Tell me something I DON’T know
The age of AI adoption is well and truly underway. From data analysts and tech CEOs to hairdressers, butchers and sports coaches - everyone is looking for ways to harness the power and fidelity or artificial intelligence. While employees needn’t be too concerned just yet about being replaced by AI outright, they should certainly be wary of being left behind if they don’t learn how to leverage it for their own benefit. In fact, according to Stela Solar, director of the National AI Centre, 97% of workers want to be upskilled in AI by their company.
One of the key features inherent to the rise of Generative AI and LLMs is the democratisation of access to information. If you want answers - you simply need to ask the right questions.
Looking forward, the competitive edge will likely sit with people who understand how to find out what they don’t know.
There are many ways to find out what you don’t know. Comprehensive books, resources and accounts are always available to help you build your expertise in a given area - provided you have the time to digest them. Your leaders and subject-matter-expert peers will often help you fill information gaps and build foundational knowledge - assuming you are not already your team’s subject matter expert.
In terms of speed and effectiveness, Large Language Model AI’s like chatGPT can be an extraordinary resource for filling the gaps in your knowledge - as long as you know how to identify what those gaps are. Below are a few principles we’ve been keeping in mind as we continue to harness and experiment with AI.
Finding out what you don’t know using AI:
1. Establish what you do know
Summarise your understanding of the subject area and share it with your LLM. Keep it high level.
2. Declare the outcome you want
Explain why you want to fill your knowledge gaps and what you intend to do with the information. This will help the AI prioritise the knowledge it thinks you will most benefit from.
3. Be a connoisseur of context
Provide any context you think might focus and optimise the response. What does your organisation do? What is unique about them? What problem are you trying to solve?
4. Ask the big question
Start a dialogue with the prompt ‘With all this in context, what else do I need to know?’ Be conversational and probe deeper, asking follow up questions for anything you are unclear about.
Watch outs:
5. Know your limits
Don’t try to become an overnight expert on using AI. To borrow an analogy from Quantium CEO Adam Druissi, just because you know how to drive, doesn’t mean you’re ready to drive a Formula 1 car. Get a lay of the land before you work your way up to more complex prompts and application.
6. Verify, verify, verify
AI is powerful, but still vulnerable to misinformation. Challenge it, confirm it and reinforce it thoroughly.
We Are Unity are exploring the potential of AI in surprising and creative ways, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it. If you’d like to start a human-to-human conversation on what AI could be doing for you in your day-to-day, reach out at hello@weareunity.com.