Thinking beyond ChatGPT: Generative AI is a trillion dollar technology waiting to be tapped

The world of Artificial Intelligence changed forever on November 30, 2022, when OpenAI's ChatGPT went public. By December 5, it had over one million users. That was faster than Facebook, Instagram and Spotify – all of them took more than a month to reach the landmark – but slower than Meta’s latest offering Threads.

ChatGPT, which allows users to give a command to receive a response, has so far been the best use-case of generative AI, a subcategory of Artificial Intelligence that can generate new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos.

Generative AI’s value to the global economy and human productivity has not been missed by analysts. A recent McKinsey & Co report suggests that generative AI could add $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion in economic output annually. That's more than the United Kingdom’s entire GDP in 2021.

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The report‘The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier’suggests that 75 percent of generative AI’s use cases boil down to four key work areas: managing customer interactions, generating content for marketing and sales, generating software codes, and optimising Research & Development models.

The banking and retail sector are all set to gain the most from the proliferation of generative AI. According to the report, the full utilisation of generative AI can add up to $200 billion to $340 billion annually to the global banking sector. Similarly, the retail and consumer-packaged goods sector can add up to $660 billion every year.

Impact on labour productivity

Workers and companies continue to worry about the impact of artificial intelligence-driven automation on jobs. If the report is to be believed, they are not wrong either. "Half of today’s work activities could be automated between 2030 and 2060, with a midpoint in 2045, or roughly a decade earlier than in our previous estimates," says the report.

However, it also suggests that generative AI can end up shaping the way people work. The report estimates that Generative AI can potentially automate work activities that absorb 60 to 70 percent of employees’ time today.

Moreover, the report states that generative AI will have more impact on knowledge-intensive jobs, which have occupations with higher wages and educational requirements, than on other jobs.

Generative AI, the report argues, can substantially increase labour productivity, adding about 0.1 to 0.6 percent annually till 2040. However, generative AI's impact on productivity will largely depend on the rate of its adoption in the coming years.

What experts say

Blockchain and tech evangelist Sharat Chandra says that the only way to remain relevant amid the rise of generative AI is by upskilling oneself. "An AI ready workforce can help organizations optimise their current processes and explore innovative use cases," he says.

He also says that early adopters of generative AI across sectors have been leveraging large language models – the lifeblood of artificial intelligence – to offer better product discovery, recommendations,and enhance customer experience.

Speaking on the lines of Chandra, Jaideep Kewalramani, Head of Employability Business & COO at TeamLease EdTech, says that the current workforce needs to up-skill, re-skill and re-invent itself immediately.

“The future workforce can become generative AI practitioners in tandem with their higher education journey and acquire skills like learning programming and algorithm design,” he says, adding that workers with cognitive skills like critical thinking and problem solving will be relevant in the AI-focused workforce.

Large-scale job losses are perhaps the biggest threat emerging out of the rise of generative AI. However, tech expert Jaspreet Bindra, founder of UK-based Tech Whisperer, feels that there won’t be a major impact of generative AI on jobs.

“Some job losses will be taken away, mostly lower-end. Certain tasks will be impacted around the world. Generative AI will not take anyone’s job. But anyone embracing it will take others’ jobs… Every technology has led to job creation too,” he says.

He adds that India and other developing countries will be less affected by the rise of generative AI, compared to the more advanced countries.

However, all three experts add that governments need to bring in enabling regulations to prevent the misuse of artificial intelligence, including generative AI.