A 2025 survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults found only 34 percent had ever used ChatGPT.

The capabilities of GenAI are accelerating exponentially.

Experimenting with GenAI, such as ChatGPT, can increase one's GenAI knowledge and skills.

In the autumn of 1990, in a course I was teaching, I queried my students: “How many of you have heard of the Internet? If so, please raise your hand.” Twenty-five students stared at me. No hands went up. There was no Amazon, no Google, no Facebook, no social media. Internet interface mostly used text-based protocols. Public access to the World Wide Web was still three years away.

Within a decade, the Internet was transforming businesses, communities, and our personal lives. In the first decade of the 21st century, cellphones grew exponentially, then smartphones. In 2007, Steve Jobs gave us the first iPhone. Today, smartphones are ubiquitous. For hundreds of years, new generations lived much as the generations preceding them. That has changed. The pace and impact of technological developments have accelerated. We are currently in the early years of another technological revolution—generative artificial intelligence—GAI.

How much do you know about this type of AI? These machine learning models have been trained on massive amounts of information and, when given a prompt, can produce new content, can converse, and have capabilities that seem almost unbelievable. Here is a YouTube video that really opened my eyes to this brave new world. From around .40 seconds to 3:22 in this video, Rick Beato (musician, producer, educator) demonstrates how AI can impact the music business.

In 2025, the Pew Research Center surveyed more than 5,000 adults in the United States to determine usage and awareness of ChatGPT, the most widely used GAI. Although almost 80 percent had heard of ChatGPT, only 34 percent had ever used it. So who used it? Fifty-eight percent of young adults (under 30) and 52 percent of those who were college-educated or higher. Overall, 28 percent indicated that they had used it at work.

Regardless of where we obtain news, articles and features about AI are numerous. Some are positive (e.g., increases in productivity, amplifying creativity); some are negative (e.g., replacing employees, creating “false” information). Are we developing GAI too fast? To describe how many of us might feel about how fast AI is developing, Patrick Barry (University of Michigan) shared a phrase coined by the journalist Ira Glass: “Unprepared for what has already happened.”

Organizations are working to find ways to implement AI in the workplace. In a post on X, executive coach Ed Batista summarized a recent roundtable discussion—executives shared suggestions about implementing AI. Several of the suggestions I share or paraphrase here:

“Create a learning environment inside the company that encourages everyone to experiment with AI.”

Find a way for employees to share successes and learn from failures.

Understand that “enthusiasm and adoption will vary across functions and within teams.”

For leaders, as part of what you do, take time to think about the implications of AI for your business and talk with others to get their ideas.

“Integrate an understanding of peoples’ AI capabilities into your hiring process.”

In the early 1980s, one of my responsibilities was oversight of a large survey program. We did most of our analyses using mainframe computers. One day, an employee asked me if I had considered using personal computers in our survey operations. I knew nothing about personal computers; I had only worked with mainframes. I was brought up to speed on the latest technology; we purchased personal computers and improved our productivity. Since then, I’ve tried to be aware of technological developments that could affect me or my work.

The generative AI revolution is in the early stages of application. The technology continues to evolve day by day, week by week. The executives in Batista’s roundtable had the right idea. Experimenting with ChatGPT or other GAI is a good way to start learning about this technology. Knowledge of GAI, ability to write GAI prompts, and foresight to see additional ways to use GAI are already becoming valued skills and should be even more so in the future.

Barry, P. (2026, January 23). Feeling unprepared for the AI boom? You’re not alone. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/feeling-unprepared-for-the-ai-boom-youre-no…

Batista, E. [@edbatista]. (2026, February 16). Takeaways from today's Friends and Hammers AI Implementation Roundtable [Post]. X. https://x.com/edbatista/status/2023480608262156532

Sidoti, O., & McClain, C. (2025, June 25). 34% of U.S. adults have used ChatGPT, about double the share in 2023. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/?p=7779

Zewe, A. (2023, November 9). Explained: Generative AI. MIT News. https://news.mit.edu/2023/explained-generative-ai-1109

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