AI and Corporate Memory
All organisations run on information They may make a product or deliver a service, but none of that can be done without information. The technology companies developed to manage information is bureaucracy, which was then adopted by governments. This goes back many thousands of years. The Romans and Egyptians were masters at information management and bureaucracy. Entering into all this now is Artificial Intelligence.
More specifically, Generative AI with Large Language Models and image/video generation. Instead of looking at the more common discussion of AI for productivity and creativity, I'm going to explore how AI might impact the narrative of companies. And why this is important.
The external narrative of a company can best be described as the brand, which is developed over years and decades. It is largely the market facing aspect of the narrative.
The internal narrative at a company is the underlying fabric of what forms corporate culture. It evolves over time, in some ways more than the outward facing aspect of the brand. Internally it's referenced in terms such as corporate values, vision and mission statements.
Then there's the liminal aspects of the internal narratives. Like employee chatter in the lunch room, company functions, water cooler gossip It's surprising how much knowledge is exchanged in liminal spaces! And of course, there's the tacit knowledge of long-term employees that is so hard to capture and value.
Prior to the AI tools of today, the job of recording and managing knowledge was done by knowledge management and information management systems tied in with IT systems and of course, all those databases. But let's focus on AI in the organisation and its impact on the narrative.
Why Is The Corporate Narrative Important?
Corporate narratives play a significant role in all organisations. It helps employees understand their place and role within an organisation. They provide frameworks for understanding and decision making. Employees will often tell stories of project failures and successes and how they happened; this is a form of myth-making which forms a narrative into the future.
Narratives help employees and management navigate office politics, cultural values, organisational priorities and acceptable ways to challenge authority. Narratives create the genuineness of how the company works.
Narratives are most often expressed through corporate functions such as all-hands meetings, in HR manuals and policies and periods of organisational change such as change management projects. Narratives are also captured in knowledge management systems such as SharePoint and similar tools.
Using AI For Corporate Narratives
One of the more interesting and helpful uses of AI in the corporate narrative is the recording and analysis of meetings, be they virtual or in real-life. This is a way to capture tacit knowledge that was previously very hard to do. Employees however, should be made aware when this is happening.
Tapping into recorded conversations, knowledge bases and perhaps even emails can translate complex institutional knowledge into more digestible forms and contexts. Patterns may become more visible that aid in better decision making. This can be applied to training, employee improvement and sales activities.
The Risks of AI and the Corporate Narrative
As with all technologies, there are risks. Not informing employees of when, where and how AI tools are being used can lead to litigation. AI tools like LLMs (Large Language Models; ChatGPT, Claude etc.) can oversimplify complex issues and may make things up through what is called hallucinations.
There can also be corporate memory loss, which we call in anthropology "thick description" which is where the nuances of human communication are lost. If mentoring is handed over entirely to Ai systems, important human to human relationships can be lost, hurting corporate culture.
Using AI For the Corporate Narrative: Approaches
The key is taking a human-centric approach, understanding where AI tools fit, enhancing roles rather than replacing them. Done right, AI tools help teams and individuals perform better and can contribute to the corporate narrative.
Over reliance on AI tools however, can lead to a watering-down of the corporate narrative, making it seem cold and less human. Hitting that uncanny valley where people will find work-arounds and ways to fight the tools. Which results in a wasted investment and productivity losses.
Developing the right protocols and policies, regularly checking in on how the tools are being used and developing hybrid learning experiences will all contribute to a successful implementation. There is a lot of fear around AI tools, so doing it right is critical. Be sure as well to create feedback loops to monitor knowledge retention.
Keep in mind too that AI tools like LLMs aren't knowledge replacement tools. They're just tools, that's it. Nothing more.
