Closing the AI Skill Gap Together

The majority of generative AI (GenAI, e.g. ChatGPT) predictions point towards massive gain in productivity. Studies range from articles positing up to a 40% increase in efficiency (1) to forward-looking analyses by consultancies like Gartner and McKinsey with statements like “30 percent of hours currently worked across the US economy could be automated” (2).

We stand on the doorstep to a fantastic opportunity, but also a great challenge to get everyone on board with the change.

I’ve stitched together a few recent pieces and thoughts on this important subject💡. All references are at the end.


😃 It’s for everyone

For companies to harvest the full potential of GenAI will require more than simply hiring for new skills, it's about re/upskilling your current workforce. Everyone must be onboard, bridging the knowledge gap between those proficient in GenAI and those who aren't will be of major importance. Not doing so could significantly set back your company.


👥 Consider two perspectives

🏢 The Business Perspective: Investing in reskilling shall be a long-term strategic play, make it a core strategic pillar that gets full support from all the leadership layers.

👩‍💼 The Employee Perspective: Reskilling supplies a pathway for career development and job security. But it’s also tough challenge to our egos and worldviews, imagine your top skill can now be automated and you are forced to re-skill - that’s not fun 😬.

Having a clear “why” is helpful to get employees onboard.

A recent HBR (3) article stresses how employees are more willing to engage in reskilling when they understand its value and when programs are designed from their perspective.


🏆 Give GenAI a positive vibe through your project managers

Successful practitioners seem to agree that it’s important with a few early successful pilots under the belt to inspire others. It makes sense to start up-skilling project managers and have them taking active roles in the GenAI journey. Project managers often have a wide exposure to different functions and can help to understanding where the chance of successful GenAI pilots is the greatest.

❓ What's the one skill you're looking to upgrade for the AI era? ❓

📖 References
1. Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality by Fabrizio Dell'Acqua, Edward McFowland, Ethan R. Mollick, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Katherine Kellogg, Saran Rajendran, Lisa Krayer, François Candelon, Karim R. Lakhani :: SSRN
2. https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/generative-ai-and-the-future-of-work-in-america
3. https://hbr.org/2023/09/reskilling-in-the-age-of-ai

Learn AI for Xmas

 🎄 We all love a great company Xmas feast, looking back on the highlights of the year, enjoying tasty food and fun games. But it can be a hassle arranging it 😓.

🎓 Why not take this as an opportunity to explore generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT/Bing/Bard)?

WHY?
📌 It’s a boxed project that steers the exploration towards a clear goal
📌 Minor (or no) security risks
📌 Uses capabilities that AI masters quite well, such as creativity and image generation. Giving a positive impression.
📌 The outcome is (very) important, but a failure will (most likely) not kill your business 😉

HOW?
📆 Book an all-hands 3-hour pre-Xmas workshop:

1️⃣ Start with an AI inspirational talk and a quick tutorial. Hire externally or let the AI geek of your company shine 🌟.

👥 Divide into small groups tasked to create a Xmas feast plan and invitation card, set some constraints for:
▶ Budget
▶ Location
▶ Elements that must be included, e.g., fun games, food, drinks or whatever.
▶ …

🤝 Let the teams work through it using AI help

🗳️ Cast votes on the invitation cards

📝 Follow through on the plans and continue exploring AI.

---

🔥 Are you up for the challenge?

📸 If you do it, please share a photo from the festivity with me.

Surfing the wave of AI with grace

 Yesterday I had the opportuning to talk AI and project management with ALFRED Consulting AB - what a warm, innovative, and curious team 🤩 Thanks to Malin Kindstedt, Henrik Stadler, MSc, PMP, PMI-ACP and the rest of the team for the opportunity.

✨I still have two open spots talks in 2023, DM me if you are interested (Swedish or English).

😅 Trying to follow all AI media that washes over us can make the strongest hearted faint.

🧐 The topic for our discussions yesterday where to put all this into perspective, understand what is happening and how to turn it to a fantastic opportunity.

We already see studies on how these new tools boost our productivity and creativity, many roles will evolve in unforeseen ways.

So, what could you do?
🥱 If you are completely uninterested in AI:
📌 try to have an open mind and think about the possibility of automating the boring tasks to give you more time to do the things you like.

😃 If you are curious but haven’t started using AI
📌 try ChatGPT, Bard or Bing today, remember to follow the policy of your company.
📌 Chose a small project and work it through using your AI co-worker.
📌 Follow an AI-podcast or blog weekly. The progress within AI is very rapid.

🥳 If you are an all-in AI nerd.
📌 Be a source of inspiration to your friends and colleagues.

How do you feel about AI?

Unlocking focus with AI

 AI Helps Lower the Barriers, Giving Us the Opportunity to Focus on What We Like

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet up with Anders Öhrn, an entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in data science and AI, as well as building amazing startups around the globe. Inspiring, to say the least 🤩

It's often said that the best ideas come from people who switch domains. When experts from one field enter a new one, they provide a fresh perspective that can lead to fruitful ideas. However, to provide relevant ideas you must lift your knowledge to a base level, which is easier said than done 🥵

Anders showed me his early prototype solution for this problem, leveraging AI and access to open data to optimize your learning 🚀 🎓

Acquiring new knowledge can also be a necessary but unwanted distraction from your main work. Especially for startups, there are many tasks you either have to wing or hire expensive consultants for—such as contracts, GDPR, taxation rules, and so on. Worrying about all of this can keep even the best ideas from becoming a reality.

Thanks to advancements in generative AI and people like Anders, barriers are lowered, and more great ideas can be realized for our benefit 🥳

Amazing.

Has generative AI empowered you in any way?

Generativ AI ökar (eller sänker) din produktivitet

 AI verktyg har positiv effekt produktivitet så länge man håller sig till rätt uppgifter

Äntligen har generativ AI, eg. ChatGPT 4, funnits ute så pass länge att det börjar droppa in ambitiösa studier som fokuserar på om verktyget ger stöd eller inte 🥳

I en studie från Harvard Business School, av bl.a. Ethan Mollick (följ honom om du är nyfiken på AI och produktivitet), tar man en grupp konsulter, låter ena delen använda GPT-4 och andra delen får jobba på enligt eget huvud.

Bättre och sämre:

😁 gruppen som får använda AI presterar ca 40% bättre än den utan, detta så länge man jobbar med uppgifter som ligger inom AIs komfortzon (”within jagged frontier”)

🙁 för uppgifter utanför AIs komfortzon, blir gruppen med AI-stöd mellan 13% och 26% sämre än gruppen utan stöd.

🧐 Det gäller att ha lite koll på vad AI kan och sätta förväntningarna rätt.
Men det rör på sig…AIs komfortzon växer hela tiden så om du testade ChatGPT i början av året, är det tags att ta en ny titt.

Resultaten ger ytterligare stöd till det, numera, gamla uttrycket: AI inte kommer ta ditt jobb utan någon som använder AI kommer göra det.

Det finns helt klart risk för många bryska uppvaknanden där omvärlden har sprungit ifrån “Kodak moments”, men framför allt många möjligheter att använda detta fantastiska verktyg till att göra arbetet roligare och låta oss fokusera på det mänskliga.

Ett citat ur artikeln som stannade kvar i mig

“In our study, since AI proved surprisingly capable, it was difficult to design a task in this experiment outside the AI’s frontier where humans with high human capital doing their job would consistently outperform AI.”

🤔 AI är väldigt bra på tankearbete.

Läs artikeln för fler detaljer. Om du är har ont om tid, dela upp artikeln i 5 delar och läs lite varje dag.

Deciding on Generative AI: A Risk Analysis Approach

 Deciding whether to let ChatGPT, or other Generative AI tools, loose at your company is difficult 🤔

👍 On the one hand, you read that 80% of Fortune 500 companies have adopted ChatGPT. FOMO.

🚫 On the other hand, you read that 75% of organizations worldwide are set to ban ChatGPT. Better not use it…

🤷 This boils down to the uncomfortable answer that it's up to you to make the call.

📋 A great way of making tough decisions is to consult the good old risk analysis template to see what the major risks are for your business and address them.

📊 McKinsey & Co. conducted a survey on the most cited risks of generative AI adoption. This can serve as a great starting point to kick off the discussions and decide what categories to include in your risk analysis.

What strikes me about the categories is how performing the risk analysis is a full-company exercise (or all of your brain cells if you are a solo entrepreneur). It stretches from pure IT aspects such as cybersecurity risks, to organizational reputation, to the risk of your staff being worried about displacement.

📄 To help you along the way, I've put the risks into a risk analysis template with a few examples for each of the categories. Reach out to me if you want the Excel file.

⚠️ NOTE: The risk categories and examples are just for sparking your thinking; you are ultimately responsible for your own risk analysis.

Do you think a risk analysis could clarify you thinking about using generative AI?

Nu finns allt för att våga prova Generativ AI, eller?

 Är “Copilot Copyright Commitment” från Microsoft det som krävs för att alla slutligen ska våga experimentera brett med generativ AI och rulla ut skarpt?

Generativ AI förväntas öka vår produktivitet rejält, McKinsey uppskattar ökningens värde till 4.2-6.4 trillioner dollar per år. Jättemycket pengar. Generativ AI kommer bli viktigt i dom flesta organisationer, kanske på samma sätt som internet eller rent av elektricitet ⚡️

Men, vågar man testa?

Det är många utmaningar som behöver hanteras:

♥️ Vi måste värna om våra anställda och inte skapa panik för att bli av med jobbet.

🕵️ Vi behöver lita på att AI systemen inte exponerar våra hemligheter, eller utsätter oss för IT-säkerhetsrisker.

👩‍⚖️ Vi måste våga använda det som kommer ur AI verktygen utan att riskera att bli stämda för IP intrång.

Tar man ett stort bolag som Microsoft har dom förstås adresserat allt detta och bitvis kommunicerat ut det:

♥️ Tidigt började man använda “Co-”, Copilot, Co-create, o.s.v., för att var tydliga med att vi människor sitter i förarsätet och AI-verktygen hjälper till oss bättre. Inte ersätta.

🔒 Man är tydlig med att all insamlad data är anonymiserad och aggregerad, vilket säkerställer att enskilda användare eller organisationer inte kan identifieras. Samma rigorösa säkerhetsstandarder gäller för Copilot som för Mirosoft 365.

📑 För någon vecka sedan släpptes Copilot Copyright Commitment som ska göra oss trygga i att IP som genereras tillhör skaparen. Man sträcker sig så långt att till och med täcka upp för eventuella stämningar och skriver i sin blogg:

“Copilot Copyright Commitment. As customers ask whether they can use Microsoft’s Copilot services and the output they generate without worrying about copyright claims, we are providing a straightforward answer: yes, you can, and if you are challenged on copyright grounds, we will assume responsibility for the potential legal risks involved.”

Är Copilot Copyright Commitment det sista som behövdes för att ni ska börja experimentera med generativ AI på riktigt?

Referenser

https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/5/2023/07/Microsoft-Voluntary-Commitments-July-21-2023.pdf

Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot - Deploy Office | Microsoft Learn

Microsoft announces new Copilot Copyright Commitment for customers - Microsoft On the Issues

Economic potential of generative AI | McKinsey

Föreläsningspreimär: AI för projektledare

Äntligen har vi projektledare fått ett nytt verktyg som har potential att förändra många delar av vårt arbete, kanske i grunden? Jag tänker såklart på generativ AI (t.ex. ChatGPT). Spännande? Läskigt? Va?

En färsk undersökning (https://get.pmairevolution.com/report01) visar att majoriteten av oss projektledare (75%) är övertygade om att AI kommer förbättra vår förmåga att driva projekt. Samtidigt har vi självinsikt och 62% säger sig sakna tillräckliga kunskaper för att skörda framtidens läckerheter.

I ett försök att reda ut vad som händer och få igång tankarna har jag satt samman en praktisk inspirationsföreläsning kring AI och Projektledning med tre huvudblock

1. Varför så mycket prat om AI just nu?
2. Hur kan AI-verktygen påverka vår vardag? Kommer jag bli av med mitt jobb?
3. Vad kan du göra för att hänga med utan att bli paralyserad av allt som händer?

Växlar mellan nuet, konkreta tips och framtidsscenarios baserade på tillämpning av ny forskning.

I helgen var det smygpremiär med åhörare. Kul!

Låter det intressant?

3 praktiska AI-tips för projektledare

Det är lätt att bli stressad av allt som skrivs om AI , “AI kommer 10x din produktivitet” och själv har man inte startat. Jag har samlat tips på hur ChatGPT (Bard, Bing Chat eller Claude fungerar också ) kan hjälpa dig som projektledare idag, förhoppningsvis kan det ge inspiration att komma igång.

Här är tre områden där jag har haft stor hjälp av AI, tar också med exempel på promptar som ett frö, men testa själv - är du osäker kan du alltid fråga ChatGPT om tips. Promptarna skrivna på engelska, som jag oftast skriver på, men svenska går också bra.

Lärande

Som projektledare, särskilt konsult, kastas man ofta in i nya områden, ena projektet kan handla om IT-infrastruktur och andra om app-utveckling, eller dataanalys. Oftast har man experter i teamet som driver utvecklingen men för kommunikationen är det viktigt att skaffa sig en basförståelse.

När man vill utforska nya ämnen är ChatGPT en utmärkt coach, man kan ställa samma fråga 10 gånger utan att känna sig dum. Om ChatGPT själv ska servera information fritt ur minnet, d.v.s. man bistår inte med en text, är det viktigt att vara uppmärksam på “hallucinationer”, d.v.s. ChatGPT levererar felaktiga svar med hög självsäkerhet, dubbelkolla alltid.

Exempel på promptar:

✏️. För generell förståelse: I want you to act as an introductory guide to the subject of Insert Subject Here. Provide me with a concise overview, main principles, and why it's relevant today.

✏️. För Praktiska tillämpningar: I want you to act as a practical expert in Insert Subject Here

✏️. För framtida perspektiv: I want you to act as a futurist for Insert Subject Here. Describe current trends, potential future developments, and how they might impact society or industry.

När väl diskussionen är i gång, ställ uppföljningsfrågor, be ChatGPT att förklara enklare, o.s.v.

Summera texter

För att fullt kunna fokusera under möten kan det ibland vara bra att inte behöva bara ta korta stödanteckningar eller inga alls. ChatGPT är utmärkt på att sammanfatta.

Dom flesta mötesverktyg kan spela in det som sägs och transkribera med mycket hög kvalitet. Utifrån transkriptionen kan sammanfattning enkelt göras för utskick.

ChatGPT tenderar att hallucinera mindre när man ber den sammanfatta ett givet material än när man ställer öppna frågor.

Exempel på promptar:

✏️. I want you to act as a project manager. Review the meeting transcription, highlight the main discussions points, and organize decisions and tasks in a table with owners and timelines.

Självklart kan all text, t.ex. rapporter, e-mail kedjor, kontrakt, etc. summeras och dissekeras på liknande sätt.

Ett vanligt problem är att texten man vill ha sammanfattat är för lång, två lösningar

💡 Text splitter: Input files and long text into ChatGPT - Optimus Development (op-development.com)

💡Ladda upp hela filer: Om ChatGPT plus används kan hela filer enkelt laddas upp.

Förbättra skriven kommunikation

Ibland måste formuleringen bli rätt, du ska skicka ett viktigt mail till styrgruppen eller någon i teamet. Då kan ChatGPT hjälpa till med formuleringen och ge återkoppling på det du skrivit.

Du kan antingen använda en punktlista eller en draft på vad du vill ha sagt och följande promptar för att få återkoppling:

✏️. Du ska ge kritisk återkoppling per mail och vill veta hur mottagaren upplever svaret: I want you to act as the recipient of my email providing critical feedback. Evaluate the wording and expressions used, and share how it might be perceived. Help me identify areas that could be softened or clarified.

✏️. Du måste leverera jobbiga nyheter: I want you to act as the receiver of this email containing difficult news. Assess the language and structure, and explain how it might affect you emotionally. Suggest any changes to make it more compassionate.

✏️. Du vill säkerställa att Actions är tydliga: I want you to act as a team member receiving my email with action items. Evaluate how clear the instructions are, and suggest formatting or wording changes to ensure the required actions are unmistakable.

Mycket information! Välj nu ut ett exempel och en prompt och testa! Nyfiken vad väljer du?

Will AI take our jobs?

Let’s try to untangle this controversial subject and speculate about the future of work.

As a starting point we can look at the words of two great thinkers:

AI will take all our jobs and few new ones will be created

Susskind, D. (2020). A World Without Work: Technology, Automation, and How We Should Respond. Metropolitan Books

AI is redefining “routine” tasks and taking over both manual and cognitive jobs, posing a risk to up to half of all jobs; while it can create unforeseen tasks and jobs, there’s no guarantee of sufficient job replacement, necessitating a revamp in education and training to focus on fostering creativity, emotional intelligence, and lifelong learning.

AI will take current jobs but create better new ones

Marc Andreessen: Future of the Internet, Technology, and AI | Lex Fridman Podcast

The introduction of AI may cause job turnover, but it ultimately leads to more jobs and higher wages, as AI-driven efficiencies lower prices and spur new demand, creating new enterprises; however, there’s a need for individuals to adapt and acquire new skills, often aided by AI, to thrive in these changing circumstances.

The billion-dollar question is of course whether AI will create more jobs that it takes. I will refrain from taking a stance here, but instead focus on the arguments Susskind and Andreessen have in common and what you can do to improve your chances in both scenarios.

AI will take over tasks, not jobs

Your job consists of several tasks and the AI automation process targets tasks not the full job.

AI will start automating tasks that are repetitive, predictable, and require low cognitive engagement. But it will not stop there, we already today see AI taking on tasks that need creativity, problem-solving and considerable cognitive engagement, like data analysis, report writing and generating photos/illustrations (AI pretty good with creativity see Automating creativity — by Ethan Mollick — One Useful Thing).

Leaving social interaction and deep thinking to us humans. As AI advances, it will automate more advanced tasks, leading to changes in job-roles. We already see how e.g., Microsoft is trying to improve AI capability for social interaction to another level with project Rumi (Project Rumi — Microsoft Research)

What about my job?

• If your job consists of a few similar tasks, then your entire role is likely to be automated by AI in the near future.
• If your job involves a variety of different tasks and social interactions, then your role is likely to continue existing, but being re-defined since AI will take over much of your routine tasks. Note: today, writing a report is considered a routine task!

A full day of deep thinking?

The complex stuff, deep thinking, is left to us humans — this is a different beast compared to tackling routine tasks.

Our capacity for deep thinking is limited, doing cognitively “easy” tasks makes it possible for us to do 8–10 hour work days. In a future where AI assists us with all the easy tasks, our workday must be optimized for deep thinking and look quite different.

Deep thinkers such as Yuval Harari and Warren Buffet are known for spending a lot of time meditating and reading. I’m not sure if my manager would be happy with me spending 4 hours meditating and reading each workday…But our brains are not wired for 8 hours of constant complex thoughts.

We must throw away many of the current conceptions when structuring the new workdays, if we do it the right way, the future might turn out bright.

Start preparing now!

It’s crucial now, more than ever, for us to set the strategy and tactics for:

• Embracing Lifelong Learning: We must spend more time studying for each unit of output, each day is a day for learning.
• Developing Non-Automatable Skills: Skills like critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence. The term non-automatable skills are highly dynamic and we must be agile.
• Adapt and Be Flexible: The work landscape is changing, and we need to be prepared and open to change. This might mean changing our career paths or adopting new ways of working.

Conclusion

Will there be work for everyone? There will be fewer “easy” tasks to perform, forcing us to re-define jobs. AI won’t steal our jobs, but it will change them, requiring us to adapt and evolve more and quicker. We have a big chance of turning this into something positive for all of us.

AI in Project Management: A Community Perspective

Last week I posted on AI and Project Management, it sparked an amazing amount of attention, by my standards it “went viral” 🥳

For you who read it, thank you for your engagement through reactions and comments 🙌 I’m overwhelmed of all your positive energy 😊

Your insights, opinions, and thoughtful reflections enriched the conversation and inspired me to devote more of my time to understanding, navigating, and helping with this paradigm shift.

Reading all of your comments many times, it felt like a snapshot of how the community thinks about AI right now and worth a its own summary.

Here it is - the comments viewed from a few perspectives 😀

🌟 How do you feel about AI?

The general sentiment in the comments was overwhelmingly positive to AI! A sentiment analysis of the comments revealed:

• Positive: 41 comments
• Negative: 2 comments
• Neutral: 9 comments

Everyone has buckled up and looking forward to enjoying the ride!

📈 Expected Positive Aspects of AI in Project Management

The comments highlighted several promising aspects:

• Efficiency Improvement: Automating tasks to save time.
• Enhanced Forecasting: Utilizing data for better planning.
• Innovation: Exploring new applications and solutions.

Curious, what will you use all the saved time for?

❗ Concerns Regarding AI in Project Management

Some concerns were raised:

• Limited Transformative Impact? Need to see qualitative improvements.
• Uncertainties: Realization of actual benefits and impact.

There is a lot of talking going on and you (and me) want to see hard facts! Does it really kill those admin tasks?

💡 Good Ideas and Tips found in the comments

📚Reading and exploring

• "Mastering The Dynamics of Innovation" by James Utterback
• "Understanding Practical Project Management" (Haufe, 2023), by Peter Taylor
• https://www.routledge.com/AI-and-the-Project-Manager-How-the-Rise-of-Artificial-Intelligence-Will/Taylor/p/book/9781032006574
• https://DolphinGPT.ai
• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joejustice_3-prompts-to-use-chatbots-for-learning-activity-7094065009424543744-e1MD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

🙌 Communities

• https://www.meetup.com/London-Project-Data-and-Analytics-meetup/

🛠️ Tools / apps to try

• Keto Software
• Taskade
• Sembly AI

🔮 Something to think about…

Gary Lloyd lifted a perspective worth pondering about.

“Doing the wrong thing efficiently is not just a waste—it's a missed opportunity. As AI transforms project management, we must look beyond mere process controls and automation.”

How do we do it right? What lies beyond automating the current way of working? What is the true paradigm shift?

Conclusion

We are positive, excited, curious and optimistic about the transformative potential of AI.

What is your next step on this journey? What would you like help with?

Looking forward continue sharing thoughts and experiences with you! 🌟

Current status of AI in project management

Project management is complex, it will not be solved by AI in a big bang, but instead in several task level improvements. You will have AI drafting the project plan saving you 30% of the work, you suddenly realize that note taking, and distribution of action items is automatic now, and so on. In this way AI will transform much of the knowledge work as we know it today, task by task.

How will this happen? What can AI assist with? How to start?

I took a deep dive in the current understanding on how AI will transform project management.

Let’s start by looking which AI capabilities making it suitable for project management:

1. Data analysis: AI can analyze large amounts of data quickly, opening up for improved forecasting of timelines, budget, resource allocation, potential risks, and even project success probabilities. As long as the data is available.
2. Automation of repetitive tasks: AI is perfect for automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as data entry, schedule updates, and progress reporting. This will also help reducing human errors.
3. Create and summarize text: AI is great at text generation and can be used for creating draft project documentation, assisting with communication and understanding complex contracts. This might be the first thing to try.

Leveraging these capabilities will improve the efficiency, leading to less project management overhead with improved quality. Looking at the project triangle we usually say this is impossible: lower cost, shorter project time and higher quality. Great promises.

But there are some obstacles to overcome…

Challenges of AI in Project Management:

1. Resistance to Adoption: There might be resistance to embracing AI among project managers and members, it could be seen as a threat not an opportunity. Also, for companies to take the IT investment, up-skilling and adopting processes, will require giving it high priority.
2. Data Privacy and Security: With increasing AI reliance, ensuring the safety of project data processed by AI is crucial. If not solved, this will block roll out.
3. Risk of Over-Automation: There's a potential risk of over-relying on AI and overlooking human insight and judgement. This will be a dynamic challenge since the sweet spot between human or an AI will change as AI improves its capabilities.
4. Integration Issues: Seamlessly integrating AI tools with existing project management methods and systems can be technically challenging, especially giving access to company data.

Change mangers will have a busy time moving forward 🥳

How to get started?

First of all, start now. As Prof. Ethan Mollick suggests in a worklab podcast, take “the top 20 percent most creative people in your company, require they all use AI for a week, and give a million-dollar prize to whoever comes up with the best way to automate parts of their job while promising you’re not going to fire anyone as a result of this.”

That is, work from the ground up, put the tools in the hands of the users (project managers) and let them tinker, explore and share learnings.

You can start now without any risk and at an exceptionally low cost…

Microsoft Bing Chat Enterprise is a safe and solid way to get started, it gives you access to an AI-powered chat (GPT-4) with high Microsoft standards for data protection. This can be used for text-based tasks, such as drafting reports and streamlining communication.

Or set up a “AI-lab” with computers outside your IT infrastructure only allowing to use publicly available data. This will open for hundreds of tools. I would suggest keeping it simple and go for a ChatGPT Plus subscription, this gives access to plug-ins and the code-interpreter which can be used for working with data. Create business cases and go for a full-scale implementation if it looks good.

If you want to - go all in and fine tune your own language model.

When including your company data into the language model it opens a whole other level of benefits. For example, you could ask it to summarize the lesson learned from all similar projects into guidelines for the current project or create a project plan based on previous work and have it writing it according to the company language guidelines.

This is much more advanced and expensive compared to using pre-trained models, such as Google Bard, ChatGPT or Llama 2.

One way to explore including own data in the language models might be reaching out to service providers such as Sanalabs or Glean.

How to learn more

For learning more about how to leverage AI for project management check out:

• Ricardo Vargas offers insightful courses such as the AI-Driven Project Management Masterclass and additional content on LinkedIn.
• Peter Taylor has written multiple books on this topic.
• Michael Kaplan, explores these topics and shares his findings on LinkedIn.

Have you started using generative AI for your professional work yet? which tasks does it help with? I’m curious to hear what you have been up to 😃

Generative AI: My hopes for the Rest of 2023

 I’m gearing up for an exciting autumn as work resumes post summer break! Last year, Generative AI hit the public sphere and has been gaining momentum ever since. The tempo is furious.

A lot of push

Big tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Apple are investing heavily in generative AI, each with unique strategies. This push will result in broader adoption of generative AI, it you will hopefully encounter it this fall. In parallel, we're also seeing the major management firms providing strategy guides for AI, indicating a strategic shift.

With this backdrop, the autumn will be something extra!

Here's what I'm excited about for the rest of 2023:

1. AI from Non-Techies: I look forward to understanding how AI is explored and implemented by non-tech professionals. How are HR, line managers, CFOs, and even philosophers thinking about and leveraging this technology? More use-cases and less foundational model comparisons.

2. Enterprise adoption: Will we see broad enterprise adoption of generative? We already have an enterprise version of BingChat and a price tag on M365 Copilot. Will there be an explosion of enterprise solutions hitting the market? What are the consequence in terms of:

Productivity Boost: How is AI affecting productivity across different sectors? What are the concrete use cases, and time savings? How do we spend that “extra time”?

Job Market Response: What is the response to automation? Will we see a flood of new jobs already now or will there be a gap? A recent Netflix job posting for a machine learning platform product manager shows the role AI will play in content creation, likely reducing the need for human writers. How will such changes impact the job market?

AI-Integrated Business Processes: Are we going to see business processes, such as project management, being redesigned with generative AI at their core? How will a day for a project manager look like if 50% of the management is handled by AI

Up-skilling: How to train millions of employees to leverage the tools?

3. AI solving global problems: How is AI solving engineering problems? If AlphaGo could surprise a whole world by the “37th move”, could AI surprise us by new solutions to engineering problems?

Climate Change: How is AI helping us to win the fight against global warming? What are the concrete examples of AI-generated ideas helping combat climate change?

Cure for diseases: We have seen Alphafold starting to be used in protein research, but what else is happening in the life-science space?

Lot’s of questions, and hopefully lot’s of answers in the months to come. Excited for the journey!

What are you most excited for?

A new blog is released 🎉

💡 I've been sharing my thoughts on how innovative tech such as AI and VR are revolutionizing areas like leadership and project management and helping us boost productivity.

I feel it’s difficult to navigate my posts as the content is growing.

🔍 To provide a more searchable experience, I've decided to collect these scattered posts into an organized collection.

Thinkers Torch is my new blog, serving the aforementioned purpose 🚀

This is where all my thoughts on these subjects will be stored and categorized for easy navigation 📚🗂️

Everything will still be published on LinkedIn 😅

I hope the blog will be a helpful resource for you.

If there are specific topics you'd like me to cover, or if you have any suggestions or inquiries, please feel free to connect with me.