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  • Writer's picturePaul Baier

Question #2. How urgent is it for me and my firm (or my investments) to understand GenAI now?

Answering the 2nd of the 7 most common questions executives ask us


How urgent is it for me and my firm (or my investments) to understand GAI now?


In 1812, legend has it that Ned Ludd smashed two weaving frames after being reprimanded for slow work (although the exact facts are lost in the fog of time). The anti-automation movement took his name and called themselves Luddites.


We would not go so far as to say that those who don’t adopt Generative AI are Luddites, but if a large part of your cost base is paying talent who manipulate words, images, numbers and/or sounds for their work – what we call “WINS” work– then it is urgent that your organization look into Generative AI immediately.


As for your investments:

  • In the first quarter of 2023, Generative AI startups completed $1.7 billion in funding across 46 deals.

  • Another $10.68 billion worth of deals were announced but not completed during the quarter.

  • 13 generative AI startups have reached unicorn status with a $1 billion or higher valuation.

  • OpenAI is the highest-valued generative AI startup at $29 billion.

What are some industries in the crucible of change? Here are just a few of the industries which are about to fundamentally change:

  • Professional service (especially outsourced IT and legal)

  • Entertainment (note that Hollywood strike is driven by Gen AI; have you seen the amazing Text-to-Video and GenAI movie studios?)

  • Software (transformed development, Stack Overflow traffic down)

  • Education (Chegg market cap cut in half; schools at a cross roads for this Sep)

In terms of business functions here are a few that have already changed or are currently changing:

  • Marketing

  • Sales

  • Communications

  • Human Resources

  • IT

  • R&D

The simplest way to think about the impact of #GenerativeAI is to imagine if you hired a contractor to put a new room on your house and they arrived with hand drills, hand saws, and no power tools of any kind. You would likely fire them on the spot.


As you enter your organization and see people working on symbol work without any aids from Generative AI tools, you are doing the same thing as a carpenter who refuses to use anything with an electric motor in it. GAI is power tools for WINS work.


Need to know more?


On Day 1 of Generative AI World conference Dr. John Sviokla and Jimmy Hexter will present a clear and easy framework for you to decide how urgent Generative AI is for your organization. This research is under review with the Harvard Business Reviewfor imminent publication. This framework will be applied throughout the conference to see how it can be applied practically for competitive advantage.


This is the 2nd segment in our series of common questions executives ask about GenAI. The others are:

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