Junior employees are historically faster than senior leaders to adopt new technologies, but there may be some serious consequences to relying on junior leaders as a source of expertise in the GenAI space.

In our latest episode of Technology Tangents, Vincent Yates, Jason Goth, and Kevin Erickson, three senior leaders at Credera, breakdown a recent paper from Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group that highlights the risks and challenges associated with the use of generative AI, particularly in the context of junior consultants using these tools. Their discussion highlights the potential for inexperienced users to misunderstand and misuse the technology, leading to inaccurate and unreliable results.

They also touch on the unique nature of generative AI, which involves solving problems in a non-algorithmic way, and ultimately the need for proper training, understanding, and critical thinking when using generative AI.

Show outline:

00:00 – Introductions and greetings

1:48 – The change management required for generative AI: Embracing GenAI in reality

2:39 – The reliance on junior employees to adopt & implement new technologies

8:18 – The biggest risks and hurdles to the technology – in the eyes of junior and more senior employees

22:15 – Concerns and risks with the low barriers to entryof Gen AI  

33:48 – “Just change how you work” – the message that’snever worked

39:00 – The importance of systems-level thinking

46:43 – Changing the user interaction of GenAI