We all want to win. Failing that, we all want to back a winner. Because this is how we remain convinced that we are very intelligent. Even if we didn’t win ourselves.
And when it comes to enterprise technology in 2024, everything seems to revolve around the promise – and fears – of generative AI.
So let’s think about what the real technology leaders will do on this front in 2024.
Tech companies and generative AI: blah!
Which companies will be the winners of 2024? They will all use AI in one way or another, right?
Maybe.
When an extremely powerful new technological idea emerges, the temptation is great to jump on the bandwagon and ride the sweet tide of success.
But I can’t help but wonder if many companies – old and new – will claim to use AI, without actually making money from it.
But take the time to think for a second.
This inexorable rise in AI power could very much resemble the bygone era when so many startups claimed to be the Uber of, your choice, manicures or pet grooming. Many of them went the way of Icarus when investors – and even employees – discovered that these companies were not making money and never would make money.
(By the way, it looks like Uber is finally making some money. So it took a little while).
In 2024, the companies that will succeed are those that prove that AI makes a material difference in people’s lives – and that it has a concrete effect on the mood of their CFOs.
I’m not sure it’s as easy as some people make it out to be.
Technology leaders and generative AI: blah blah!
I don’t know about you, but I like having leaders I can believe in. Just a little bit.
In 2023, the entire world has been thrown into the air by the geyser of generative AI.
We’re still hanging up there, wondering if AI will benefit us or destroy us, change us or eliminate us, love us or throw us into the fire.
We hope that once we return to earth, we will understand the world around us and can still enjoy it.
To do this, it is useful to find business leaders capable of guiding us in this adventure. You know, the ones we can trust and even, on occasion, revere.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure this still exists in the tech world.
Oh, you had so much hope for OpenAI. But former and current CEO Sam Altman did little to reassure that he was more interested in ethics than, say, money.
Then Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who had done a remarkable job of transforming a crooked and corrupt brand into something a little more sympathetic, rushed to get his hands – ultimately unsuccessfully – on the talent of OpenAI. This all started to seem a little strange. Who really has the interests of users and customers at heart? The ecosystem of generative AI and at the moment we could not be more confused.
We can also think of Google CEO Sundar Pichai, but the tech giant is already taking advantage of progress in generative AI to do without many employees.
There is also Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple. Will its augmented reality glasses show us the future of tech this year? Nothing is less sure.
In 2024, I therefore hope that a singular technological leader will emerge, who can truly guide us towards the new world of AI and offer us an AI ethics worthy of the name.
So, who are the real leaders in generative AI? Here they are :
But there is another category of leadership.
Yes, there is still a category of leaders that I would like to see in 2024.
It’s about business leaders who have the foresight to use AI to help their employees.
In recent times, relations between employers and employees have experienced waves of turbulence.
Many employers are bringing their employees back to the office, supposedly to recreate greater harmony. For their part, many employees fear that the real reason they’re being drawn back into the office is because bosses want to monitor them more closely, while justifying the considerable expense of renting office space.
Instead of looking at AI as a way to get rid of employees and give their jobs to robots, why not use it to free up your employees to be better at their jobs?
Why not use AI to enable your employees to think more and create more, and contribute more inventively to the future of your business?
Yes, I am certainly naive. I even let myself be lulled by a little optimism.
But the real winners of 2024 will be the companies that prove the real value of AI, while making a positive contribution to the well-being of humanity.
Don’t stop me from dreaming. And I wish you a happy new year.
Source: “ZDNet.com”