AI, culture, mental health, and being intentional about it all
Google announces Gemini 2.0 and the agentic era
I recently left all social media channels in favor of substack. I was already ‘off’ not regularly using the other channels and I finally officially deactivated all accounts when I moved to substack.
Social media had become like a love-addicted affair.
One you know is bad for you yet return to nightly to drink of its spout.
One when you’re in the thick of it, it feels soo damn good yet the next morning you have doubts if it was the best decision (or the worse mistake of your life).
Technology has such a pull - social media, our devices, and now the latest allure - arguably unavoidable, potentially all-consuming, and here at our doorstep, inside of our browsers, phones, smart glasses, code, and workflows: Generative AI.
This week’s topic specifically Gemini 2.0.
On Decemer 11th Google announced it’s latest AI rollout – Gemini 2.0,
Side note, is it just me or has Google improved with it’s announcements? Not Apple level but leaps and bounds from where it's been.
Gemini 2.0 is a series of AI models with Google Flash being the model most heavily featured this week.
Google Flash and a trio of experimental applications Project Astra, Project Mariner, and Jules were the feature of the announcement post .
The headline read, “Introducing Gemini 2.0: our new AI model for the agentic era”.
The Agentic Era
The agentic era speaks to the use of AI models that, “can understand more about the world around you, think multiple steps ahead, and take action on your behalf, with your supervision”, writes Google CEO Sundar Pichal in the announcement.
Gemini 2.0 allows for the development of AI ‘agents’ that can act and in some cases make decisions on the behalf of humans – working towards Google’s vision of a universal assistant.
Project Astra, Project Mariner, and Jules are examples of AI assistants at work.
Project Astra integrating with your phone (and eventually glasses) is more informational and instructional as you navigate the world – think book suggestions while at a book store or suggest a restaurant on your route home.
Project Mariner is a Chrome extension and thus browser-centric with the ability to complete browser tasks – think book flights and grocery shop – on your behalf.
While Jules is a coding assistant powered by Gemini 2.0 - that is right the developer’s very own AI assistant to assist in writing and debugging code.
The agentic era, now fully at our doorstep will force leaders and organizations to answer some very important questions regarding what will and will not be apart of their workflow and company culture.
Why Does this Matter
AI agents have the ability and probablity of impacting organizations on multiple levels:
Culture
Output Quality
Workflow
Roles and Responsibilities
Mental Health and Wellbeing of Employees
just to name a few…
Leaders and team members may have the experience of feeling like this is happening to them. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
It is possible to stay informed and have a hand in directing how this will rollout in your organization.
What to Do About It
The impact of AI on organizations, workforce, and workflow is a concern for employees at all levels and is the cause of serious fear within organizations.
Many organizations have been integrating various AI tools, largely through SaaS offerings in HR and Business Development for example.
Similarly, many employees have already begun unofficially or officially integrating AI tools into their personal workflow whether it’s to draft emails, legal documents, or even product specs.
Not as many organizations or employees have taken the time to think about, document, and make conscious decisions as to how they will and will not use generative and even predictive AI tools.
Below are a few suggestions of where to begin the conversation or expand on your approach in addressing the impact of generative AI in your organization.
Stay Informed
Do exactly what you are doing now, subscribe to newsletters like The Love Work, which you are reading now and other outlets that will help you stay abreast and strategically think about the changes that are happening.
It can feel like drinking from a firehose, so do a little bit at a time.
Integrate time to learn more into your weekly tasks. Consider hiring a consultant to lead a lunch and learn to help you and your team better understand the lay of the land.
This can also help calm unnecessary fear and uncertainty.
Be Intentional
As you become more informed be intentional about how and where you want your organization and team to use generative AI in their day to day tasks.
Taking the time to map out where various tools may come into play and can be helpful (or not) will help you make decisions about when, where, and how they fit into your workflow.
Communicate Expectations and Guidelines
As your leadership team becomes clearer on the AI strategy begin to communicate guidelines, train, and uptool your team as necessary.
Policies around allowed, disallowed, and recommened use can be created to ensure your team is on the same page.
This will also help with quality control.
Prioritize the Mental Health and Wellness of Employees
Last but not least prioritize your employee wellness. The impact of generative AI tools are weighing heavily on many creating stress and worry.
Ignoring this can breed fear amongst your team which will bleed into your company culture. Take care of your employees so they can continue to do their best work.
Also, AI learns by engaging with humans. This may not feel like as immediate of a concern but is worth mentioning.
The impact may take time but as generative AI tools increase in memory, which was alluded to in this weeks announcement, the culture and tone of your organization will impact the output of your generative AI tools.
Conclusion
The agentic era of AI has the ability and a probablity of transforming your organization. Getting ahead of the curve and intentionally directing the evolution and narrative in your organization can mitigate threats, reveal opportunities, and cultivate a healthy relationship and culture around these changes.
Just because a product has been released into the market does not mean that your company has to blindly accept it. Leaders and teams have a say into what will be allowed into their organizations and company culture.
In tech just as in any other industry, user adoption has and will continue to drive the market. Be clear about your parameters and what is acceptable in your organization.