Embracing New Technology: From Cellphones to AI

This isn’t about cellphones, but this story is related so either stick with me for the metaphor or skip to the next paragraph. I used to only own Android phones. And after a handful of them, I realized I didn’t need a new phone because all I used it for was music and driving directions. My phone was about 4 years old when I was arguing with my die-hard-iPhone-fanatic brother-in-law and while arguing we had to run an errand so we took his car and he plugged his phone and I experienced Apple CarPlay for the first time and was immediately converted. Because my phone always had to be used with Bluetooth which was a pain to visually search for songs or use maps since Android Auto didn’t meet my needs. CarPlay did exactly what I wanted and was so smooth and easy to use. I could use my apps with CarPlay like I could on my phone. I soon got an iPhone and my usage of the phone changed because the way it functions is just like CarPlay. It is intuitive and it works for what I needed. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is to companies as the iPhone was to me, it’s been around for a long time but the efficiencies and usefulness has been brought to the attention of those who can benefit from it.

AI: A Game-Changer for Business Efficiency

AI has gained a lot of attention and hype within the last year and a half. It has proven to be able to help with creativity for those who might be suffering from writer’s block; or struggling to find a way to word an email which is conveying bad news while still being professional. It has helped in technical knowledge with both basic troubleshooting of computers and browsers to more advanced topics like coding and data analysis. Currently AI should be considered as a junior employee, intelligent and educated; but, still has plenty of room to grow so we should expect it will make some mistakes. Many companies have been investing in AI for a long time, for example Salesforce’s has been researching AI since 2014. Since there has been a lot of excitement around AI chat bots this has really helped get other companies involved as well.

Some neat things around AI bots like Microsoft’s Copilot is it can help with summarizing articles like this one now to bullet points or even to sound bites. The AI can also provide help on difficult subjects by being prompted to explain it to the user in a myriad of ways such as using football to explain how electricity is generated and provided to consumers. I have used it to explain documents or announcements that may be unclear or phrased in a way that causes confusion.

AI as a Staple in Business Operations

Ultimately, AI is not going to go away since it provides so much value with saving time and money. It is going to be a tool that companies and their employees will use like any other business software. Maintaining a working knowledge of new developments is crucial to not get left behind. Freedom Energy has been investing in AI and we are very excited about what new opportunities it brings to the table for us.