Protect Your Staff from Getting Google Map Brain!
By Michael J Griffin
6-minute read
When you think about it Google, Apple or Waze Maps are functional forms of AI. The days of foldable Rand McNally paper maps are long extinct and we have such convenience using AI-generated directions whether driving, walking or cycling. But don’t get infected!
I was a Boy Scout in primary school and was trained to use maps and do orienteering. Rarely do I get lost driving because I have reconciled my orienteering skills with convenient Google Map directions. This prevents me from becoming infected with “Google Map Brain.”
Google Map Brain is another malady of “tunnel vision” where a driver or navigator focuses solely on looking and following Google Map directions without paying any attention to the environment and landmarks, they are traveling through to reach their destination. This can lead to dead ends, longer journeys, or getting lost. I remember one of my relatives was going from NYC to Boston Massachusetts to meet my daughter Jasmine. Using Google Maps, she punched in Jasmine’s street and number and did not realize the street given by Google Maps was in the state of Maine causing my relative to drive through Massachusetts past New Hampshire, and into the state of Maine! Or you may have read of drivers blindly following Google Maps and drive off a pier and into a lake! Two obvious cases of Google Map Brain. The lessons here that can be applied to work and job tasks are simple: Always recheck your AI work and carry out your work or project when using AI within the context of your customer needs, project objective and criteria, and organization’s values.
Getting staff “infected” with Google Map Brain has now been amplified with the advent of Gen AI. Recently, one of my employees was carrying out her social media tasks by posting my sales blog on LinkedIn and other social media. She asked ChatGPT to summarize my blog into a 30-40-word summary that she thought would go well on LinkedIn or X (Twitter). She posted the AI-generated summary without checking to ensure it captured the positive essence of my sales blog. The blog summary she posted referenced a negative gardening/agriculture activity rather than highlighting the positive theme of the sales blog. I provided constructive feedback to her and then collaborated with her on how to use focused Gen AI prompts and three AI platforms to show her how to create summaries of blogs or research that achieve the results my organization requires.
This episode got me thinking about what should managers/leaders do to “vaccinate” their staff from Google Map Brain so as to use Gen AI effectively, responsibly, and creatively. Secondly, as staff begin to drive the Gen AI platform, what also might be the guardrails to keep them on the journey of producing high-quality work with the horsepower Gen AI can generate?
Here are some guidelines for your employees and staff to employ Gen AI effectively. I used my own experiences, and selected Gen AI platforms (Claude, Perplexity, and You.com) to give me some guidelines that I have fine-tuned below:
1.0 Prepare Executive Signalling about using Gen AI in Your Organization
Do your own research on Gen AI first. Learn to drive the car before you put your staff in the driver’s seat
Practice using AI to become fluent before talking to your staff
Try Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and You.com on topics that will allow you to experience the power of AI
Your signalling should include how AI can be used in your firm to make work and tasks more efficient as well as the guidelines or guardrails to use Gen AI responsibly
Get feedback from your shareholders/directors, HR, Legal, and IT teams to craft solid useful Gen AI guidelines to roll out across your organization
If possible do this signalling face to face with your team. You may want to develop a PowerPoint and/or document on Gen AI guidelines that your managers can cascade to mid-level or front-line teams.
2.0 Foster Learning and Adaptation of AI within your team or organization
Keep staff updated on AI capabilities and limitations in your industry
Assign Gen AI training programs for your staff to take
Share successful Gen AI use cases and lessons learned
Encourage experimentation within safe boundaries using different Gen AI platforms: Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, You.com and MS Copilot
Ensure that Gen AI tools are integrated seamlessly into existing workflows to reduces friction in adoption to help employees’ buy in on how AI can enhance their current processes
Have Gen AI sharing session with your team where they present Gen AI successes and problems with others
Promote collaboration among team members when using Gen AI
Have weekly sharing of insights and discussing AI-generated content. This can lead to better outcomes and foster a culture of innovation.
3.0 Emphasize The Gen AI Enhances Your Work Rather Than Replacing it
Use AI as a tool to augment your expertise, not substitute for it
Start with your own thinking/planning before turning to AI
Focus on having AI handle routine tasks to free up time for creative and strategic work
Always apply professional judgment to AI suggestions
Remind staff to always edit, adapt and enhance the information they receive from AI platforms and not to just “copy and paste” to ensure information is aligned with organization values and goals.
Never assume AI-generated content is accurate without fact-checking
While Gen AI can provide valuable insights, remind staff human oversight is crucial for context, creativity, and critical thinking.
Cross-reference important information with reliable sources
Always recheck Gen AI-augmented work for accuracy and alignment
4.0 Set Gen AI Appropriate Boundaries for Your Organization
Define clear use cases for AI tools
Establish which tasks should not be delegated to AI
Create guidelines for when human review is mandatory
Set expectations for response time and iteration
Encourage employees to experiment with Gen AI in a responsible manner while being aware of potential risks and ethical considerations
Recognize and celebrate successful applications of Gen AI across the organization. This can be done monthly or quarterly.
5.0 Have Staff and You Practice Effective Prompting for Effective Gen AI Use
Clear, concise prompting is one of the best ways to get creative, usable results from Gen AI
Be specific and clear about desired outcomes
Break complex requests into smaller, manageable chunks
Provide context and examples when needed
Iterate and refine prompts based on results
Use more than one Gen AI platform and compare output based on the same prompt.
6.0 Require and Maintain Respect Intellectual Property
Understand and follow licensing requirements for AI-generated content
Don't use AI to replicate copyrighted material
Maintain proper attribution of sources of the Gen AI content when required
Be especially careful with dates, statistics, and technical specifications
When in doubt, ask your supervisor or legal department
You don’t want your organization of employees being accused of plagiarism
7.0 Maintain Data Security When Using AI – The Guardrails!
Never input confidential company information, trade secrets, or sensitive data
Avoid sharing personal information about employees or customers
Use internal AI tools when handling sensitive information
Remember that your organization inputs to public AI models may be stored and used for training
Again, when in doubt ask your supervisor or legal department
These seven areas can get you started in formulating effective and ethical Gen AI use in your organization to improve productivity, increase creativity and inspire employees to new levels of innovation. And inoculate your employees against “Google Map Brain!”
Do your own Gen AI learning and homework, then meet with your directors, HR, legal and IT departments to help you create Gen AI guidelines that align with your organization. Then set a date to communicate these Gen AI guidelines across your organization for a more successful 2025.
Michael J Griffin
CEO and Founder of ELAvate
Ethical AI Advocate
michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com
+65-91194008 (WhatsApp)