๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฌ (AI in general, digital platforms, blockchain, 3-D printing, etc.) pose a problem for ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ. These technologies have far-reaching capabilities (partially surpassing those of humans) and are evolving rapidly, but they also come with significant risks. Senior managers, who have built their ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ and associated ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ over the years, are expected to understand these technologies, yet they have limited time to do so, and the risks of failure are high.
One strategy is for senior managers to ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฌ. However, a Harvard Business School study experimented with 78 junior consultants from BCG to evaluate this approach. The juniors, who had limited experience with generative AI outside of the work setting, were asked to solve a business problem using GPT-4 and then suggest tactics to educate their seniors. The study found that the ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ’ ๐ญ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ:
- The juniors ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ of how to mitigate the three key risks associated with generative AI: accuracy, explainability, and contextualization (taking into account context).
- They ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ (e.g., improved prompting, training users to validate results, etc.) and underestimated the potential of system design changes (e.g., automatic monitoring, fine-tuning, RAG for context, hard-coded restrictions, etc.).
- Their risk mitigation tactics were ๐๐จ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ (where they work), missing the bigger picture involving broader frameworks, promoting communication, prompt libraries, audit tools, evaluation metrics, user interfaces, task allocation (between humans and AI systems), updated training data, etc.
The study implies that senior managers have limited options: they must either engage real experts or allocate time to gain personal experience with emerging technologies, despite the risks. I believe the alternative is worse: failing to do so could lead to a swift erosion of both the company’s competitiveness and the managers’ relevance.