 |
|
|
|||||
Brands that arent using artificial intelligence will soon be left behindbut its not too late to start, argues a new book, AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business or Brand. The same way that business leaders once explored what it means to be digital first or mobile first or video first, digital strategists and authors Adam Brotman and Andy Sack pose the question: What does it mean to be AI first? Brotman and Sack, cofounders of the digital consultancy Forum3, interviewed some of the most influential leaders in technology for their book, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman, best known for cofounding LinkedIn. The book shares their insights as well as a playbook for businesses on how to integrate AI. Brotman, the former chief digital officer for Starbucks who shaped the brands highly successful mobile app and loyalty program, spoke to Fast Company about what he hopes readers will gain from their new book. Fast Company: Why did you and Sack want to write this particular book, and why now? We had actually been asked by Harvard Business Review Press to write a book on digital loyalty, which is my background and our specialty. But we had just had a holy s— moment, like a lot of other people, when we saw ChatGPT. We didn’t understand what was really behind these generative AI systems and where the various frontier labs and systems were going with it. We thought, we better learn this. We asked Harvard if we could go on this journey and share it with our readers, and they said yes. Why does AI feel different to you than other technological advances? There are two ways. One is that we’re talking about intelligence as a service, and that just felt like something that was always reserved for either science fiction or human beings. It wasn’t just software that you programmed, that either worked or didn’t work. The fact that it could think and reasonat least seemingly sofelt very human and unlike anything that we had seen. The second thing was how fast it was moving. You brought up the holy-s— moment. Ive heard that you and Sack at one point wanted that to be the title of the book. Why? We talked to Sam Altman as our first interview for the book. He said that the mission of OpenAI was to achieve artificial general intelligence. And by definition, thats when the AI can effectively do what any human can do, if not better, pretty much instantly and for free. We were like, Oh my God, youre focused on that. When do you think thats going to happen? And he said, I cant predict it, but probably in around five years. That was a holy-s— moment for us. We were sort of stunned. When you try this technology, I think everybody has their own aha moment, if you will. How do I take advantage of this? What is this going to mean for jobs? What is this going to mean for society? Theres a lot of exciting things but theres also a lot of scary unknowns. We thought that was an appropriate name, but of course thats not the best name for a book published by an established publisher. So we compromised and called the introduction chapter The Holy-S— Moment and the book is called AI First. You also interviewed Bill Gates. Can you tell me what your biggest learning or takeaway was from your conversation with him? Yeah, two things: One was that he likened the first time he saw ChatGPT4 to the first time he saw graphical user interface, before Microsoft came up and led the PC revolution with Windows. So he validated and confirmed the significance of this technology. The other thing Bill Gates said to us that was a key takeaway was about the contours of the concept of productivity. Most of us think of productivity as just quantitative, meaning output. He reminded us that productivity has a qualitative edge and dimension to it, and that if you have access to a tool like generative AI and you know how to harness it, you’re going to not just up your productivity, but the quality of your work. I thought that was really interesting. How should business leaders today be leveraging AI? Most organizations want to skip to the AI innovation. They want to skip to the application, like the chatbot or the robot. What theyre skipping over is the powerful effects of everybody using AI many times a day, every day, to enhance their decision-making and analysis and insightsfrankly, to do their job better and faster. Thats not as sexy as some advanced voice-mode, drive-thru technology you deploy across all your QSR [quick-service restaurant] locations. Its not as sexy as completely innovating your creative output through text-to-image, text-to-video capabilities. Those are really important AI use cases, but theyre not the everyday, always-on superpower of letting every individual get that benefit of co-intelligence to make decisions faster. One of the key nuggets from the book is that AI-first organizations start with AI-first people. Is that what you mean when you say that business owners should be thinking of AI as a colleague? Yes. Its collaborating, soundboarding with the AI, inviting AI to the table, as [AI expert and Wharton] professor Ethan Mollick likes to say. Its thinking of it as a member of your team, a colleague. Is there anything else you want readers to know about your book or AI in general? I think a lot of people are intimidated or afraid of either not being able to keep up with the advancements in AI or of the implications of AI, given how fast-moving and powerful it is. What I would say is: Its absolutely not too late. There are so many business leaders in the same spot as you. This is the perfect time to develop a game plan to figure out how to make your organization keep up with whats going on. But dont waitget started.
Category:
E-Commerce
The AI landscape is evolving rapidly and its important to keep up. No one can afford to stay out of the loop on AI, so here are five new books to fill you in on the latest updates, concerns, and uses of this world-changing technology. AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand By Adam Brotman & Andy Sack In AI First, youll hear from a whos who of tech visionaries who spoke with the authors, including Sam Altman himself, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman, sharing how theyre thinking of the transition to the new reality. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by authors Adam Brotman and Andy Sack, or view on Amazon. The AI Con: How to Fight Big Techs Hype and Create the Future We Want By Emily Bender & Alex Hanna A smart, incisive look at the technologies sold as artificial intelligence, the drawbacks and pitfalls of technology sold under this banner, and why its crucial to recognize the many ways in which AI hype covers for a small set of power-hungry actors at work and in the world. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by authors Emily Bender and Alex Hanna, or view on Amazon. More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valleys Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity By Adam Becker How Silicon Valleys heartless, baseless, and foolish obsessionswith escaping death, emergent AI tyrants, and limitless growthpervert public discourse and distract us from real social problems. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Becker, or view on Amazon. AI Valley: Microsoft, Google, and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence By Gary Rivlin A veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist shadows the top thinkers in the field of Artificial Intelligence, introducing the breakthroughs and developments that will change the way we live and work. Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by author Gary Rivlin, or view on Amazon. More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead By Rasmus Hougaard & Jacqueline Carter AI has the potential to transform leadership and the human experience of workor to lead us into an automated and uninspiring work reality. Which one will it be? Listen to the Book Bite summary, read by coauthor Rasmus Hougaard, or view on Amazon. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
Category:
E-Commerce
Employees are in a burnout crisis. A 2023 Mercer report found that 82% of workers were at risk of burnout. Overworked employees say they need time off, work-life balance, and flexibility. But the same report noted only 32% of leaders thought reducing employee burnout was important. Still, some companies are getting wildly innovative with their well-being perks. Last week, Deloitte made headlines for a new approach: offering its staffers $1,000 to purchase Legos and puzzles. While some employees might argue they’d prefer time off, or a raise, Deloitte isn’t the only company to try a quirky new approach to improving employee well-being. Here are five offbeat benefits companies are offering. 1. Pawternity leave Bringing home a new human is a whirlwind of joy, excitement, and pure exhaustion, and companies are well-versed in granting leave (paid and unpaid) to employees who have had a baby. On the other hand, providing time off for bringing home a new pet is pretty atypical. Still, some companies, who clearly value pets, have offered time off for adopting a new fur baby. New York-based data company mParticle offers PTO to employees who adopt a rescue dog. It also allows employees to bring their pups to work. Likewise, Minneapolis marketing firm Collective Measures allows pet owners to work from home for the first week after bringing home a new cat or dog. While pawternity leave might be new, many companies have become more pet-friendly, including Amazon. The company’s Seattle headquarters allows dogs and caters to pups with an entire floor designed for them. The workplace also built a dog park (open to the public) on company grounds. 2. All-expenses-paid vacations Burned-out employees say they could use more time off. How about having a vacation paid in full by your company? If you work for Airbnb, this desirable benefit can be yours. The vacation rental platform helps staff take vacations by giving them travel stipends. And those stipends aren’t piddly either. Airbnb employees receive $2,000 per year ($500 per quarter) to spend on travel bookings. “Our benefits are centered around our Live and Work Anywhere policy, prioritizing flexibility to meet individual needs,” Airbnb’s career page reads. “Employees receive quarterly travel credits, an annual educational stipend, and a quarterly Live and Work Anywhere allowance, empowering them to enhance their lives professionally and personally as desired.” BambooHR, a human resources company, offers the same perk with its “Paid Paid Vacation” policy. Employees receive $2,000 that can be used to pay for hotels and airfare. 3. Home-cleaning services Keeping your home clean takes time and energy. And if you spend a lot of time at the office (or on work-related tasks), housecleaning can easily fall by the wayside. But California-based staffing company Akraya offers a perk designed to help keep employees’ homes spotless, and the stress at bay. Akraya offers professional housecleaning services to all employeesand not just once in a while. Every two weeks we have a cleaning service that goes to our employees homes. . . . I dont know of any other company that has [that benefit], cofounder and CEO Amar Panchal told Staffing Industry Analysts. Panchal got the idea after talking with an employee who was tired from spending the weekend keeping up with housework. 4. Snow(boarding) days Many of us enjoyed snow days as school-age children. But most companies don’t provide time off when the white stuff comes down. Burlington, Vermont-based Burton isnt most companies. The snowboard maker offers “snow days” for its employeeswith one rule: They have to hit the slopes. Per Entrepreneur, whenever there’s a big storm, Burtons offices close and employees are encouraged to get out and snowboard, which is, after all, what the brand is all about. In addition to snow days, employees get majorly discounted lift tickets, season passes, demo gear, and more. 5. Unlimited ice cream Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based ice cream company known for its lovable flavors and outspoken founders, is a pretty sweet place to work. Not only is the atmosphere casual, dog-friendly, and seemingly full of joy, it also offers employees virtually unlimited ice cream. Employees say they’re allowed to take home three pints each and every day, though when new flavors roll in, they have to hustle. “Even though we get three pints a day as a sweet work perk, its always a mad rush to the freezers when a new flavor comes in,” the company website reads. “And camping out overnight to be first in line is, well, frowned upon.” With all the ice cream offerings, it’s no wonder Ben & Jerry’s was ranked Vermont’s Most Coveted Employer this year.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||