shouldn’t fear robotics, as a total replacement for human involvement. Henry Ford’s assembly line was revolutionary in hastening automobile production in the early 1900s, and still, Ford Motor Co. remains today among the largest employers in Detroit.
The internet is loaded with consultants and academicians offering guidance on how to use AI to your advantage, how to adapt and harness its power and potential. AI solutions are provided for business models, financial investment, legal advice, medical procedures, data analysis, logistics, any problem that needs to be solved, any question that needs to be answered. It can predict the Super Bowl winner, but don’t bet on it.
AI is a pretty massive topic, assesses Brian Baker, vice president of Highmark Tech Systems in Fort Wayne, Ind. Its use depends on who you are and what you need. A designer will use AI in a different way than a student or writer, and the regular Joe’s use may be entirely different.
“AI is exploding right now,” Baker tells Exhibit City News in a phone interview. “There’s not a job function anywhere that isn’t being affected by AI in a general way and in specific ways.”
ChatGPT is the most common AI tool, but Google AI is also good, says Baker, who professes that he’s by no means an expert, though he uses AI in many applications as Highmark’s VP. He might receive an 85-page request for a proposal that can be summarized in ChatGPT, with specific information on budget and time constraints and a table with due dates.
Josh Abelson, co-owner and general manager of The Industrial event space in Las Vegas, says, “It is so intertwined with how we do things nowadays, I would highly recommend you get on board and learn how it affects you and can help you or you will be left behind.”
Welcome Change
Embrace the ineluctable automation. That’s clearly the first step. Don’t close your eyes and wait to see what happens. The best approach is to satisfy your curiosity, wiggle your way into the future. At the very least, you may find that AI saves you time, accomplishing repetitive tasks, freeing you up for more important activities and higher priorities.
“AI can be used for general and niche-specific tasks. There’s AI that can be designed for anything you want,” Baker says. The trick is with the “prompting,” or the parameters that you set for your AI tool. You want to be specific about what you need.
“I don’t want to tell it to analyze my finances. I want to say, ‘Listen, here’s my spreadsheet. Analyze my finances to identify a specific thing,’” Baker notes.
Brain Power
Don’t be intimidated by AI. Think of it as augmented intelligence. Our brain is packed with information, developed with empirical and esoteric knowledge acquired throughout our lives, and like a stuffed garage or attic, something has to be discarded to bring in something new, though it can sometimes be retrieved by a jogging of memory. AI enhances our intelligence.
“It still is in its early phases, so it is not 100 percent perfect,” Industrial’s Abelson points out. “There are great use cases and there are sometimes where using your own brain works out better. I think of it as more of a tool as opposed to it taking over. The real power of AI is yet to be seen.”
Start Small
We’re presented with so many choices, but we can’t do it all. Selecting an AI trial app to see if it’s right can take you down a rabbit hole, tinkering around and getting nowhere. Test some AI initiatives to validate your assumptions, identify challenges, and fine-tune strategies before taking on larger projects.
Stay Updated
Attend forums and conferences to learn about the latest trends, research and best practices in AI. “There are a lot of YouTube and tutorials about how you can incorporate AI in your daily life. My advice is to jump in and start playing around with it,” Abelson promotes.
Collaboration with other people is essential. Exchange information between people. Stay in touch with people in your field of interest; it’ll keep you in the loop. Seek out AI experts and industry professionals who can help you optimize models, make informed decisions, and avoid potential pitfalls.
Beware Of Bias
Humans have provided data sets and research for AI systems, which thereby can be inherently influenced by human biases. This raises ethical concern about the validity and accuracy of information used to make decisions that can affect a person’s life. It’s a shared responsibility–from creators to users–to bring transparency, accountability and fairness to AI systems.
“First and foremost, don’t be afraid of AI. Second, be afraid of AI,” Baker contradicts. “AI is just another tool, and it can be useful for just about any professional. It’s also frequently wrong and it will answer you with tremendous confidence as if it’s the gospel truth, and then you confront it and ChatGPT says, ‘You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry.’”
Find Your Niche
It cannot be refuted that AI has cost some people their jobs. Many of today’s jobs involve not just using computers but learning different programs and AI capabilities on the fly. That doesn’t mean you need to train for an entirely new career to remain relevant. Learning the technical and soft skills that allow you to excel in your current role or specialty will put you ahead of the curve, at least for the time being.
Training Process
While 96 percent of employees said they believe AI can help them in their current job, 60 percent are afraid it will eventually automate them out of work, according to a survey by Oliver Wyman Forum. Employees will need training and support to create sensible and intuitive processes alongside this technology.
“By engaging in active listening, demonstrating understanding, and addressing concerns, organizations can channel the capabilities of generative AI into constructive progress,” the Wyman report states.
