In this BSA series – “AI@Work” – enterprise software leaders explain in their own words how artificial intelligence (AI) is having a positive impact on people’s jobs and the workforce. In this submission, Kyndryl’s Chief Technology Officer for Kyndryl Global Digital Workplace Services Practice Dennis Perpetua writes about how Kyndryl’s employees are using AI in their jobs and how leaders should approach incorporating AI into their own workstreams.
How will AI@Work change how people do their jobs, and how should we prepare?
Just like search engines, AI is a tool that will become engrained in individuals’ jobs to drive productivity and efficiency, while also providing employees with more time to deliver high impact work. However, just like with any tool, before you can become an expert, you must experiment and learn how to use it. Employees can start this journey by simply beginning to use AI in their lives. By doing so, they will get more comfortable with AI, understand its limitations and benefits, and accelerate their ability to apply and adopt AI in meaningful ways.
What internal capabilities do people or companies need to harness the power of AI for their organization?
From AI embedded in applications, SaaS services for it, and full custom large language model options – the options are endless. This can be daunting if you do not align your technology investment with your business objectives. The hardest part of AI is not technical. Rather it’s a company’s ability to make smart, intentional and disciplined decisions that will likely determine its success – or failure – in adopting AI to drive business impact.
How has AI impacted the way you work with your team over the past year?
AI has supercharged productivity, so much so that it may be one of those subtle things where you forget what the world was like before it. As a services company full of engineers and computer techies, Kyndryl has fully embraced the responsible adoption of AI to continue meeting our customers where they are on their digital transformation journey.
How are you using AI@Work?
I think it is more interesting to say what I don’t use it for. I still write my own emails and documents. However, I find applying AI to generate and summarize meeting minutes, action items and consolidate points of view, as well as knowledge searching, to be extremely beneficial and time saving. My favorite is summarizing points, because it can take a lively debated conversation and create something actionable.
What are some key takeaways for leaders using or planning to use AI@Work?
The biggest mistake I see companies making today is that they have decided to adopt AI without a promise or goal of what it can do for them. There is a real fear of missing out, which can be a detractor if the right measured steps aren’t taken to achieve success. I have three recommendations to support businesses in adopting AI solutions that can drive business impact. First, focus on your business objectives and then build AI use cases that support them. Second, define what success would look like and how you will measure it. Your return on investment should be quantified prior to deploying AI, along with ways to measure it. Third, understand that adopting AI@Work is an ongoing process – and one that will require you to move quickly, learn as you go, bring in the necessary skills and trusted partners and be willing to adjust to achieve success.
About the author:
Dennis Perpetua is the Chief Technology Officer for Kyndryl Global Digital Workplace Services Practice at Kyndryl.
