Amidst the current banking crisis, turmoil in the global tech economy, and a crippling cost of living crisis, attracting the right kind of talent has become increasingly challenging as sectors across the board are experiencing a skills shortage. Now, with the emergence of artificial intelligence, the workplace is set to undergo a major transformation. We can already see this in action with the Microsoft-backed chatbot, ChatGPT, which has recently demonstrated its value.
For instance, law firms – such as Allen & Overy – have adopted an AI tool to assist lawyers in drafting memos. Claire Trachet, CEO and Founder of business advisory, Trachet, highlights the opportunities that will come from the rise of AI, as well as the emerging barriers as artificial intelligence enters the workplace.
Scepticism from business leaders and employees alike – surrounding the implementation of AI technologies – means adoption could be slow. According to a report from Goldman Sachs, generative artificial intelligence could hit 300 million jobs, as research states roughly two-thirds of current jobs could be changed by some kind of AI automation, eventually replacing up to a quarter of the current workforce.
However, a recent report from MIT showed generative AI raised overall workplace productivity. The study found that generative AI tools helped the least skilled and accomplished workers the most, decreasing the performance gap between employees. In other words, the weaker performers got much better; whilst the good performers simply got a little faster.
Employers have had to increase internal training and coaching while also considering career progression, particularly for those in lower-paid roles. Serving as testament to this, 94% of businesses and IT executives said that AI is vital for their success in the next five years, according to a survey by Deloitte.
According to Claire Trachet, it is crucial for enterprises to begin to identify parts of their business where this technology could potentially have an impact, not only for day-to-day operations, but also as a key component towards attracting investment in the current economic climate. OpenAI has impressed the technology and investment communities with its successful AI offerings and the substantial $10 billion support from Microsoft Corporation – a deal that would value the AI lab at a staggering $29 billion. As a result, an increasing number of both large and small companies are exploring and adapting this technology, with it bringing a flurry of M&A and investment into the sector as the cost-reduction prospects bring a renewed outlook for tech investors.
Ignoring the potential for generative AI to enable large-scale content production, speed up the accuracy and speed of data science practises and app development, produce synthetic data for training AI and machine learning models, and offer new defence opportunities for security professionals would be “a big and expensive mistake,” according to Trachet. To put it briefly, generative AI offers the chance to improve upon and even automate current labour processes in IT, marketing, customer service, and other business activities. However, Trachet adds a word of warning, stating that the “nascent nature of the technology will require executives to proceed with an abundance of caution.”
Tech startup expert, Claire Trachet CEO/Founder of leading business advisory, Trachet, comments on ChatGPT and the change in investor sentiment which generative AI will create:
“ChatGPT and other advanced AI technologies have already sparked innovation and investment in the field – however, the recent attention this has gained from the international community – outside of tech – will shed a new light on the gloomy path to recovery laid out for this year.
“As these technologies continue to evolve and mature, it’s likely that they will drive even more innovation and investment in the future. Companies and investors are recognising the tremendous potential of AI to transform a wide range of industries and are eager to adapt and implement these to capitalise on the opportunity.
“There is now a growing number of investors who are sat on a dry powder pile having deterred investments in 2022. This means there are significant opportunities on the horizon, and now is the moment to prepare and get deal ready as optionality will increase in H2 of this year.
“Indicators suggest early-stage startups will have an advantage in this current market, as growth investors are seeking to invest in earlier stages, from seed to series A, with smaller amounts of capital to sustain their businesses. These startups have a lower burn rate, giving them the potential to come out as dominant competitors if they can withstand the challenges. For these smaller startups, creating a low-cash burn, high return business model with the adaptation of generative AI, is key when trying to atrract significant capital and M&A opportunities.”
