Looking to history can help us understand the moment we’re in now.
October 11, 2023
Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images
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Historically, technology arrives in clusters. With electrification came dynamos, generators, switch gears and power distribution system. With the printing press came the technologies to make large quantities of cheap paper and ink. Looking at these past clusters can help us understand the moment we’re in now, and what the future of AI — especially GenAI — might really look like. For now, leaders should assess the state of their data quality and work to build organizational muscle to complete data projects. They should also look for proprietary data that they own, which can give them a competitive advantage, and beef up their change management capabilities.
The potential — and hype — surrounding machine learning, artificial intelligence, and especially generative AI is everywhere. Some are predicting a full suite of “this changes everything” advances in all industries, for all professions, and for people in their public and private lives. This technology is unmatched at recognizing patterns in data, and its proponents argue it has the potential to be an enormous research laboratory that never stops working, a paradigm-buster that unlocks human creativity, an accelerator for human ingenuity, and a window into reality that is currently beyond reach. Sundar Pichai, of Google likens it potential to fire and electricity.
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Excel in a world that’s being continually transformed by technology.
New!
HBR Learning
Digital Intelligence Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Digital Intelligence . Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Excel in a world that’s being continually transformed by technology.
