Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is not the next big thing—it is the big thing. Generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing, bring the power of AI to everyone—if they have the space, time, and support to learn how to use those tools. It’s a business imperative to get teams comfortable and familiar with this technology so that they can use it regularly in their workflow.
Like with any new skill set, employees learn more effectively when they have access to a progressive learning experience founded in positive reinforcement. This is especially true of a disruptive and revolutionary technology like generative AI.
Design Learning for Progressive Skills Acquisition
Learning a new skill set anchored in a revolutionary new technology can feel intimidating to employees. They may need help approaching the subject and applying it to their day-to-day work.The best way to overcome this hesitation is to structure the learning experience. Plan a series of team meetings or lessons that progressively introduce the new technology and build capabilities. Providing an environment of experimentation, where employees can try new ways of working without directly affecting work outcomes, removes performance pressure and anxiety while allowing employees to gain confidence in their newly learned skills. Once team members have solidified these skills, you can take steps to integrate the new tool into work processes.
To help your team acquire these skills, consider setting aside time on a regular basis to focus on learning. Then, pair topics with asynchronous learning assignments. You might adapt a learning program like this one to your team’s needs.
Sample Learning Program
Cycle 1:- Pre-work: Enroll all team members in a structured learning course to help them acquire the basics of using generative AI. They will then come to the first meeting with the foundational knowledge required to participate. These Udemy courses might be helpful: ChatGPT 101: Supercharge Your Work & Life and ChatGPT: Complete ChatGPT Course For Work 2023.
- Meeting 1: Provide an introduction and overview of the tool, even if it's a review of the pre-work. After a demonstration, include hands-on exploration for all participants, including concrete prompts to guide their initial experimentation.
- Assignment 1 (after Meeting 1): Participants choose one day before the second meeting to use the generative AI tool as much as possible at home or at work. Ask them to note how they tried to use it and what the outcomes of those experiments.
Cycle 2:
- Meeting 2: Review how this asynchronous experimentation went as a team, including what worked and what didn’t. Based on those experiments, brainstorm possible areas where team members can leverage generative AI in their work.
- Assignment 2: After the second meeting, encourage team members to dive deeper into practicing the specific applications they outlined in the previous meeting. Ask them to call out what was effective, what wasn’t, and what they had to modify.
Cycle 3:
- Meeting 3: Review what team members learned during the week. Then, discuss norms, guiding principles, or rules governing the usage of generative AI. Based on where people want more guidance or have found ways to self-govern, generate and document group norms.
- Assignment 3: As a follow-up, ask the team to asynchronously collaborate on three to five guiding principles for using generative AI. Encourage them to seek out other generative AI users in the company and to incorporate the information they discover into these principles.
As you plan and implement team learning, consider organizational guidelines and rules for generative AI usage. Because AI tools pose unique risks to confidential and sensitive information, they require responsible and ethical use. Whether you’re enabling a team or a company, consult your legal advisor for guidance on properly protecting your company’s information.
A progressive approach to learning generative AI skills will enable your team to effectively incorporate these skills into their workflow. They may notice benefits like improved productivity, enhanced focus on more strategic work, and new insights.
Whether you’ve already gone to market with a generative AI–powered offering or you’ve just learned what ChatGPT is, accessing the right learning content is essential. Identify a learning partner with the breadth and level of content your organization requires, so that all teams can best apply these new skills in their roles.
Udemy’s extensive generative AI course catalog means that Udemy is uniquely positioned to support customers through this change. Our content generation and curation process moves at the speed of innovation, while our customer success team partners with enterprise customers to help them achieve their organizational learning goals.
Download our complete Generative AI Toolkit to learn more about empowering your teams with new generative AI skills.
Editor’s note: This blog is the collaborative work of the Udemy Learning team, which includes Melissa Daimler, Chief Learning Officer; Justin Mass, Sr. Director Enterprise Learning; Joshua Ehrenreich, Senior Learning Program Manager; John O’Neill, Senior Learning Partner; Lauren Hauser, Learning Program Manager; and Vicki Lang, Learning Designer.