This week let's take a look at how AI can enhance strategy and human creativity in general. With the release of some compelling academic research, there is evidence now of what many have been figuring out for the past year or so - that AI can definitely help with strategy development.
Generative AI models are relentlessly creative and superb at associating seemingly disparate concepts. This makes them the ideal companion for strategy development and innovation studies where the best outcomes come from broad and bias-free examinations of multiple topics simultaneously.
It's a topic that I feel strongly enough about that I'm building a platform to help people take advantage of this incredible technology:
But before we get into all of that, let's review this week's emerging signals:
Signals from the future:
Emerging trends that are likely to drive changes to the way we live, work and do business.
- Quantum internet draws near thanks to entangled memory breakthroughs - r/Futurology - Advancements in quantum information storage enable long-distance entanglement, a crucial step towards building a global quantum internet infrastructure.
- The Top ESG Trends Reshaping Business Over The Next Decade - Forbes - Embracing ESG principles is crucial for businesses in the evolving landscape, impacting strategies, society, geopolitics, and sustainability efforts for long-term success.
- AI Teammates are coming to your workplace - Digital Trends - AI Teammate by Google Workspace transforms work dynamics by integrating AI as a collaborative team member, raising questions about job displacement.
- America's Population Time Bomb - Newsweek - The "silver tsunami" demographic shift in the U.S. presents both challenges and opportunities, requiring immediate action for economic and social preparedness.
- Video: $16k G1 humanoid rises up to smash nuts, twist and twirl - New Atlas - Innovative $16k G1 humanoid robot with advanced features like 360-degree flexibility, durable design, and learning capabilities, targeting diverse applications in home and workplace environments.
- CRISPR restores some vision to blind patients in clinical trial - r/Futurology - Breakthrough gene-editing trial offers hope for vision restoration in patients with hereditary blindness, paving the way for potential treatments in other genetic diseases.
- Raw Milk Enthusiasts Demand Milk Infected With H5N1 - Futurism - Dangerous trend of seeking immunity through infected raw milk despite scientific evidence supporting pasteurisation and CDC warnings against intentional infection.
- The government of Wales has published a 'Protocol for Future Generations'; that it says will guide government policy for as yet unborn generations. - r/Futurology - Empowering global leaders to prioritise sustainability and equity through the Wales Protocol, advocating for intergenerational fairness and a Special Envoy for Future Generations.
- UK announces major nuclear and fusion energy plans to ‘push Russia out of global energy market’ - r/Futurology - UK's ambitious nuclear and fusion energy plans aim to revolutionise the energy sector, drive economic growth, and establish global leadership in fusion technology.
- Generative AI is speeding up human-like robot development. What that means for jobs - CNBC - Generative AI like ChatGPT is revolutionizing humanoid robot development in China, bridging the gap between AI understanding and human-like interaction for enhanced task performance.
- Are Floating Cities the Solution to Rising Seas? - The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos - Enhance online user experience by allowing JavaScript and disabling ad blockers for seamless access to premium content on websites.
- Bumble Founder Says Future of Dating Is Your AI Will Date Other People's AIs and Hook You Up With the Best Matches - Futurism - The future of dating may involve AI "dating concierges" communicating with other AIs to find matches, raising concerns about personal agency.
- What the world could look like in the year 2070 - Futurism - Explore the potential future landscape of 2070 through discussions on technology, science, and societal evolution in a vibrant Reddit community.
- Scientists unlock cyanobacteria's carbon secrets, may enable 'vastly improved crop yields' - r/Futurology - Unlocking the potential of enzyme CsoSCA in cyanobacteria for enhancing crop carbon uptake, thus boosting food production and reducing environmental impact.
Focus Issue - Can AI enhance strategy and human creativity?
A study published in Scientific Reports has discovered that artificial intelligence (AI), specifically GPT-4, demonstrates higher creative potential than humans in divergent thinking tasks, challenging the notion that creativity is exclusively human. The research compared the performance of 151 human participants and GPT-4 on creativity assessment tasks such as the Alternative Uses Task, Consequences Task, and Divergent Associations Task. Results showed that AI outperformed humans in originality and elaborateness, although humans displayed a broader range of unique responses.
This suggests AI's growing capability in generating original ideas, highlighting its potential as a tool for inspiration and overcoming ideational fixedness. The study also calls for further research on the multifaceted nature of creativity, including the usefulness and appropriateness of creative outputs where human creativity may still excel. Additionally, the text references a broad spectrum of research on AI, creativity, and natural language processing, and discusses the importance of addressing the hype in AI advancements.
Helping further explore this topic, experts discussed Gen AI's impact, including technologies like ChatGPT, on innovation management at the "Driving Innovation with Generative AI" conference, co-hosted with AI at Wharton. The conference covered the technology's rapid development, investment trends predicting it to become a $1.5 trillion industry by 2030, and its potential to transform business models and innovation paradigms. Despite the crowded AI startup market, the emphasis was on the importance of creating products that meet consumer demands to drive value. Panelists shared insights on Gen AI's ability to generate high-quality business ideas and its role in democratising innovation by aiding those with less technical expertise. However, they also stressed the importance of managing ethical considerations and ensuring Gen AI serves as an enhancement to human creativity rather than a replacement, positioning it as a versatile tool in innovation management.
The impact of generative AI on strategy, creativity, and innovation is profound. Businesses are now able to shorten planning cycles and adapt more quickly to disruption and uncertainty. The increased focus on digital transformation and AI integration is reshaping how companies operate, emphasising the importance of data-driven decision-making and automation. Generative AI tools are enhancing customer and employee experiences by providing more personalised and efficient interactions. As companies continue to adopt these technologies, they must also address ethical considerations and ensure that AI serves as a complement to human creativity rather than a replacement. The future of business strategy will likely see a greater emphasis on sustainability, cybersecurity, and supply chain resilience, driven by the capabilities of generative AI. This shift means that businesses must continuously learn and adapt to stay competitive, leveraging AI to drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly digital world.
Consider these strategic insights:
- Generative AI Hackathons: Host company-wide or industry-specific hackathons focused on leveraging generative AI tools to solve business challenges, fostering innovation and collaboration.
- AI-Powered Business Strategy Simulations: Utilise generative AI to create dynamic simulations of potential business strategies, allowing companies to test and refine their approaches in a virtual environment before implementation.
- Personalised Employee Training with AI: Develop AI-powered training programs that adapt to individual employee learning styles and needs, ensuring a more engaged and effective workforce.
- AI-Enhanced Customer Feedback Analysis: Employ generative AI to analyse customer feedback from various sources, identifying trends, sentiments, and actionable insights to improve products and services.
- Collaborative AI-Human Innovation Teams: Create dedicated teams that combine human creativity with AI-generated ideas to develop innovative solutions, products, and services that push boundaries while ensuring ethical considerations are met.
Deep strategy:
Longer form articles rich with insights:
- Building a Data-Driven Culture: Three Mistakes to Avoid - MIT Sloan Management Review - Embracing data-driven culture for business success requires trust in analytics, alignment with strategy, and perseverance in overcoming resistance for long-term transformation.
- Why Employees Who Work Across Silos Get Burned Out - Harvard Business Review - Promoting effective cross-functional collaboration requires proactive support to prevent burnout and foster a healthy work environment for boundary spanners.
- How AI Skews Our Sense of Responsibility - MIT Sloan Management Review - AI's increasing influence in decision-making erodes human responsibility, raising concerns about diminished accountability and critical thinking in users.
- A seven-point guide to getting the net-zero transition on track - McKinsey & Company - Accelerating global net-zero transition through cost-effective emission reduction solutions, private sector engagement, financial mechanisms, and strategic energy system management.
Business at the point of impact:
Emerging issues and technology trends can change the way we work and do business.
- Research: What Companies Don’t Know About How Workers Use AI - Harvard Business Review - Building trust and understanding among employees is crucial for successful AI integration in organisations, requiring a purpose-driven strategy and empowered leadership.
- AI Hype and Scepticism: Economist Paul Romer - MIT Sloan Management Review - Leveraging AI to enhance human potential, promote cautious optimism, and address societal impacts through responsible development and regulation.
