Sandbox Session: Catalyzing Your Work With GenAI

Introduction

In this section, Victoria introduces the topic of the conversation and provides an overview of what will be discussed. She also explains the purpose of the Sandbox event series.

• Victoria welcomes everyone to the second session of the Sandbox event series.

• The goal is to discuss how to translate AI developments into daily flows and businesses.

• Participants are encouraged to leave comments or questions in the chat or email Victoria directly.

• The focus is on thinking through where and how AI may or may not make sense for different parts of a business.

• The Sandbox event series is meant to be educational and inspirational, providing a starting point for ideas.

Prioritizing AI Developments

In this section, Victoria discusses how businesses can prioritize and filter all the information they are hearing about AI developments. She introduces Wonder as a case study for understanding how AI fits into their business model.

• With ongoing developments around AI, it can be challenging to understand how it applies to one's business.

• Wonder has had clients ask if they will be put out of business by these developments given that research is what their business is built on.

• Wonder combines AI technology with human creativity and accuracy to provide clients with answers in hours instead of days.

• As these developments unfolded, Wonder needed to think through how and where AI could play into their value chain without cannibalizing their business.

• Kaden, head of network at Wonder, will discuss where and how AI fits into their business model.

Understanding How AI Fits Into Business

In this section, Kaden shares her background and experience working in corporate spaces before transitioning over to tech. She discusses the importance of innovating alongside experts in order to understand how new technologies like AI fit into a company's value chain.

• Kaden started in the corporate space before transitioning to tech.

• She learned the importance of innovating alongside experts and holding space for their expertise.

• Kaden works with a group of 80+ active analysts who have taught her a lot about AI developments.

• Wonder has been learning a lot about AI since its launch on November 30th, 2022.

• Kaden will discuss how Wonder has been thinking through where and how AI fits into their business model.

Leveraging AI for Business Growth

In this section, the speaker discusses the potential of AI for business growth and how they plan to leverage this technology.

Types of Artificial Intelligence

• There are three types of artificial intelligence - narrow, general, and super.

• Narrow AI is when a machine can perform a specific intellectual task that a human can do.

• General AI is when a machine can do any intellectual task that a human can perform.

• Super AI is when a machine can perform any intellectual task that a human can perform better.

Assessing the Role of AI in Business Operations

• The speaker provides an overview of how their company operates by helping clients with project goals and providing them with useful information to inform their business decisions.

• Their process involves two parts - understanding the client's needs at the front end (strategy), and creating value through research (research job).

• They consider how they could leverage AI to augment or automate their operations.

Understanding Different Types of AI

In this section, Kaden provides an overview of different types of artificial intelligence and how they function within organizations.

Types of Artificial Intelligence

• Kaden explains there are three types of artificial intelligence - narrow, general, and super.

• Narrow AI is able to perform specific tasks such as generative AI which creates content.

• General AI can perform any intellectual task that a human can do, such as Auto GPT or baby AGI.

• Super AI is when a machine can perform any intellectual task that a human can perform better.

Leveraging AI in Business Operations

• The speaker discusses how their company operates and how they are considering leveraging AI to augment or automate their operations.

• They consider the nuances between augmentation and automation and what framework to use for making that call.

Overview of Different Types of AI

In this section, the speaker asks Kaden to provide an overview of different types of artificial intelligence.

Types of Artificial Intelligence

• Kaden explains there are three types of artificial intelligence - narrow, general, and super.

• Narrow AI is able to perform specific tasks such as generative AI which creates content.

• General AI can perform any intellectual task that a human can do, such as Auto GPT or baby AGI.

• Super AI is when a machine can perform any intellectual task that a human can perform better.

Taking Business to the Next Level

In this section, the speaker discusses taking their business to the next level by leveraging AI technology.

Leveraging AI for Business Growth

• The speaker discusses the potential of using AI for business growth.

• They plan on leveraging this technology to take their business to the next level.

Understanding AI Landscape

In this section, the speaker asks Kaden to provide a quick walkthrough of the AI landscape and how they can think about different types of AI.

Types of Artificial Intelligence

• Kaden explains there are three types of artificial intelligence - narrow, general, and super.

• Narrow AI is able to perform specific tasks such as generative AI which creates content.

• General AI can perform any intellectual task that a human can do, such as Auto GPT or baby AGI.

• Super AI is when a machine can perform any intellectual task that a human can perform better.

Leveraging AI in Business Operations

• The speaker discusses how their company operates and how they are considering leveraging AI to augment or automate their operations.

• They consider the nuances between augmentation and automation and what framework to use for making that call.

Assessing the Role of AI in Business Operations

In this section, the speaker discusses assessing the role of AI in business operations.

Leveraging AI in Business Operations

• The speaker provides an overview of how their company operates by helping clients with project goals and providing them with useful information to inform their business decisions.

• Their process involves two parts - understanding the client's needs at the front end (strategy), and creating value through research (research job).

• They consider how they could leverage AI to augment or automate their operations.

Leveraging AI while preserving human creativity

In this section, the speaker discusses the excitement and concerns surrounding the use of AI technology in business. They also explore the role of human creativity in determining how much AI can be useful.

Excitement and Concerns around AI

• The leadership team is excited to figure out how to leverage AI technology for their business.

• There are concerns about what this means for employees within the network who may feel vulnerable due to headlines about job replacement by AI.

The Role of Human Creativity

• Human creativity is a critical part of determining where AI technology plays a role.

• The amount of human creativity required is used as a litmus test to determine how much AI can be useful.

• Any capacity that we want to build within AI must first be within humans since it replicates our capacities.

• Documentation and feedback loops are important for communicating processes clearly, which helps determine whether augmentation or automation is needed.

Augmentation vs Automation

• Augmentation involves using technology to assist with tasks that cannot be fully clarified, while automation involves using technology to replace tasks that have clear instructions.

Leveraging Human Creativity in Business

The speaker discusses the importance of human creativity in business and how it can be leveraged alongside automation. They also discuss the emotional component of transitioning to automation and how involving employees in the process can make it less scary.

Importance of Human Creativity

• Human creativity is important for roles that may have a repetitive or automatable nature, as it allows for innovation and exploration.

• Even with technology that can automate tasks, humans are still needed at the frontier to innovate and explore new ways to add value.

Involving Employees in Automation Process

• Involving employees whose tasks are being automated is critical to making the transition less scary and more exciting.

• Employees need to understand their value within the automation process and be involved in understanding its usefulness.

• At Wonder, involving employees in the automation process has resulted in great feedback and momentum towards being part of the process.

Diagnosing Where to Automate or Augment

The speaker discusses how businesses can diagnose where to automate or augment by assessing different stages of their value chain.

Assessing Value Chain Stages

• Businesses should assess different stages of their value chain to determine what they are optimizing for and whether delegation, augmentation, or leaving it to humans is appropriate.

• Examples from Wonder are provided on how this assessment has been done within their company.

Introduction and Context

In this section, the speaker introduces the context of the discussion and explains how they determined the usefulness of AI in their research process.

Determining Usefulness of AI

• The speaker realized that the flexibility and resource efficiency of AI prompting was the way to go.

• They mapped out their workflow to get clear on their process.

• They got clear on the likelihood of augmentation or automation.

• They designed a set of controlled experiments to test what parts of the process could be automated or augmented.

Knowledge Creation Process

In this section, the speaker discusses their knowledge creation process and how they used it to determine where AI could be useful in their research.

Testing for Usefulness

• The speaker's team had a lot of documentation about their step-by-step process, but they needed to clarify which parts could potentially be automated or augmented.

• They did an exercise to understand where they should place bets in terms of where AI would be useful.

• The likelihood for augmentation or automation increased as the need for human creativity decreased.

• They designed an experiment with a rubric to determine whether or not AI was useful technology that they should roll out.

First Round of Testing

In this section, the speaker discusses their first round of testing with chat TPT and how it led them to recognize that testing needs to be ongoing.

Chat TPT Experiment

• At first, they weren't excited about chat TPT because it wasn't connected to the web and didn't offer access to latest information.

• Once Bing's chat bot Sydney launched, they hit the ground running with it.

• They chose a tool and created a rubric for quality output.

• The rubric was important because it made the decision to know whether or not this was a useful technology that they should roll out non-emotional and black and white.

• After the first round of testing, they found that chat TPT wasn't as useful as they thought it would be.

Second Round of Testing

In this section, the speaker discusses their second round of testing and how it led to a dramatic change in the way they do business.

Dramatic Change

• They recognized that testing can't be a one-and-done process; it needs to be ongoing.

• They have an innovation team within the network that keeps their eye out for different tools and continues to test them.

• The second round of testing led to a dramatic change in the way they do business and the price-to-value ratio they offer customers.

Introduction to AI and Automation

In this section, the speaker talks about how they started exploring AI and automation at their company. They discuss the importance of learning from the people who do the work day in and day out, as well as experimenting and testing to see what works best for their business.

Learning from Doers

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning from the people who do the work day in and day out.

• They suggest sitting with that person or team to capture institutionalized knowledge of how they do their work.

Experimenting and Testing

• The speaker discusses the importance of experimentation when it comes to implementing AI and automation.

• They mention executing experiments, collecting data, and socializing results within an organization.

• The speaker talks about navigating through experimentation by silencing noise, being curious, playing with technology, and finding ways to fit it within their business.

AI as a Tool for Innovation

In this section, the speaker discusses how AI can be used as a tool for innovation. They emphasize that taking stimuli from our environment is crucial for innovators, builders, strategists in order to make changes that better serve our audience against change.

Using AI as a Tool for Innovation

• The speaker emphasizes that taking stimuli from our environment is crucial for innovators.

• They suggest using AI as one of those tools to help us better serve our audience against change.

• The speaker mentions that curiosity is key when it comes to experimenting with new technologies like chat GPT or Bing's chat bot.

• They suggest playing with the technology and lowering the barrier to building, even if you're not technical.

Framework for Innovation

• The speaker suggests that this exercise is a thought framework that can be useful no matter what era we're in or what the latest thing is.

Recap of Framework

In this section, the speakers recap the framework discussed in the call and provide a graphic to illustrate it.

Key Steps to Consider

• Start with what is top of mind for your business based on the things that you've seen.

• Get clear on how value is created by charting out processes and understanding where people fit in.

• Evaluate which steps require human creativity or critical reasoning versus those that are programmatic.

• Design experiments to collect data and make decisions based on evidence.

Approach: Calm, Fast, Focused

• The speakers recommend approaching AI from a perspective of being owners who understand their processes and can best assess what's going on.

• Acting quickly but being very focused about the process is key to success.

Implementation Questions

In this section, the speakers answer questions related to implementing AI in businesses.

Tangible Piece Around Implementation

• One question asks about implementation. The speakers suggest starting with small experiments and collecting data to make decisions based on evidence.

Socializing and Planning for Automation

In this section, the speaker talks about how they sorted out different stakeholders with regards to automation. They discuss the importance of involving those who will be impacted by the change throughout the process.

Involving Stakeholders in Automation

• The theme is making sure that those who will be impacted are involved throughout the process.

• The team was given an opportunity to tell if automation was useful or not.

• Fine-tuning an existing model involves providing a big data set to help it understand how it should operate.

• When testing fine-tuned models, the team was allowed to give feedback on its usefulness.

Augmentation and Creativity

• Augmentation frees up time for more creative tasks.

• There is value in creativity that machines won't have.

• Finding a way to communicate the value of augmentation can turn something scary into something exciting.

Leveling Up with AI and Automation

In this section, the speaker discusses how AI and automation can help people level up their skills. They talk about how much time people spend verifying information online and how much time they could get back through automation.

Getting Time Back with AI and Automation

• People spend hours verifying information online or trying to find answers.

• AI and automation can free up time for strategic thinking tasks.

• The calculator or typewriter analogy shows how technology can lead to more fulfilling work.

Measuring the Improvement of AI and Automation

In this section, the speaker talks about measuring the improvement of AI and automation. They discuss how time is an important metric but not the only one.

Measuring Improvement with KPIs

• Time is a super important metric but not the only one.

• The rubric for measuring improvement matches how value is created in the process.

Qualifying Information and Customer Success

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of qualifying information sources and ensuring quality in output. They also touch on the importance of customer success and how to ensure that value is being delivered to customers.

Qualifying Information Sources

• Qualifying information sources is important for ensuring high-quality output.

• The speaker explains that they have standards for determining source quality, which helps them determine whether a source is good or not.

• It's important to consider how well technologies are pulling information from sources and whether that information is accurate.

Ensuring Quality Output

• Taking time to reflect on each step of the process can help ensure quality output.

• Delegation can free up time for analysts to do more strategic work.

• Mapping out rubrics can help clarify what value is being provided to customers.

Customer Success

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of considering what value is being delivered back to the user.

• Providing recommendations for next steps or proposing strategic thinking can be valuable for customers.

• It's important to consider both business efficiency and customer experience when evaluating metrics.

Value Creation and Automation

In this section, the speaker discusses how automation can free up bandwidth within a team but also emphasizes the importance of creativity and strategic thinking in creating value for customers.

Creativity and Strategic Thinking

• Time is an important metric, but other metrics are more qualitative in nature.

• Mapping out workflows can help clarify what value is being provided to customers.

• Creativity and strategic thinking are critical components of value creation that may not be automated.

Automation

• Automation can free up bandwidth within a team, allowing for more strategic work.

• It's important to consider what won't come out of automated tools and where business value comes from.

Framework for Writing on AI

The speaker discusses the importance of having a framework for writing about AI and how it cannot be taught but rather pointers can be given.

Importance of Framework

• A framework for writing about AI is important.

• It cannot be taught, but pointers can be given.

Personal Experience

• The speaker's personal experience was that they were in the driver's seat of the process.

• Creating teams around it gave them leadership in the process.

• This accelerated excitement and how quickly things were launched.

Circulation of Slides and Frameworks

The speaker reminds everyone that all slides and frameworks will be circulated. They also mention an infographic from last week that received great feedback.

Reminder to Circulate Materials

• All slides and frameworks will be circulated.

• An infographic from last week received great feedback.

Next Session: Human Theme

The next session will focus on human themes in technology, with speakers discussing how they navigated macro changes, competitive threats, and other challenges to drive their businesses forward using creativity, agility, and ingenuity.

Human Themes in Technology

• The next session will focus on human themes in technology.

• Speakers will discuss navigating macro changes, competitive threats, and other challenges to drive their businesses forward using creativity, agility, and ingenuity.

Conclusion

The speaker concludes by encouraging attendees to reach out with any questions or comments. They also mention an exciting series coming up over the summer.

Encouragement to Reach Out

• Attendees are encouraged to reach out with any questions or comments.

Exciting Series Coming Up Over Summer

• There is an exciting series coming up over the summer.