Are your teams using AI for business? No. Are you sure??? 

According to Microsoft, 2024 is the year that Artificial Intelligence has hit the workplace (whether employers are aware or not). In many instances staff members have realised the benefits of AI so are using AI tools whether they are company approved or not… 

Does BYOAI matter? 

Yes! It most certainly does. Whilst the benefits of using AI can be significant it’s vital that bosses get to grips with where it’s being used. When employees go rogue there are risks attached. If AI is to be used within a business then it is vital that it is initiated and understood at a company level with policies put in place for its use.  

The problems 

ChatGPT, as an example of widely used AI, now has 200 million active users. Not used it? Basically, you can pretty much ask it anything and it will respond. By scooping information from the internet ChatGPT will give you a result. It doesn’t mean it’s a correct result, but it is often a highly plausible result, and one which an employee may be delighted to present to you or your customers. So, here is the first issue. Using ChatGPT is not a bad thing, but it needs to be understood. If its limitations are not taken into account, there is a risk that your business is disseminating information that is incorrect. 

Secondly, any information that is fed into ChatGPT becomes part of its knowledge base. So, if your employee enters company data into the feed, you have basically put it into the public domain. Not something you want to do? We thought not! That’s why you need a policy in place for its use, but also need to educate your staff on limitations and risks. 

The advantages 

AI can save a lot of time on tasks that are less attractive and produce results that are pretty cool. Productivity, efficiency and quality can be enhanced with ease. For those that have used PowerPoint recently, for example, you’ll know that it now provides design suggestions, massively enhancing the look of slides with minimal effort – what’s not to love! On this occasion it’s not exactly BYOAI (the AI has been added by Microsoft as part of the latest software) but if your staff are using PowerPoint, they will be using AI for the benefit of your business. 

Where is AI?

Everywhere is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is being used A LOT! If your business doesn’t use it (or you don’t think it does) then not only are you at risk of losing control, but of falling behind. Whilst much of the chat about AI has been negative, in reality businesses are adopting it to remain future-focussed and competitive. It’s also the case that employees are often keen to embrace it so will seek out employers who feel the same. 

Want to put a stop to BYOAI? 

If you’re concerned that the AI bandwagon has left without you (and that your employees are already onboard), have no fear – you are not alone, and there is still plenty of time to jump on. However, make sure you know exactly where you’re jumping and what that journey entails. We don’t claim to know everything there is to know about AI – we are still learning too – but we will give you any information we can. We’ll work with you to keep your business as safe, efficient, productive and professional as possible, and can advise on introducing those vital IT policies and training staff to be safe. 

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