Administration

How to use AI tools safely

Artificial intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly been among the most discussed topics in the past year. Regardless of what you might think about using AI, there is no denying that the technology is here to stay – for better or worse.

Over the past few years, artificial intelligence has made its way into business. It is no longer a question of whether a company should use the rapidly growing technology but how to implement it. AI makes it possible for companies, both small and large, to complete more tasks without having to hire more employees.

Artificial intelligence is thus evolving from being reserved only for the most innovative companies to soon becoming common property. And if your company hasn't already started using AI tools in everyday life, it won't be long before you get started, too.

Below, you can read more about the business benefits that your company can gain if you use AI solutions smartly. You also get an overview of the challenges that AI brings. Even though AI has the potential to streamline your work tasks, the emerging tools also bring with them several new issues.

Benefits of using AI tools

If you and your company use countless AI tools correctly, it can, first and foremost, help you save a lot of valuable time. In fact, with AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney, you can increase productivity by up to 40 percent. That's according to a new study from McKinsey (July 2023). These systems can quickly generate solutions, answers, and suggestions that can reduce the time you would have spent on research, analysis, and idea development.

The worldwide online design platform Canva, in a recently published Marketing & AI report (December 2023), found that AI tools can also help significantly strengthen workplace creativity. Around 70 percent of the survey respondents agree that AI systems improve their employees' creativity. In addition, AI solutions also create the perfect framework for creating a more innovative workplace, as they allow employees to explore new ways of solving problems.

Thus, by carefully selecting and implementing AI solutions, companies can experience significant productivity improvements, save time, reduce costs, and remain competitive within their respective industries.

5 ways you can use AI tools

Chat-based: Since ChatGPT took the world by storm in November 2022, the chat-based way of using AI has been the most popular. This approach works by interacting with chatbot-based AI tools such as ChatGPT via a prompt, and the AI then generates a response based on this.

Upload or plugin: In this scenario, you can upload information, files, or data to the AI tool, which then processes and generates output based on the provided content.

Hybrid model: Here, you interact with the AI tool through a chat-based interface, providing additional content and information by copying and pasting data, part of a document, or code directly into the dialog.

Embedded AI: In this approach, the AI functions are directly integrated into many tools and platforms you already use, such as Visual Studio Code, AWS Lambda, or Google Sheets. The AI can access and process the information within the specific domain, enabling more contextualized and tailored assistance.

API-based: Here, you can access AI solutions in your applications, services, or systems through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and you interact with the AI by writing code that sends requests to the AI service, which processes the input and returns the desired output.

5 business functions that AI tools can optimize

1. Content creation

More and more marketers have started using AI tools as they can help save time and improve the creative process in developing new marketing materials. With solutions like ChatGPT and Jasper, based on your prompt, you get generated written content that can be used for emails, articles, and blog posts, for example. If you need help visualizing your ideas and concepts, check out tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, which generate images based on your prompt.

2. Customer service

Today, most people want to receive fast, easy, and personalized customer service – anytime, anywhere. Chatbots can deliver just this. A chatbot is an AI-powered digital assistant that communicates with humans via a built-in chat on websites, apps, phones, etc.

Artificial intelligence can change how your company interacts with your customers, which is likely to improve the overall customer experience. Some benefits of using AI tools for customer service include faster response times, 24/7 support, and the ability to offer personalized solutions based on customers' needs.

3. Data analysis

Artificial intelligence can process extensive data sets much faster than humans. Businesses that use AI tools such as Polymer and Tableau for data analysis gain access to more profound insight into their data, which can help them make more informed and strategic decisions. In addition, AI solutions allow companies to identify more profound and more complex patterns in their data than traditional methods can.

Suppose your company uses AI tools for data analysis. In that case, you gain access to valuable insights from large amounts of data in ways that would be impossible to do manually.

4. Cybersecurity

To protect your company from cybercriminals, you must use the latest technology to detect and reduce the risk of possible attacks. Fortunately, many companies have already started to do so. The results of a survey conducted by IBM (June 2022) show that 64 percent of the 1,000 participating IT managers have already started using AI tools to improve their company's security functions, and 29 percent are in the implementation phase.

In cybersecurity, AI solutions are used to analyze several million events and identify a wide range of threats that could result in phishing attacks or data breaches. These tools evolve and use massive data to recognize current and emerging threats. By using AI tools for cybersecurity, you and your company can stay ahead of cybercriminals and thus quickly respond to cyber threats.

5. Competitor analysis

The best products and solutions do what others on the market cannot. This means you need to know your competitors' performance and which parameters you can surpass.

With a competitor analysis AI tool like Taskade, you can monitor trends, follow your competitors' performance, and generate in-depth reports on their strengths, weaknesses, and market share. This gives you a good starting point to improve your product, appeal to your customers' current wishes and needs, and fill any gaps in the market.

Potential risks and disadvantages of AI tools

As described in the last few paragraphs, AI tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Midjourney can help you and your business save time, reduce costs, increase productivity, and stay competitive. However, using AI is also associated with certain organizational risks and disadvantages. Below, you will get an introduction to some of the most widespread.

Disclosure of sensitive information: When you use one or more AI tools, you may share sensitive personal information, either in the information you enter or the AI-generated output. This could lead to data breaches or exposure to confidential information.

Surrendering critical IP: intellectual property (IP) is an essential resource for many organizations. Sharing code or ideas with AI systems may expose your company's unique IP, which others can use without permission.

Receiving wrong answers: AI tools are far from perfect and can sometimes 'hallucinate' and give you incorrect answers or misleading information. You need to take a critical view of the information the AI solutions offer you to avoid making wrong decisions.

May Introduce Security Vulnerabilities: AI-generated code, suggestions, or ideas may inadvertently introduce security vulnerabilities into a business or a system. Malicious actors can exploit these vulnerabilities, putting the organization's assets and reputation at risk.

Creating work that doesn't meet company or team guidelines: AI-generated content most likely only sometimes adheres to your company's specific guidelines, policies, or quality standards. This can result in output inconsistent with the company's goals and values.

How to mitigate risk when using AI tools

Establish clear guidelines for using AI tools, specifying what kind of data can be shared and under what circumstances.
Implement a review or approval process to ensure AI-generated content adheres to company policies, guidelines, and quality standards.
Educate your employees about potential risks and provide training on how to use AI systems safely and responsibly.
Regularly review and update security measures to protect sensitive data and intellectual property.
Only use AI solutions in areas where you are an expert.
Understand and monitor the performance of AI tools and stay updated on potential issues or updates related to the systems used.
AI does not replace human input. For AI tools to generate good outputs, they need usable human inputs. And it takes practice to master the new tools for optimal use. How to mitigate risk when using AI tools.

New law supporting SMEs across Europe

On Friday, 08/12-2023, the European Parliament reached a historic agreement with the European Council containing a comprehensive set of rules to ensure that artificial intelligence is used safely and ethically in Europe. In addition, the preliminary deal will also ensure that fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law, and environmental sustainability are protected against high-risk AI systems while strengthening innovation and making Europe a leading player in this area.

To boost innovation, especially among small and medium-sized companies, the agreement promotes regulatory sandbox environments* that allow companies to test AI tools in the real world. The national authorities will establish this framework to enable SMEs to develop and test innovative AI solutions before sending them to the market.