“Artificial intelligence is not a substitute for human intelligence; it is a tool to amplify human creativity and ingenuity.”
In previous newsletters, we’ve highlighted how asking insightful questions helps great leaders stand out. We emphasized how curiosity and inquiry enable leaders, managers, coaches, consultants, and parents to gain insight, demonstrate emotional intelligence and build strong, sustainable relationships.
Now, more than ever, a leader’s ability to ask powerful questions as prompts is a critical differentiator between humans and AI. In a recent interview, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, emphasized that the most important human skills needed with the rise of AI are a leader’s curiosity and ability to refine the prompts and questions asked of AI. Humans will not beat machines at recalling facts—AI can capture those in a matter of seconds.
However, Altman emphasized that figuring out the questions to ask is much more important than the answers AI provides. To stay ahead of AI, humans must use their unique skill sets of connecting the dots, synthesizing data, and recognizing patterns. This is why Innolect emphasizes the importance of growing vertical development capacity. Vertical development capabilities drive the growth of an individual’s cognitive and emotional sophistication, unlocking higher levels of thinking and emotional intelligence and helping leaders navigate complex and uncertain environments more effectively using:
- Perspective Shifting
- Emotional Maturity
- Strategic Thinking
- Both/And Awareness
Traditional horizontal development, on the other hand, focuses on acquiring new skills and knowledge taught in training programs to increase a person’s knowledge and competencies within their current role or field. As leaders expand their cognitive capacity to make connections, they ask better questions or prompts.
Leaders can help their teams excel by encouraging them to “see” differently and by promoting:
- Prompt engineering – https://promptengineering.org/
- Upskilling your team—acceptable policy boundaries – https://slash.co/articles/ethical-practices-in-prompt-engineering-balancing-creativity-and-responsibility/
- Watching out for “shadow AI” and data breaches –https://fairnow.ai/detect-and-prevent-shadow-ai/
- IP protections – https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-to-protect-intellectual-property-in-the-age-of-ai/
- Private LMM considerations – https://pureai.com/Articles/2024/07/31/Private-LLMs.aspx
Remember, while AI excels at recalling facts, human creativity and ingenuity remain unparalleled. Leaders can differentiate themselves by asking insightful questions, refining AI prompts and growing their vertical development capabilities.
To learn more about Vertical Development and how Innolect helps leaders grow their capacity, contact us!