Please Sir, I Want Some More

In a world enabled by Artificial Intelligence technologies, 'more' is all of a sudden achievable. But what do we want more of?

Teams who can answer this question are most likely to find ways of deploying generative or non-generative AI technologies to the benefit of themselves, their organisation and others.

This blog explores four simple ways of describing 'more' that leaders can draw on for discussions with their teams: doing more of the same; doing things with more quality; doing more of something different; and serving more people.

The Four Types of ‘More’

1. More of the Same

If using AI technologies allows us to save time, one possibility is to do more of the things we were already doing. 

For example a bid writer working alongside AI tools could write more bids in the time available, thus increasing the chance of success. Similarly, customer service teams could use AI to handle more inquiries in the time that is available to them.

All of these are examples of simply increasing the quantity of the task we are doing. 

“How much more of this could we do when partnered by AI?”

2. More Quality

We might instead choose to increase the quality of our work. Delegating sub-tasks to AI tools allows us to spend more time on complex, human-centric activities that demand creativity and critical thinking.

Take the example of Michael Shaw, Academic Principal at Buckswood School, who uses generative AI tools to cut the write-up time for his subject deep-dives from hours to minutes. He uses the time gained to talk to more teachers and students and observe more lessons. He’s not choosing to do more deep-dives but instead is making each deep-dive better by spending more time on the uniquely human elements of the task.

Similarly, many communications teams are using AI tools to generate detailed audience personas and simulate different outreach strategies, enabling them to craft messages that resonate more deeply. Again, AI tools help improve the quality, not the quantity, of their work.

And for anyone in a caseworker role, this could mean spending more quality uniquely human  time with the people they support and less time on the behind the scenes paperwork.

“How much better could we be at this task is we’re partnered with AI?”

3. More of Something Different

If AI tools can save us time on one task, we also have the option to do something entirely different with the time gained. In this instance, I always think of Dan Sutch’s challenge: “But to whose benefit?”

It could allow teams to have more time on strategic or creative tasks that were previously crowded out by the tactical aspects of their role.

But what if that 'more' was professional development time? Investing in employees' skills not only benefitting them personally and also the organisation.

I even know of a couple of purpose-driven organisations who have told their people that if they save time by working co-intelligently with AI tools, they can have that time back for their own personal enjoyment.

In the education world, Ethan Mollick gives a great example of how he has adjusted his expectations for students in a world with generative AI, empowering them with AI but expecting them to tackle more ambitious projects and extend the scope of what is possible:

• Pre-generative AI task: Come up with a theoretical product design. Build a prototype, test it, write an outline.

• Now, when partnered with AI tools: Come up with a product design, build it with 3D printers and cutters, build a working app for it, create marketing material, custom graphics, etc.

“What else could we do with the time that AI tools can save us?”

4. Serving More People

Finally, we can aim to serve more people. AI technologies give us the opportunity to turn services into products, create content that engages new audiences, and extend our organisation’s reach. 

For example, transforming its in-person workshops into online courses, making them accessible to a wider range of beneficiaries without geographical constraints, or making them more accessible to people, thereby significantly extending its impact. 

It could also allow organisations to provide a 24/7 service instead of 9-5, or as is already happening in education, providing children with tailored learning that adapts to individual development in a way that would never be possible for one teacher.

Serving a larger audience with the same resources is a huge opportunity for any organisation, whether that increases impact, profit, or educational development.

“What would you like to be able to do more of?”

If we get it right, all of these offer us the opportunity of more human connection. But only if we think deeply about how we deploy AI technologies in ways that align with our organisation’s values.

It’s important that this process takes in multiple viewpoints. A team’s view for what ‘More’ they want may be quite different to that of the leadership. And that might be different again to what our clients/community/users/students might want. We should also remember that by giving more to one group of people, we risk giving less to others.

When teams are stretched, it might seem counter-intuitive to engage them in a conversation about doing more. This is especially true for schools and purpose-driven organisations, where limited funding and staff capacity are constant challenges. 

But asking the question “What would you like to be able to do more of” gives us an empowering reframe, to creating a sense of shared purpose as we start conversations about the potential of AI technologies in businesses, schools and charities.

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If you want us to help your leadership team to discover what AI technologies could allow your business, charity or school to do more of, book in a call now. We love working with organisations who want to think deeply and mindfully about how they use AI technologies.

This blog, part of a series of ‘Reflections on a Autumn at the Other AI Frontier’ was written with the support of Chat GPT voice: I have realised that while I enjoy talking about AI when on stage or being interviewed, I find it a lot harder to construct blog posts from scratch. So I now bring AI to bear on this problem, getting Chat GPT’s voice capability to take on the role of an interviewer/podcast host, asking me questions and then helping me to construct a blog based on my thoughts and perspectives.