Flipping the Job Fear Script

How AI could level the playing field in the workplace, not replace us; and a secret weapon for clear communication in remote work

Author

The AI Exchange
September 19, 2023

Welcome to another edition of the best damn newsletter in AI. Here we’ll break down AI topics that matter, open your mind to use cases, and keep you ahead of the curve.

Our #1 goal is to be useful. So please shoot us an email 📩 if you have questions or feedback, and especially if you implement something we share!

Here's what we're covering today:

  • New research out of a major consulting firm on the impact of AI in job productivity

  • Using AI to clarify your communication (w/ prompt!)

  • Funding is going crazy for AI startups

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Let’s get to it! 👇

TODAY'S PERSPECTIVE

New research flips the script on AI Job Loss

We've all heard the doomsday predictions: AI is coming for our jobs. But what if instead it's just going to level the playing field?

Well that optimistic take might not be too far from the truth.

You might have seen this graph circulating around, coming out of Ethan Mollick's latest research published with consulting firm BCG, where they tested the performance gains consultants got from using GPT-4 in common work tasks.

But that’s not what really piqued our interest.

Another part of the study shared a graph where lower-performing consultants, when equipped with GPT-4, saw their performance skyrocket. They were able to match, and in some cases even surpass, the performance of their higher-performing peers.

The fear of AI replacing human jobs is not entirely unfounded. However, the reality might be less about replacement and more about enhancement. Ethan also mentions other studies that have shown similar trends.

If that plays out, AI can help create a more equitable workplace. It can reduce the performance gap between employees, leading to a more balanced and fair work environment.

In the end, it's all about perspective. AI can be a threat or an opportunity, depending on how we choose to see it.

And as Rachel said in a recent podcast interview, one of the best ways to predict the future is to work on shaping it.

USE CASE

Your Secret Weapon for Crystal Clear Communication

Struggling with clarity in remote work communication? Here's how AI can help you write better, clearer internal documents.

One of the most slept on use cases for AI is to act as an editor, or a source of feedback for a piece of work.

Some tips for getting it working:

  • Give the LLM plenty of context about the task at hand

  • Ask it to review a set of notes and ask clarifying questions in order to complete the task

  • THEN (this is the great part), ask it to guess the answer ahem this is what people on your team are likely doing

  • You can also add other things like a rating on how clear a document was & more

Gimme an example…

In tech, it’s very common to write requirement documents to pass between teams like design and engineering. Here’s an example that came out of techniques we teach in the Prompting for AI Operations course 👇️ 

LINKS

For your reading list 📚

OpenAI's latest moves (because we’re all watching every step)…

Funding is going crazy in AI…

And if you're really nerdy...

That's all!

We'll see you again on Thursday. Thoughts, feedback and questions are much appreciated - respond here or shoot us a note at [email protected].

... and if someone forwarded this email to you, thank them 😉, and subscribe here!

Cheers,

🪄 The AI Exchange Team