, and it is one of the most comprehensive pieces of research regarding generative AI to date. The report discusses surprising use cases for the technology at work, breaks down the path to widespread AI usage, and explores adoption mindsets and the journey organizations must embark upon. This report moves the research and discussion beyond who is using AI and for what purpose and gets into the nuance of what it means, how it feels, and what opportunities it unlocks.
That journey itself brings opportunities and challenges."What stood out to me was how the concerns change as you move step to step," says Hinds."Concerns are inevitable, and they are healthy, but if you are less mature in your implementation of AI, the concerns are going to center on comprehension and understanding of how to use the technology. As companies reach those more mature stages, concerns shift toward ethics and responsible AI.
"The use case that stood out to me was brainstorming," says Hinds."There's this overwhelming narrative that the one aspect of human work AI can't take over is the creative thinking, brainstorming, and ideation." A theory the study posits is that generative AI can help overcome"blank page syndrome" as well as provide feedback on initial ideas before they are shared in a group brainstorming setting.
"So much of the learning at the moment is happening through personal experimentation and personal exposure, and a lot of executive learning is coming from conferences and that exposure has been helpful for executives to at least understand potential use cases of the technology," she says. This highlights a resource gap in training provided for executives and individual contributors.