Focus on high value tasks and leave the rest to AI

What will the future role of a business owner be? What will a team look like in 5 years from now? What impact will technology have on service delivery? Will business be fuelled by technology rather than people? These are some of the questions that run through my mind as much of my (professional) time is focused on the impact that AI will have on business.

The latest examples of AI (like ChatGPT) have provided us with a lens into the future and left many questioning whether their roles will exist in five years' time. Truthfully, if we choose to ignore advancements in technology, role redundancies are inevitable. However, if we embrace, explore and adopt a ‘what if’ mindset, the future looks very exciting. 

Ask any early tech adopter on your team and you will be amazed by the application. Give them the opportunity to embrace AI and be sure to ask them for their use-cases. Create a forum to share ideas and use this as an opportunity to improve the status quo.

Rather than restricting access to AI tech, I would encourage you to provide guidance and guardrails for your business to test and explore. You will find that this opens a world of opportunities for you and your business. From simple tasks to new ground-breaking ways to deliver value to your customers. 

I asked one of my Gen Z team members what application they have found for ChatGPT. With eyes lighting up he shared the many ways he uses ChatGPT to do tasks that would normally take hours in a matter of seconds. Rather than making his role redundant, this has the potential to take his skills and knowledge to the next level. His ability to supercharge his career and leverage his skills with AI has increased excitement, engagement and opened a world of possibilities.

We often get caught up in thinking that we must do the heavy lifting. In reality, using AI tools means we can focus on higher value tasks such as strategy execution and business transformation. Ultimately, ChatGPT and similar AI tools are only the beginning. Embrace it with your team and explore the ways this can leverage untapped potential in your business. 

Tanya Titman is chief digital and innovation partner at BDO and is based in Brisbane.

This article originally appeared in The Courier Mail/news.com.au 16 March 2023

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