One theme constantly stressed at FDT GenAI conferences is the need to give the humans involved as much attention as the technology when introducing AI-driven advances to an organisation, however far-reaching the impact of that technology.
Successful implementation of digital technology is not about replacing people, but about improving how the two work together – a point that Shane McArdle, CEO of Kongsberg Digital highlighted at the Future Digital Twin & GenAI Conference Middle East in October.
“At Future Digital Twin conferences, we often start talking about the technology but end up discussing the people. We need to redefine how we how we work, because that is where we get the value from adopting digital technology,” he told attendees.
It’s a theme picked up in a recent note on AI and the energy industry by a team from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which stresses that people need to be put at the heart of AI adoption
BCG recommends that companies implementing AI devote most of their attention and resources – around 70% – to addressing people, processes, and culture, while allocating less to algorithms and models or data and architecture.
“For oil and gas companies, this starts with fostering a culture of experimentation that encourages innovation and calculated risk-taking,” the authors said, adding that upskilling workers quickly is also crucial so they can use GenAI and other AI solutions in their daily tasks.
“Over time, algorithms and data will recede as sources of competitive advantage. The true driver of market leadership will be the capability of the organization’s people to rapidly and flexibly adopt new technologies for disruptive applications. Companies that master the challenges of change management will likely emerge as the industry’s leaders,” the authors say.
This is not to under-estimate the role of AI once it is integrated into business processes.
GenAI not only increases workers’ productivity, but it can also increase the range of tasks they can perform.
Recent BCG-backed research found that employees are able to use GenAI to complete tasks that are beyond their current capabilities. Participants in the study were able to instantly expand their aptitude for new data-science tasks, even when they had no prior experience in coding or statistics. The study also suggested that an engineering mindset could make workers more successful in adapting to GenAI tools, for example by allowing them to break down problems into sub-components.
Many energy companies are already successfully applying GenAI to their activities, whether that is within office productivity tools, through improved decision-making and via predictive maintenance.
For those yet to commit, BCG sees early investment in third party software provider that brings GenAI into back-office functions, such as HR, finance and IT, as “table stakes” for future realisation of value from AI. The consultancy said the focus for companies over the next year should be on integrating GenAI into daily activities.
Agile energy business models
The transition to a GenAI-augmented future will have “profound implications” in areas such as talent acquisition and internal mobility, employee learning and development, teaming and performance management and strategic workforce planning, BCG notes.
Oil and gas companies will need to develop new business models that shift the focus from assets to agility over coming years, if they are not to be left behind. These need to embrace AI-enabled autonomous operations and other innovations that can bring operational and capital efficiencies that will reduce the cost and carbon intensity of delivering energy.
“Sustained competitive advantage can only be achieved by consistently being the first mover in both industry-specific solutions and general business solutions,” BCG said.
Achieving that will require significant investment to ensure access to high-quality clean, structured data and data integration, while still maintaining that focus on people, processes, and culture.
Jan Tore Nygard, Manager People & Organisation at Equinor told the recent Future Digital Twin & GenAI event held at Shell’s Energy Transition Campus in Amsterdam:“It’s not an either/or in terms of humans versus AI it’s both. It’s a matter of finding symbioses and synergies between technology and people.”
