What i miss in the discussion about ChatGPT is how it can strengthen our human value in the workplace. We are only discussing if the technology is better than humans and how it is replacing us and our work. For me the discussion should go about how this can free up our time to do what we are really good at and what we as humans can do best: imagining how it can be and asking questions to get the best answers. That means that we can visualize a future or a problem and are able to ask ourselves what we need to get there. The answers and solutions? Great if technology can support us with that. Like Einstein used 55 minutes to define the problem and 5 minutes for the solution. That is our human power! In any type of work we do.
If ChatGPT will be able to write and answer my emails, I am very happy. Emailing is not something that should be my focus during the day. But to be honest, it became a main goal at work. Actually, if I feel at the end of the day that I have been productive, I look at the number of emails in my inbox. And what did I do in that inbox? I replied, forwarded, have been given tasks or gave tasks to others. We complain about it and at the same time use it as a. measurement for a successful day. But aren’t we adding much more value to the workplace if we connect with customers, if we have a creative session with our stakeholders, or if we have a dialogue with colleagues on what we want to achieve together and how we work together?
What problem do I want to solve? I want us to look at technology innovation as facilitator to our human skills instead of that it replaces us. But what it asks from al of is us to (re)define what our added value is in the workplace. Away for the assembly line of Henry Ford, but back to our human skills, our 21st century skills and our ability to build, create, service and connect. A human workplace supported by technology.