Artificial intelligence (AI) tools seem to be everywhere these days, and your business is looking to implement them and reap the benefits. The tools you currently use might even tout that they are now “powered by AI.” This prospect of increased productivity is exciting, but we should take a step back and assess these tools.
Today, we’ll discuss some risks, policies and best practices that your business should know before implementing AI. At the end of this article, you should better understand how your business should approach these types of conversations.
Before we start, we will note our bias as an MSP. We love technology and are excited about these new AI tools. We also understand that neglecting IT best practices in the name of advancement can create headaches for a business, so this article is intended to help business leaders understand what they’re getting into and to foster discussion with their IT leaders.
Artificial intelligence is an overarching group of technologies that generally leverage pre-programmed rules to mimic human abilities. In the technological world, AI is concerned with computers’ ability to learn, perceive, process language and more.
Some common examples of AI applications include ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. These tools and others like them leverage large language models (LLMs), which are learning algorithms capable of understanding written language.
Countless other tools and applications now leverage some form of AI or include AI features. The advancements and public availability of these tools have contributed to their recent growth in popularity.
These tools are exciting and can lead us to daydream about how they’ll improve efficiency. While this zealousness for technology is always welcome, taking a step back and assessing what we’re already working with is essential. Have you already followed IT best practices in your business?
3-5-year hardware lifecycles, data backups and cybersecurity- to name a few- are crucial pieces of your IT environment that should always take precedence over more advanced tools. Without the bedrock of good IT, you’ll have gaps and inefficiencies that will need to be addressed, likely offsetting any efficiencies gained through AI usage.
Before discussing any new AI tools, talk with your IT partner about how you can get up to speed with your current infrastructure. Certain tools you already have may provide the functionality you were looking for!
When we talk about implementing AI in a business, we need to assess the risks involved. If you have a robust cybersecurity stack, multiple tools and people likely protect your internal business data. If you were to feed some of that data to ChatGPT, it would now exist outside your environment. Do you know where it’s going or how it’s protected? If the answer is no, it’s best to hold off before you hand over any private business information to AI.
In addition, an overreliance or lack of diligence when using AI can lead to poor outcomes. These tools are imperfect and may provide incorrect information or exhibit bias. Humans should still check anything generated by AI and be accountable for any of their AI-generated work.
As we mentioned earlier, AI tools are abundant now, and one benefit of having all these tools available is that you can find one that fits your specific needs. Whether it’s proofreading, number crunching or content summarization, the use cases for AI are nearly endless.
For example, if you want advanced help with spelling, grammar and sentence structure in your emails, an app like Grammarly might be easier to use than an AI-powered chatbot. If you need assistance with Microsoft Excel, a tool like Copilot will likely provide a more streamlined experience than copying and pasting the data into a non-Microsoft program. This highlights the importance of research before diving into these tools headfirst.
Another benefit is that many AI tools are constantly learning and improving. If you take the time to teach a tool like Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT, it will be able to work more efficiently and effectively for you.
Regardless of the tools you use, setting guidelines for your organization’s AI use is essential. A basic AI policy and training on that policy can help close some education gaps and ensure safer AI usage. We will note that due to the constant evolution of these tools, your AI policy will never be one-and-done. Create policies knowing that they will likely need adjusting in the future, and keep them broad enough to where you won’t need to update them every day. Today’s AI is not the AI of tomorrow.
Every AI policy should address ethical responsibilities, define accountability for one’s work and adherence to company policies and ensure privacy and safety for employees and private business data.
We understand that technology can be confusing, especially as we continue to learn about all the new AI tools (and the tools learn about us). That’s why we’ll always recommend consulting with a trusted IT partner before making any changes to your technology or IT environment.