Let’s wrap up the week with some Big Ideas.
First, an article by Deborah Lovich in Forbes. She suggests that advocates need to spend more time listening to those who disagree with flexible work in order to understand their objections better and adjust their own views. Many advocates for flexible work have become trapped in an echo chamber, failing to make progress in convincing CEOs to embrace the idea. The benefits of in-person meetings are also acknowledged, and she offers that advocates and opponents may be more aligned than they think.
Second, in the MIT Technology Review, Will Douglas Heaven writes about how ChatGPT will change education, not destroy it. Despite initial concerns that OpenAI’s ChatGPT would undermine education by making cheating easier, educators are now seeing the potential for chatbots to improve the classroom experience. Chatbots could teach media literacy, generate personalized lesson plans, and save teachers time on administrative tasks.
And finally, Bill Bruno writes about the cost of bad data, citing A 2016 study that shows that $3.1 trillion is wasted from the US economy annually due to bad data. Bad data lowers productivity, causes system outages, and increases maintenance costs. He argues that this is a crucial step before unlocking the value of AI.
As a frequent advocate for remote work, this one hit home and was something to consider. I’ll offer that at the same time, it remains a potential competitive advantage. For those who set their own organizations’ destiny, the only one to convince is yourself.
I’m also in alignment with the idea that AI is a change agent, not a destroyer, and that’s good for those in the consulting world. Data management remains a crucial stepping stone to that AI unlock – unless an organization’s data is maintained, leveraging it has less value.