Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #133
When it comes to Generative AI, no one knows anything.
In the short time I’ve spent deep-diving into using Copilot and analyzing potential use cases, I’ve often felt this vague sense of wandering into the great unknown. As I’ve read and listened to “experts,” I’ve had little sparks of inspiration but also recognized the same feeling between the lines they speak.
I keep reminding myself that no one knows where this is all headed, which is why I found this interview with Ethan Mollick so refreshing.
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. Each week, I’ll share information about careers and workplace culture, mental health in the workplace, talent development, and important information about privacy, security, and legal tech.
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Ethan put words to that feeling. We don’t know anything. We don’t know how good AI models will get, in what areas they will improve, or how fast it’ll happen.
He also acknowledges that there is no training for using AI because no one knows how to use it beyond their use cases. There is no standard workflow to get the desired AI result that someone could teach you. What I want from it isn’t what you want from it.
He recommends you spend at least ten hours using it for real-world situations before you think you know anything. Not made-up scenarios but real-life things like writing an email to an insurance company or your kids’ teacher, critiquing your writing, or generating possible solutions to a problem.
I think expecting someone else to tell you how to use it is missing the point. This is not a technology where you push the buttons, and it does a thing. This is art, communicating back and forth to get the results that will help you do what you need to do. You might find someone to give you some generic tips, but putting the tools to productive use for yourself requires you to work with them and find out what they can do for you.
How has your AI experience been so far?
Careers and the Workplace
Dell Is Going Through a Layoff That You Won't Notice
If you've heard the term "quiet firing" recently, it means this. It is not directly cutting headcount but making it likely that some employees will leave due to your decisions.
On a similar topic, this is one reason why remote work options matter for so many -
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It’s important to network, but networking to network isn’t what it’s about - Creating a Network from Scratch
Training and Development
The Shelf Life of a College Degree
You'd better be adaptable because your job will change whether you do or not.
From last year - Even Younger Employees Come In With a Skills Gap
When you hire people right out of college, you will still need to train them on the current technology. So don't skimp on Training and Development, even if your employees are digital natives. There will always be a need to keep them up to date.
Mental Health in the Workplace
Reading some different opinions from kids who find social media good for their mental health is interesting. - Thousands Of Young People Told Us Why The Kids Online Safety Act Will Be Harmful To Minors
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
Linked - Actually, the internet's always been this bad
The study authors pointed out that they only researched text-based platforms. Video platforms may be worse in terms of toxicity. However, that hasn't been my experience; they seem pretty similar to me, but that's just anecdotal. They also pointed out that current-day social networks are much larger. Many more people see the toxicity on Facebook than people who saw a Usenet post in the 90s. That also means there is more total toxicity. It might only be 7-10% of the content, but the content generated by 500 million users dwarfs the content generated by 10,000 users. So there's more of it; we are more aware of it, but the percentage hasn't changed much.
ESI Protocols: How Do I Get Out of a Bad Deal? - This is information you might hope you never need, but you might.
Benefits and risks with AI should always be evaluated - AI Notetakers – Evaluating the Risks Along with the Benefits
Not surprised - Experts war-gamed what might happen if deepfakes disrupt the 2024 election. Things went sideways fast.
That’s all, folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put in each week to share this with you.