AI in Leadership – The Ethical Dimension
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This blog post is a continuation of an interview ” AI-Enhanced Leadership: Maximizing Potential with Intelligent Tools. Click here to read the first part.
The topic of AI is also very much about ethics. I would be particularly interested in this: What ethical considerations should leaders consider when dealing with AI?
AI can process vast amounts of data both now and in the future. This means, for example, that I can easily develop an algorithm with AI to monitor employees even better, work out certain behavioral patterns, and much more.
In other words, I can use AI to make something completely transparent that a human would never have been able to do. In theory, I could develop an AI that uses workflows to tell me exactly which employees are productive and when or who is working at their weakest.
I could also use an AI to monitor the entire company. Of course, this poses a major ethical problem – do you use artificial intelligence to monitor or facilitate work processes? These are two poles that AI could cover.
The question is, what do you want?
In your opinion, how can AI help to create personalized learning experiences for leaders and thus promote their individual development?
With AI, for example, I could create a training program for a leader where they can study at any time. The program explains content at all levels – very simple, highly complex, in a different language or format.
Soon it will also be possible to write with AI via WhatsApp, for example, to better understand the content. But this would also be possible in completely different formats – for example, I could talk to the AI or watch an AI-generated video.
In general, AI could cover everything for me. For example, I could tell it that I want to work on a language model and AI would explain to me what I need and also generate a mind map for me. This AI program would be user-friendly. That means I could use it when and where I want and at the level I need. The AI would also give me constant feedback on my learning progress and tell me where there is room for improvement.
Soon AI will be able to respond to my every wish.
I hear a lot about individualization and the promotion of time- and location-independent learning, which will simply make everyday life easier – not just for leaders, but for everyone in general.
Exactly, it is independent of time and place, but can also always be tailored to my needs.
That brings me to my next question: how do you see the role of AI in the future training and development of leaders, what are the limits?
When it comes to learning content in training courses, AI will relatively soon replace the role of the trainer, because AI can do this well on an individual level. Perhaps even better than humans because of the large database.
I can simulate social interactions with an AI, but that’s where I see the limits of AI. In other words, whenever it comes to dealing with other people, AI can teach me the basics and the theory – but it can’t do the actual interpersonal aspects, i.e. working with other people.
You can also see it now after Corona, there was a brief online peak, but then people switched back to face-to-face interaction. People realized that they were missing that. This means that human interaction is now more important in a company. Nobody wants to sit in front of a screen and have everything explained to them by an AI.
Cool, thank you very much, Niels. Is there anything else you would like to add or haven’t said yet?
I see education and training as the most important skills of the 21st century – whether as a leader or an employee, everyone will have to keep learning in the 21st century and AI won’t be able to do that for us. If anything, the opposite is true – we have to learn even more than before, but AIs also make learning much easier for us.
In other words, it all evens out somewhere. We have to keep up with developments and keep learning, but this is also getting easier and easier. In other words, in the 21st century, it’s all about continuing to develop and educate ourselves and putting a bit of effort into our brains – even if we no longer have to thanks to AI.
Conclusion
With AI, (almost) anything will soon be possible – from a conversation to a generated leadership development program. Although many roles can be replaced, it is important to strengthen the interpersonal level and focus on soft skills.
You can find Niels’ homepage here!
Alina Helmlinger
L&D Consultant, MA
Alina has been an L&D Consultant at MDI since 2021 and supports clients from various industries in the tailor-made design of various leadership development programs and training courses. In addition to her practical knowledge and the experience she has already gained in further training, she draws on her sound theoretical knowledge from her Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management and her Master’s degree in Organizational and Personnel Development, which she completed in June 2022. Alina keeps calm, especially in challenging situations and leaders to reconcile the interests of different stakeholders in complex projects, thereby designing tailor-made HR solutions geared towards customers’ needs.
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