What if AI could help train a new generation of creative leaders? -HBR

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Among the applications of artificial intelligence, that of creativity catalyst deserves the full attention of leaders and organizations.

Start a conversation about adopting AI in the workplace and chances are the fear of technology replacing workers will quickly be brought up. Yet we know that this new era of automation will likely create more new types of jobs than it will destroy. In the meantime, humans still want to develop, lead and create. Can AI help? How can it foster organizational creativity and leadership? Because there is a role that AI can play, which is less talked about, which is nevertheless less risky and with which the human remains in the foreground : that of connector, facilitator, even muse.

The application of artificial intelligence to organizational creativity can lead to the development of new products, new ideas and methods of collaboration, and even new ways of thinking. Additionally, a modern version of natural selection is at work, where organizations that embrace AI to build a new type of creative “connective tissue” will be the ones that scale and be able to launch the next generation of leaders. expansive and modern.

Think about this all-too-common scenario: After pitching an idea for a product, business model, or creative concept, your leader or client tells you they’re looking for something more inspiring, more unique, but they don’t quite know how. define it. He leaves you with a terse, “I’ll know when I see him.” Although based on legitimate experience and intuition, these answers are nearly impossible to put into words. This can be due to a number of factors, ranging from linguistic or cultural differences prejudices stemming from experience or even genetics. Ultimately, however, this disconnect can generate tens, hundreds, or even thousands of hours of research, iteration, testing, and revision.

Thus, AI systems can replace tedious tasks and leave more strategic and meaningful work to the human worker. But AI can also accelerate and expand creativity within the organization by suggesting new directions, inspiring new ideas, and even creating new products. Instead of replacing human creativityit can create a more enjoyable and productive experience.

Three crucial steps

If Steve Jobs called the computer “the bicycle of the mind,” then AI is its race car. We conducted several interviews with business leaders working with AI in creative organizational environments. From our perspective (as the inventor of the technology that inspired Amazon’s Alexa and the associate dean of an AI-centric business school), we’ve witnessed multiple uses for the technology. serves to facilitate the creative experience. So organizations and their leaders need to pay more attention to how AI can help their workforces optimize their humanity – not replace it – and nurture the next wave of leaders who will default to this way of thinking. . AI accelerates, expands and (if we dare to personify it) encourages creativity through three stages of the creative process.

1. A creative tool

Human beings and, especially in the context of the organization, collaborators, are inherently about discovery – for form, function or, in extraordinary cases, both. But there are circumstances that are necessary for discovery: tools, time, access to information and experiences, physical and/or mental abilities. The opportunity for AI is to reduce friction points before the discovery phase, and even to institutionalize it.

Digital devices and capabilities such as interactive touchscreens and voice recognition have exposed more people to new learning opportunities, which is essential to the virtuous circle of discovery. AI-powered knowledge management can transform static documents into voice-driven interactive experiences and instantly unlock information for thousands of people.

Generative AI applies algorithms to create artificial content, enhance images, write stories, and even generate influencers with over a million followers. This has a significant impact on the creative process of designers. Remarkably, the software does not require manual coding, which greatly expands the availability of this state-of-the-art capability. For instance, in the domain of health, generative AI enables the early identification of potential diseases to create effective treatments, while the disease is still in its early stages; or the AI ​​can calculate different angles of an X-ray image to visualize the possible extension of a tumor.

2. An accelerator in the creative process

Artificial intelligence is already collaborating with artists and designers to foster new ideas and solutions, bringing new designs to market. In 2019, designer Philippe Starck collaborated with Kartell and Autodesk on a generative AI project that resulted in the production of the AI ​​chair The AI ​​system was given a simple design challenge by the designer (to support the body with a minimum amount of materials and energy) and, through what Philipe Starck called “a new language, a new type of exchange”, the system iterated and learned until the final product is designed.

Recommendation engines have been one of the oldest and most widely used applications of AI. Used initially in consumer contexts to offer related retail products and for publishers to keep readers engaged on their sites, they quickly evolved into a suite of products that help associates make decisions and to build relationships.

Artificial intelligence tools for writing assistance have also been developed to speed up productivity and alleviate the discomfort associated with what some consider to be a difficult and arduous task. For example, given a piece of writing, the AI ​​tool could identify areas where the author could add more depth, make connections to other writing, or explore alternative perspectives.

3. A consumption facilitator

AI systems applied to digital advertising have created the revolutionary concept of personalization, which allows organizations and individuals to control when, how and to whom their messages are delivered and received.

Another example: STAR Labs, supported by Samsung, presented NEON, which claims to be the world’s first “artificial human”, a digital avatar capable of mimicking human appearance and emotions. In addition to being models for marketing campaigns, these creatures are familiar virtual assistants in human form who can teach, provide information, or help with tasks. Like today’s intelligent virtual assistants, they can also inspire product innovation and impact organizational performance by allowing us to hear and respond to customer needs using natural language.

Going even further, the transformative power of AI can alter the concept of language as we know it and build a “new tower of Babel”. In the end, it doesn’t matter in which language the information we need was obtained; this will be achievable via an invisible AI language common to all. Without going that far, it is clear that we are making progress: linguistic divisions are blurring thanks to constantly improving translation tools, that are made possible by voice recognition and natural language processing. Advances in conversational AI and optical character recognition have also enabled people with disabilities to connect to the world around them. Scientists are even using AI to codify animal speech.

Towards more creative companies?

We believe that the benefits organizations will derive from AI will be commensurate with their purposes for use. That’s why we recommend more emphasis on augmented-type AI technologies: human assistive applications, intended to relieve them of routine and standard tasks that drain their creativity.

So leaders need to evaluate AI through the human lens and make the case for how it enables organizational creativity:

– Embrace the optimism of AI: it will allow the jobs of the future to be less mechanical and more focused on problem solving, where humans thrive and create success.

– Assess AI applications based on how they will improve the experience of their employees and customerswithout departing from it.

– Celebrate augmented intelligence applications, as they will help them attract top talent. Job seekers and employees will know they can focus on meaningful, creative and challenging work, that automation won’t be able to tackle.

– Invest in institutional knowledge as a true corporate asset. The seeds of new products and services reside there. AI-based knowledge management can capture this knowledge and make it readily available for innovation.

It is for these reasons that we share the thoughts of Tom Allen, founder of The AI ​​Journal, when he said: “I am convinced that ultimately the changes brought about by AI will improve people’s lives. AI can be a force for good in this new and frightening world we are entering. It can help us be more efficient, it can help us develop new products and services, and it can help us change our business models for the better.”