Is Ignoring GenAI An Option In This Epoch?

Greater than the dominant concern of GenAI devouring jobs is the matter of not knowing how to use such tools. This seriously limits opportunities and career growth

- Anil Nair Founder, ThinkStreet

IF THE WORLD Economic Forum is right, over 80% of companies will adopt generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by 2025. McKinsey estimates that the impact of GenAI could add the equivalent of $2.6-4.4 trillion annually. At its peak, that's more than the 2024 GDP of Japan ($4.3 trillion), Germany ($3.9 trillion), India ($3.4 trillion), or the UK ($2.7 trillion).

Google recently commissioned market research firm Kantar to survey the Indian market for driving the adoption of its GenAI, Gemini. Not surprisingly, the survey, covering 8,000 people across 18 cities, showed that 60% are not familiar with GenAI tools, and only 30% have tried using one. People sought to boost productivity (72%), be more creative (77%), and communicate better (73%) in their daily lives with GenAI tools.

Research consistently shows that GenAI tools can dramatically improve individual productivity. Greater than the dominant concern of GenAI devouring jobs is the matter of not knowing how to use such tools. This seriously limits opportunities and career growth. The competitive disadvantage will span communication, critical thinking, and creativity. It will also cause job dissatisfaction owing to continuing mundane tasks and from being perceived as a laggard in a rapidly transforming, AI-driven workforce.

At an organizational sense, lower levels of innovation could slow product development, and ignoring data-driven insights could hamper agility. Organizations could suffer from the disruption of business models, product commoditization, higher costs, dwindling customer allegiance, and the erosion of competitive positioning.

To get started on the GenAI journey, it's good to know what various tools are best for. The following is a short list.