{"id":19608,"date":"2024-06-13T18:49:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T18:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lakesidesoftware.com\/?p=19608"},"modified":"2024-06-21T14:34:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T14:34:15","slug":"three-key-takeaways-from-digital-workplace-summit-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lakesidesoftware.com\/blog\/three-key-takeaways-from-digital-workplace-summit-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Key Takeaways from Digital Workplace Summit UK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I had the great fortune this week to attend the Gartner\u00ae Digital Workplace Summit in London. As I listened to customers, partners, conference speakers, and (maybe<\/em>) even a competitor or two, I have three high-level takeaways: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) The focus of \u201ceveryday AI\u201d should be on boosting productivity.<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is no surprise that conversations and presentations about generative AI peppered the conference agenda and corridor chatter. One new phrase to me, however, was \u201ceveryday AI\u201d . This is a fitting way essentially to describe generative AI. Everyday AI is intended to enhance productivity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conundrum, as I see it, is that generative AI still very much needs a human in the loop to validate the output \u2014 be it text, code, or images. Accordingly, everyday AI cannot always get out of its own way.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one astonishing example,  a certain generative AI model thought that The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks <\/em>was about a Native American doctor. In reality, Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who was disenfranchised by cancer researchers who used her biopsied cancer cells without her consent. To me, the AI model\u2019s egregiously wrong output sounds like an F paper and, worse, a second major injustice against Henrietta Lacks and her legacy, especially given that her story was brought to light in 2010 by Rebecca Skloot\u2019s book and <\/em>a 2017 HBO\/Harpo film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, unless you have robust, relevant data to feed what you hope will become \u201ceveryday AI,\u201d proceed with concern and caution. If generative AI implementations are not trained on great data, they most certainly erode productivity itself (the intended goal) or perhaps even make more <\/em>work for us as humans to validate and correct the AI. And, trust me, no one wants to trade in their day job to correct a toddler AI model that doesn\u2019t seem to listen. Even mature generative AI models can be suspect without high-quality, well-structured data<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When will \u201ceveryday AI\u201d be as pervasive as, say, smartphones? By 2028. That\u2019s when it will be so integrated that we won\u2019t talk about it anymore! That reminds me of what Lakeside\u2019s Chief Technology Officer Elise Carmichael often says about laptops and the Digital Employee Experience<\/a>: Employees just want their laptops to work so they don\u2019t ever get in their way of being productive. And when it comes to Lakeside\u2019s own generative AI integration, Elise and her team have kept productivity as their North Star to ensure that Lakeside SysTrack\u2019s Intelligent Support<\/a> capability enhances productivity by eliminating tedious tasks or time-consuming issue investigations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Digital workplace leaders must become business partners.<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While murmurings about IT being integral to business strategy have been around for at least a decade, IT still wrestles to some extent with being regarded as a support function. This perspective directly influences Digital Workplace (DW) programs, which one conference presenter described as being stuck in a loop \u2014 much like running up a down escalator. We\u2019ve all tried that at some point; it\u2019s worse than rolling up the Sisyphean boulder another presenter mentioned that many DW leaders carry around these days as they are trying to validate and advance their Digital Workplace strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way out of this loop is to mature the Digital Workplace strategy so it becomes an integral part of the overall business strategy. In other words, invite HR and other business functions to the DEX party! Why? Because the employee experience has a direct impact on employee retention, management talent shortages, and even the customer experience (which affects the brand and customer loyalty). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The frustrations of disgruntled employees or silent sufferers<\/a> bleed into customer experiences. That\u2019s why it is essential for Digital Workplace leaders to consider the employee Net Promoter Score (NPS). What\u2019s more, a bad frontline digital employee experience, even among satisfied employees, ultimately will have a negative impact on the customer experience, placing a brand\u2019s trust and reputation at risk.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other HR use cases for using DEX data such as onboarding, which LexisNexis Global Support Director Greg Dolphin has successfully established. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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