In business, the qualities of black sheep are invaluable. Black sheep are the divergent thinkers who can shake up organisational complacency, envision new futures and help navigate through ambiguity. With supportive leadership, they can generate the creative tension that leads to orthogonal ideas and breakthrough thinking.
Developing an understanding of the strategic potential of new technologies, and of the impacts and implications of the macro trends and megatrends is key to de-risking the future of any organisation. Collective immersion is key to surfacing diverse perspectives, inspiring better questions, and accelerating exploration.
Paradigm shifts in technology seem now to be occurring on a monthly basis. Offering an early signal into a more autonomous future is AutoGPT, which can complete a complex array of tasks, with minimal human direction, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with AI.
ChatGPT appears magical. It's certainly not infallible but it knows some of its limitations. The underlying technology will undoubtedly prove truly disruptive. Critical thinking, verification and editing will be ever more essential human skills to hone at the start of this new collaborative journey alongside AI.
In the near future, humans will still retain their superiority for sensemaking, generating insight and critical thinking around the priorities. But with ever expanding neural networks, AI will surely advance over the longer term in its ability to curate the trends, connect the dots, and perhaps uncover new innovation opportunity spaces.
