Technology evolution and coping with it is not new to our generation. In the industrial revolution, steam engines and mechanization caused disruption but took off slowly.  

However, the disruptions leave little room to wait and watch in the information technology and knowledge revolution era. Notwithstanding the ill effects of new technologies, the benefits accrued have been immense. From mainframe computing to client-server to internet technologies, organizations have adopted themselves and reaped enormous benefits.  

The new buzz on the block is ChatGPT or its equivalent Generative AI technology that promises the moon but scares the unprepared. How to welcome the change than resist it and prepare the organization to benefit from it requires a calculated approach. The best way is to embrace it early, experiment with it and enhance it as quickly as possible.  

Earlier in this century, when internet technology threw open unlimited opportunities, planning, preparation, and regulations to adopt, it was experienced and implemented by many of us successfully in our organizations. 

 

Approaches for Successful Transformation 

If I trace back the steps followed for a successful transformation, I believe the same could be used now for the ChatGPT opportunity that is looming large.  

 

Awareness across the Organization 

Firstly, awareness camps across the organization, from the boardroom to senior management to the working group level, are necessary. A structured approach that includes classroom learning, interactive sessions, quizzes and tests, and measurement of effective immersion is to be designed and implemented systematically. 

 

Identify the Use Cases 

Next is to identify the use cases within the organization with the least risks to be chosen for experimentation to embrace new technology.  

A deeper level of training for selected groups of people and setting up a task force to handhold, do some applied research, and clarify the doubts across the organization will help. 

 

Offering In-house Services 

Offering the services using the new technology based on the in-house experiments will entice some early adopters willing to partner.  

Setting up protocols and governance mechanisms for using ChatGPT in the chosen process areas of the organization will help prevent disaster. Customer service, Human resources management, training modules, and employee engagement could be some areas for early experimentation.  

 

Set Regulations for ChatGPT 

Much like any other tool that can do either harm or good based on what is used, regulations to channel the technology for the right use are paramount. While nuclear technology could be beneficial or harmful, regulation should be made at the state or organizational levels.  

Whereas a tool like ChatGPT can easily get into the hands of individuals. Uncontrolled usage to gain efficiency with improper scrutiny could put the company under cyber-attacks and lawsuits to bring the business or even the organization down.  

 

ChatGPT itself could have written this entire article highlighting the pros and cons of ChatGPT in a much more accurate and concise manner. What it could not probably do is bring my own experience in dealing with such changes in the past successfully for a smooth transition.  

The genie is out of the bottle and waiting for the command. It is for the organizations to leverage it for good. 

 
 

 
 

This article was contributed by our expert Chandrashekar Kakal
 

 

Frequently Asked Questions Answered by Chandrashekar Kakal

 

1. What protocols and governance mechanisms should be implemented to ensure the appropriate and ethical use of ChatGPT within an organization?

Firstly innovative use of ChatGPT for productivity improvement should be encouraged at all levels rather than limiting it by beaurocracy after awareness building and effective training. 

The initiator, reviewer, and approver hierarchy should be set up through an expert group for review and approval by a senior business unit member. 

Initiator to build a use case providing business benefits and risk analysis to be reviewed by an expert group set up in the organization.  

If found appropriate to implement, it should be sent to a legal team for any legal issues that may come up that could harm the organization. Finally, it should be approved by the approver for trial implementation. Benefits and risks have to be monitored for the first three months with measurements before clearing it for final approval. 

 

2. How can an organization effectively manage and mitigate potential risks associated with using ChatGPT, such as cyberattacks or misuse of technology?

Management and mitigation of risks should be built into the protocol and governance mechanism of the organization.  

APIs and Firewall 

The APIs and firewall setup should be finalized and reviewed before starting experimentation and opening up the organization for using ChatGPT.  

Adherence to Protocols

Strict adherence to the protocol and constant review to improve governance is the only way to handle the issue. There are no shortcuts. 

 

3. In what ways can ChatGPT be utilized to gather insights and make data-driven decisions that drive the digital transformation strategy forward?

In all such cases, a small software tool has to be built, or an existing tool of the organization used for monitoring innovative suggestions should be tailored for the new experimentation. It should have mechanisms to initiate, review, and approve the use case and capture the pros, cons, and intended benefits for future comparisons.  

As several use cases are implemented in the organization, data gets built up, which can be downloaded and analyzed. Capturing the actual benefits, such as productivity improvement by way of labor hours saved or quantified amount of dollar savings in the same tool, is a must. Employees should be incentivized to do this in the initial stages.  

 

4. How can organizations measure the effectiveness and impact of in-house experiments with generative AI technology?

The only way to measure effectiveness is to quantify and compare the benefits with the past data and the intended benefits projected in the use case. 

Some of the measurements that the organization may use are: 

• Labor hours saved 
• Team strength reduced 
• Dollar amount saved 
• Throughput time improvement 
• Customer satisfaction improvement