The Do-Re-Mi of AI Adoption

In 1965 “The Sound of Music” burst on the cinematic screen starring the wonderfully talented Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. It would go on to be the highest grossing film in history for the next five years.

Early in the movie, Maria is teaching the Von Trapp children to sing. She advises them not to tackle a complex tune first but to start with an easier lesson based around a simple music scale.

Recognise these lyrics?
“Let’s start at the very beginning; A very good place to start
When you read, you begin with A-B-C; When you sing, you begin with Do-Re-Mi”

This simple lesson is critical for AI adoption. So, let’s start at the very beginning. Let’s explore what Do-Re-Mi means in the world of Artificial Intelligence.

Do (as in a deer, a female deer)

is the first step, and that first step is you. The best way to start your workplace AI journey is to start your personal AI journey first. AI is empirical, so while you can read about it (and you should – oh wait, you are right now!) you need to get your hands dirty.

I meet so many people who have never opened a Generative AI tool – think Perplexity, Poe, HuggingFace or the ubiquitous ChatGPT. In 2024, I am left wondering why?

Find a personal use for Generative AI. Here are my top three ideas:

Ask AI to write a personalised children’s story for your daughter / grandson / niece. Be sure to include their name and the name of their favourite toy or pet.
Tell AI what you have in your fridge and let it suggest a recipe with those ingredients. Had a hard day? Ask AI for a new vodka based or gin-based cocktail.
Use AI to figure out shopping lists. Tell AI what you want to cook or construct or even the kids’ school project. AI can then generate a shopping list for you making you so much quicker at the shopping centre.

Re (as in a drop of golden sun)

is the second step, and this step is your hobbies or interests. AI makes a great planning partner. Here are my three ideas:

Don’t have a hobby right now? Perfect! Let AI generate suggestions for a hobby for you. Give AI your personal parameters such as being time poor, have small kids, don’t like to sweat, bored easily, low on funds, or whatever it might be. Try a few new things to see what fits.
Ask AI to help you plan your next outing. That might be ideas for a picnic, best places to see wild birds or your next holiday itinerary.
Draft up a well worded email for the social club president, your local politician or someone you would like to share lunch with. Ask it to outline your position on your area of interest – you will be surprised.

Mi (as in a name I call myself)

is the third step and this step involves your work tasks. Start to explore how AI adoption can make you a little more efficient at work. Again, my top three ideas:

Have a lot of long reports or academic research papers to read? Ask Generative AI to summarise them into 3 paragraphs that a 15-year-old can understand. This will help you prioritise what to read first and what can go to the bottom of the pile (or in the bin).
Preparing a presentation and want to stun the audience with great graphics? Ask AI to produce a new image matched to your slide’s content. Don’t forget to annotate that the image is AI generated.
Share the love. Share your home and work AI hacks with colleagues and ask them about theirs. Who knows, you might become the go to person for AI in your office!

So, there you go. The Do-Re-Me of Generative AI adoption. Just imagine how far along you will be by the time you get to So, La and Ti. By the time you get back to Do, there will be new tech to start all over again.

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