Why Generative AI Is Essential for Organizations and the Global Economy
Generative AI is not just a passing trend or a novelty; it is poised to have significant macroeconomic implications. Recent estimates suggest that generative AI could contribute $7 trillion to the global GDP and increase productivity growth by 1.5%. In other words, it is not a passing fad; it is becoming an essential tool for companies across various industries.
Sav Khetan, Senior Director of Product Strategy at Tealium, spoke at Transform 2023 about the importance of generative AI, its transformative power, and how business leaders should embrace it for their organizations.
Khetan highlighted the breakthrough in AI’s ability to communicate in human language as a game-changer: The magic we’re all feeling and experiencing right now is because AI is suddenly able to communicate directly in our language, both in and out, he said. It can understand what we say with full context and respond with language and images that we can understand. That’s what flipped.
While AI has been integrated into our lives for some time, generative AI brings a new level of sophistication. Large language models (LLMs), the foundation of generative AI, have revolutionized the field. For instance, GPT-4, the latest model, can handle an immense amount of complexity and scale with its 170 trillion parameters, compared to GPT-3’s 175 billion parameters.
This scalability allows LLMs to consume both structured and unstructured data, which marks a significant shift since over 80% of the world’s data is unstructured, primarily in the form of video content. The impact on user experience (UX) and human interactions with technology is profound. Previously, UX design required translating human commands into actions using structured, organized, tagged data and operational code. With LLMs, data can be consumed as-is, without any translation needed.
Looking at the adoption and innovation in generative AI, it is clear that its influence is rapidly expanding. By 2026, 50% of sales and marketing providers are predicted to incorporate AI-driven assistants, while 60% of the design process for new websites will involve generative AI. In the HR space, 30% of software will utilize assistants. Additionally, by 2025, 75% of digital marketing communications will feature avatars.
However, these use cases are only the beginning. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) refers to this current stage as wave one, anticipating even more powerful applications to emerge. Khetan refers to the current state as a pull world, where users request AI responses. The next stage, called synth AI, is when AI proactively analyzes data and provides insights. Users can set up automated cadences for receiving synthesized information.
The potential of this technology is immense. Access to direct consumption of data for research, analysis, and insights can revolutionize decision-making processes. That is why embracing generative AI is crucial for organizations seeking to make more informed and powerful decisions.
To get started, Khetan advises organizations to learn, explore, and play with generative AI. These tools, such as DALL-E, Midjourney, and ChatGPT, are currently free, but their availability may change in the future. Furthermore, organizations need to prepare their data, APIs, and systems to connect effectively with these tools and access the necessary data. Having robust first-party data is essential for implementing customer-facing AI workflows.
Prioritizing the adoption of generative AI is crucial for organizations. It is time to start planning and allocating resources to embrace this transformative technology. The potential it holds for improving decision-making and user experiences cannot be overlooked.
Generative AI is not just a passing trend; it is reshaping industries and driving economic growth. It’s time for organizations to seize the opportunity and leverage the power of generative AI for their success.
