“In the near future, I believe that people who do not use Gen AI will either be disrupted or replaced by those who utilize Gen AI technology. Therefore, if asked whether we should start now or not, I think we should start learning Generative AI as of yesterday.”
Theewin Jidsathaporn, Senior Vice President of Analytics and Development (A&D) at Ngern Tid Lor Public Company Limited.
If we look back at the history of human development, we can see changes and replacements of old things with new ones that help create convenience, making it easier for humans to do various things in every era. For example, abacuses were replaced by calculators, typewriters were replaced by computers, horses were replaced by cars, cameras and VDO cameras were replaced by mobile phones, etc.
Looking at the organizational level, one might wonder how a company that prioritizes technology like Ngern Tidlor will adapt to and cope with cutting-edge technology.
In this episode of Tidlor Story, we will share how we’ve prepared for the arrival of 'Generative AI' from the beginning, allowing Ngern Tidlor to have projects that can enhance organizational efficiency with Gen AI, with a total of 74 projects in various stages of development and readiness!
The beginning of the revolution: "AI Gangster"
Ngern Tidlor doesn't just "integrate Gen AI," but also cultivates a culture of learning and sharing through the establishment of the "AI Gangster" group comprised of Ngern Tidlor enthusiasts of Gen AI. This group serves as a "new generation gang" ready to break the traditional frameworks and elevate work efficiency to new heights.
The Road to becoming "AI Gangster"
1000 Questions Workshop
A starting point to stimulate curiosity, encouraging employees to train themselves to be curious and ask questions to test the diverse capabilities of Gen AI.
Thaveewat Khanan, from the A&D department acting as the 'class leader' of 'AI Gangster', talks about the formation of this group, which stems from paving the way to readiness for the Generative AI era at Ngern Tidlor.
“Previously, the A&D department had the opportunity to organize a 1000 Questions Workshop for over 50 leaders of Ngern Tidlor, at a time when we began to see the trend of Gen AI emerging. More importantly, it wasn't just about having answers, but about asking smart questions to get quality answers back.
So, we opened up the opportunity for these leaders to try asking questions to understand what data we needed to answer those questions.
Towards the end of the workshop, we had the NTL leaders try using prompts to recreate images to match the prompts, discovering that using Gen AI isn’t difficult. This workshop served as the starting point for implementing Gen AI.”
Data Governance
Establishing a data security management framework to instill confidence in employees when using data for work. After the workshop, the Ngern Tidlor leaders also collaborated on developing Data Governance, or a joint policy for overseeing data, to prepare for using data with Generative AI.
Additionally, there are monthly "Prompt Play" activities to provide knowledge and guidance to interested Ngern Tidlor employees, helping them understand and visualize how Generative AI's capabilities can assist in their work.
Expanding Awareness, Energizing the Entire Organization
Besides providing knowledge, it's crucial to stimulate and cultivate employees' interest in each department to make AI application a practical case.
Not only do we have knowledgeable leaders ready to apply AI to various tasks, but our organization also conducts continuous AI training for all employees. With strong support from the A&D team, whether it's Chat GPT, Midjourney, Canva, or other tools, most employees gain better understanding and see more opportunities to benefit from technology.
In addition to training, every week, real case studies from each department implementing AI are presented in management meetings to provide a comprehensive view and real outcomes. This spans from sparking knowledge to monitoring actual implementation results.
The Origin of AI Gangster
A space for knowledge exchange, sharing experiences, ideation, and collaboration to drive various projects to success.This led to the establishment of the "AI Gangster" group, following the advice of Bernard Tso, Head of Marketing, Business Development, and Information Technology department.
The aim was to open opportunities for all Ngern Tidlor employees interested in using AI to solve work-related problems. They could come together to discuss, share experiences, exchange learning across departments (Cross functional), and build this community as an inspirational space, rallying brainpower, and welcoming feedback to collectively drive the success of each department's projects within the AI gangster community.
The future of Ngern Tidlor is certainly not just limited to this. The 'AI Gangster' is ready to expand from its first generation to welcome successive generations of Ngern Tidlor employees to join the gang. With the original members of 'AI Gangsters' poised to grow into mentors and coaches for the younger generations, the vision of the 'AI era' at Ngern Tidlor where the company is filled with capable employees proficient in using Generative AI, it's not too far from reality.
“Experiment to Lead Changes” mindset is the essence of learning
Ngern Tidlor believes that "courage" is the heart of learning and development. The "AI Gangster" team is supported by the organization to "Experiment to Lead Changes" to explore with new solutions without fear of failure.
This is backed by the organization's core values of ‘Experiment to Lead Changes' ingrained in the DNA of every Ngern Tidlor employee. Moreover, there's a license to fail provided by team leaders and managers, allowing individuals to recover from mistakes in order to learn and develop themselves.
“I believe that the core values of ‘Experiment to Lead Changes’ are crucial in enabling us to use technology to create new models for work. Because if an organization doesn't promote these values, people within the organization won't dare to try.
Additionally, both team leaders and managers support us in terms of tools, data, and ideas, making it not too difficult to turn ideas into reality.”
Anupan Ngamwijit, Fraud Department.
“In the early stages of the project, when I tried to use OCR to verify the accuracy of documents to reduce the workload of people in the Operations team, I have to admit it failed. It only read the data from the documents at 60%, much lower than we expected.
However, we tried to find errors and learn from those who had used OCR before. Until now, we have been able to make OCR read data more accurately, up to 80-90%. This made me understand that the point where we failed was actually the starting point for us to succeed in the future. As long as we dare to rise from failure and learn from mistakes.”
Yuttasin Liupanjarat, Information Technology Department.
“Ngern Tidlor is an organization that not only promotes ‘Experiment to lead changes’, but also encourages learning new things, giving us the opportunity to see ideas that can be used to address the points where we have previously failed.
Before learning about AI, my team attempted to create a Chatbot to address issues with various systems, but it failed because it was almost static in its usage. We couldn't find new questions to train our bot with.
However, we didn't blame ourselves for the mistakes, but instead, we spent time and effort seeking new knowledge. This eventually led us to learn how to use Gen AI, allowing us to revive this project with fresh ideas.”
Gaitong Phansanit, Information Technology Department.
The outcome from using Gen AI for enhancing work
Examples of achievements from the "AI Gangster" include
- OCR Model: Detecting document accuracy, saving time, and increasing work efficiency.
- Chatbot: Answering internal usage questions, providing quick customer assistance.
- Various other projects:Currently in development, aiding Ngern Tidlor to step confidently into the future.
Smart Tips for Using Generative AI
“The best way to understand Gen AI is to just 'give it a try.' Start by experimenting and learning by asking questions.”
Theewin Jidsathaporn, Senior Vice President of Analytics and Development Department.
- Use with Responsibility: Using data should be approached with caution, especially personal or organization-related data. Usage should be limited to cases where data anonymization or data masking is applied appropriately, transforming sensitive information such as personal names, internal data, or company confidential data.
- Use with Mindfulness: It's not advisable to blindly trust the results obtained from Gen AI 100%. Every outcome should be thoroughly verified and critically evaluated. Ultimately, decisions should still be made responsibly. Additionally, the quality and accuracy of the data are crucial. Incorrect input data will inevitably lead to inaccurate results.
- Utilize for Maximum Benefit: Start by experimenting with Gen AI and learn from those experiences earnestly. Open up opportunities for self-improvement and gradually become adept at asking intelligent questions. Choose to use Gen AI in appropriate ways. Furthermore, keep knowledge and skills updated regularly and support the team in understanding and utilizing AI to its fullest potential.
"AI Gangster" is not only a space where like-minded individuals can collaborate but also serves as proof of Ngern Tidlor’s dedication to prioritizing reskilling and upskilling employees' capabilities. It aims to pave the way for both employees and the organization to grow in the future.