It was great to be asked to do the keynote about AI, technology and the future of work for the CommsHero event in Leeds for their 10th anniversary. This blog is really just for those lovely folk that attended - as it is kinda proving a point I was making on the day.
So…. CommHeroes! 🦸♀️🦸♂️
Are you ready to supercharge your internal comms with a dash of artificial intelligence and a sprinkle of emotional intelligence? Buckle up, because we're about to blast off into the future of communication, CommHero style!
AI: Your New Sidekick in the Comms Universe
Remember when we thought AI was just a fancy calculator? Well, surprise! It's evolved into the Robin to your Batman, the Chewbacca to your Han Solo. AI is no longer just crunching numbers; it's revolutionising how we connect, engage, and inspire our teams.
CommHero Challenge: Identify one repetitive task in your comms workflow and find an AI tool to automate it. Or build your own... Share your discovery on social media with the hashtag #CommHeros and inspire your fellow heroes!
Emotional Intelligence: The Secret Sauce
Here's where it gets juicy, CommHeroes. We're not just talking about cold, hard tech. We're talking about AI that can read the room better than your office gossip! Emotional intelligence is the superpower that's turning AI from a tool into a teammate.
Picture this: An AI that can gauge your team's mood from their Slack messages and suggest the perfect time to drop that big announcement. It's not science fiction; it's the now, and it's awesome!
The CommHero Approach: Boldly Blending Tech and Heart
As CommHeros, we don't just adapt to change; we ride the wave and do tricks! Here's how we're going to surf this AI+EI tsunami:
- Be the Translator: Become the go-to person who can explain AI in human terms. No techno-babble allowed!
- Embrace the Cyborg Life: Don't resist the machines – become one with them. Find ways to let AI enhance your natural comms superpowers.
- Champion the Human Touch: Use AI to handle the grunt work, so you can focus on what humans do best – being creative, empathetic, and downright inspiring!
The Future is Now: AI-Powered CommHero Adventures
Imagine kicking off your Monday with an AI-generated report of employee sentiment across all your channels. By Tuesday, you're using AI to craft personalized messages for different team segments. Wednesday? You're analyzing the effectiveness of your comms strategy with AI-powered insights that would make even Tony Stark jealous.
This isn't some far-off fantasy, CommHeroes. This is the playground we get to romp in right now! We get to play and have fun and more importantly we get to train our AUTOMATED INTERNS (™) our AI’s to help us achieve more and more with less - and transform our internal communications.
Your CommHero Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...
Skill Up: Take an online course in AI for communications. Knowledge is power, and power is... well, powerful! So get better at prompt engineering - my course takes 2 hours and is a tenner!
Experiment Fearlessly: Try a new AI tool every month. Some will be duds, but others might just change your comms game forever. You can start with Claude if you haven’t already…
Build Your AI+EI Squad: Connect with tech-savvy colleagues and emotional intelligence experts. Together, you're unstoppable! Heck - you can build your own GPT to help you.
Be the Ethical Compass: Lead the charge in ensuring AI use in your org is transparent, fair, and human-centric. This is something the machines cannot do…. (Yet)
Spread the CommHero Spirit: Share your AI+EI wins (and epic fails) with the CommHero community. We rise by lifting others! And remember to tag me in to @dansodergren or at @ukmarketinghelp
Why? The AI+EI Revolution Needs YOU!
CommHeros, the future of internal comms isn't just knocking on the door – it's doing a full marching band parade outside! AI and emotional intelligence are the dynamic duo that's going to take our comms superpowers to infinity and beyond.
But here's the kicker: This revolution needs your unique CommHero spark. Your creativity, your passion, your unrelenting desire to connect humans in the workplace – that's what will turn this tech trend into a true communications transformation. So, are you ready to don your CommHero cape and lead the charge into this bold new world?
Remember, in the land of CommHero, we don't just predict the future – we create it! Now go forth and communicate, you magnificent CommHeroes! 🚀💬✨
(Can you guess which intern wrote this?)
Also what would you do differently - with this blog?
What could you automated intern do differently?
I promise it is me.
Here are answers to some questions asked on the day.
It’s interesting to think about this - so thanks for them.
The answers from from The Digital Dan Sodergren
What about the ethics of using AI?
AI presents some complex ethical concerns, including bias, transparency, accountability, and potential misuse. Ethical AI deployment requires consideration of how algorithms make decisions and whether they reinforce social inequalities. Bias in AI systems can come from the data they are trained on, leading to unfair outcomes, especially in hiring, legal, or financial systems. Transparency is crucial for users to understand how decisions are made by AI, and accountability must be maintained by the creators and users of these systems. Finally, security risks and potential misuse of AI, such as surveillance or malicious hacking, also need to be addressed. These are ongoing discussions in AI ethics communities, and developers must adhere to principles like fairness, transparency, and responsibility.
What's your favourite AI prompt?
A great question - my answer is my favourite prompt is the one that gives the results that the user wants and surprises them and delights them. If you want to experiment with AI prompts, you can find great examples in my book "The AI Advantage" available on futureofwork.gumroad.com. But also you can come on my prompt engineering course - and we go through some great prompts there too.
(Ed. Also my best one ever is a really complex and super prompt which creates a whole company board of advisers for you to chat too…. It’s amazing and was written by someone much cleverer than I.)
Can you address some of the fears around AI? The security, safety, and just fear of the unknown? What are some things we should look out for?
Fears around AI primarily focus on issues like security vulnerabilities, job displacement, and data privacy. The rapid advancement in AI technologies can lead to concerns about safety, especially when AI is used in sensitive fields such as healthcare, finance, or defence. There is also the fear that AI systems could be manipulated by malicious actors or could make decisions that are difficult to audit or control. To mitigate these fears, it’s crucial to ensure AI systems are designed with robust security features, such as end-to-end encryption and transparency in their decision-making processes. Users and organisations should focus on data protection measures and be aware of potential bias or discrimination in AI outputs. Public trust can be enhanced by developing clear regulatory frameworks and maintaining transparency in how AI technologies are deployed.
(Ed. I do whole talks on cybersecurity and where we are now because of this Fifth Industrial revolution and AI. So maybe best to find me on LinkedIn and we can chat.)
For more information on AI, feel free to check out my resources at www.dansodergren.com or @dansodergren on Twitter.
References for the blog:
Come find me and hire me at www.dansodergren.com
Dan Sodergren on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-sodergren-futureofwork/
Dan Sodergren at CommsHero commshero.com/people/dan-sodergren/
The Ai training course - AI Prompt Engineering
The AI Marketing Course - The AI Marketing Course