> The whole point of a business is that you're paying them to do better than average.
...this is a really interesting idea, but I'm not sure if it's entirely true?
If we're talking about a business's core competency, I think the assertion makes sense. You need to be better than your competition.
But businesses also need a whole lot of people to work in human resources, file taxes, and so on. (Not to mention clean bathrooms, but that's less relevant to the generative AI discussion.) I can certainly imagine how having a world-class human resource team could provide a tire manufacturer with a competitive advantage. However, if those incredible HR employees are also more expensive, it might make more sense to hire below-average people to do your HR and invest more in tire R&D.
I think my sense is that the zeitgeist around AI (at least in business circles) is much more “The only way to ensure our continued survival is by embracing ai in all our core competencies” than “your tire company is going to have some adequate hr for a great price.”
An example that springs to mind is the arms race between tech CEOs over who can have more of their code base written by llms.
It’s amazing tech and it seems like it’s being marketed for all the wrong things based off of some future promise of super intelligence.
I really liked the article posted on here a week or two back along the lines of AI is a normal technology. Imo, the most sane narrative I’ve read about where this tech is at.
Right up until those below average HR people break the law or allow managers to break the law and the company gets in trouble and no scientists or other R&D people want to work there.
I would really hope "not breaking the law" doesn't require an "above average" HR team. As long as it isn't bottom of the barrel you should be fine.
...if I was really cynical, I might say that one of the reasons you might want a "world class" HR team is in order to break the law, or come really close to the line, without getting caught, in a way that increases profits.
...this is a really interesting idea, but I'm not sure if it's entirely true?
If we're talking about a business's core competency, I think the assertion makes sense. You need to be better than your competition.
But businesses also need a whole lot of people to work in human resources, file taxes, and so on. (Not to mention clean bathrooms, but that's less relevant to the generative AI discussion.) I can certainly imagine how having a world-class human resource team could provide a tire manufacturer with a competitive advantage. However, if those incredible HR employees are also more expensive, it might make more sense to hire below-average people to do your HR and invest more in tire R&D.