For centuries, society has considered revolutionary technologies like the printing press, the telegraph, and even the first computers major disruptors of work and life.

“Generative AI: Forecasting Disruption” lays the foundation for understanding our reaction to the rise of generative artificial intelligence by looking to the past. We examine a brief history of previous “revolutionary” communication technologies and how their impact can inform the way we think about advances in generative AI. You’ll then explore the nature of generative AI, how it works, and what it can do. As the course concludes, you’ll learn how to improve your results when using generative AI, and recognize what AI can – and cannot – accomplish. This is the first course in “Navigating Disruption: Generative AI in the Workplace,” a course series on ways to respond to new advances in AI in the workplace and our lives.