GenAI: The Future of Technology-Driven Business Processes
Artificial intelligence has taken a significant leap forward with the emergence of generative AI (GenAI). While this technology has garnered interest and some concerns, there is no denying that it is the future of technology-driven business processes. A recent survey conducted by KPMG revealed that 74% of U.S. business executives believe GenAI will have the biggest impact on their businesses in the next 12 to 18 months.
GenAI falls under the category of AI and is designed to generate new content, such as images, text, music, and even computer code, based on existing data that it has been trained on. One impressive example is GPT-4, also known as ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI. Trained on vast amounts of internet data, it can produce text that is virtually indistinguishable from texts written by humans.
However, GenAI does come with its fair share of challenges. The foremost concern is ensuring that the generated content is ethical, unbiased, truthful, and safe. There is a possibility that GenAI tools may produce inappropriate or harmful content, as well as spread false information. Some companies have even resorted to limiting or banning the use of tools like ChatGPT due to concerns about data leaks and privacy.
Transparency regarding the data used to train these models is another issue. The lack of clarity raises concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the information generated by GenAI. In some cases, the tools may even hallucinate and produce nonsensical or false information. For instance, ChatGPT once claimed that a fictional character named King Renoit was a real 16th-century French king.
Another aspect to consider is the impact of GenAI on the workforce. Will it replace humans in their jobs or create new roles? Certain jobs, such as customer service representatives and content creators, may be at risk. However, according to the KPMG study, 53% of executives believe that their workforce will expand with the use of GenAI.
While it may be wise to limit the use of consumer-grade GenAI tools, organizations will likely struggle to completely avoid this technology. The benefits are too significant to ignore, especially when it comes to enterprise-grade tools. GenAI can reduce the need for highly skilled workers, bridging the talent gap in various industries. For example, it can augment the skills of cybersecurity analysts, automate tasks, and enhance efficiency in work processes. In the pharmaceutical industry, GenAI has already proven its potential by drastically reducing the time required for drug development.
Moreover, GenAI tools can generate synthetic data to replace sensitive or regulated information. This synthetic data is already being utilized for training AI models in various applications, such as self-driving vehicles, fraud detection, and voice services like Amazon’s Alexa. Additionally, the natural language interfaces of AI chatbots make it easier for individuals without specialized skills to utilize these tools.
One area where GenAI shines is in the field of cybersecurity. It acts as a force multiplier for the Security Operations Center, aggregating and analyzing data to expedite investigations and automate mitigations. It also mitigates the alert fatigue experienced by security analysts and serves as a subject matter expert.
To embrace GenAI, organizations must establish clear policies regarding its usage, addressing data privacy, ethical considerations, compliance, and responsible implementation of AI technology. A dedicated team with expertise in AI, data science, and relevant domains should be responsible for overseeing its implementation. Furthermore, organizations should conduct proof of concept evaluations, customize knowledge bases, provide comprehensive training programs, and regularly assess the impact of their GenAI implementations.
With its potential to transform business processes across various industries, GenAI is projected to become one of the most influential technologies of the decade. Organizations must seize the opportunity to plan and harness its benefits. The time is now to embrace the future of technology-driven business processes.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the expertise of Saryu Nayyar, CEO of Gurucul, and insights from KPMG’s survey. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
