Why diversity is so essencial for innovation?

Don't think that just because we now have generative artificial intelligence, the principles of innovation have changed; they remain the same and are more important than ever. by Ligia Fascioni

If there’s one essential element for innovation to happen (though it’s neither the only one nor sufficient), it’s the ability to generate unusual, original, unprecedented ideas — and lots of them. Read the original article on Ligia's website

And right now, as we find ourselves in the midst of one of the most revolutionary moments in human history, we’ve never needed ideas more — especially the unusual, original, unprecedented ones, and in abundance.

DOES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOLVE EVERYTHING?

The truth is generative artificial intelligence is permeating our personal and professional lives in a way that’s impossible to ignore. At the same time, we’re experiencing the consequences of severe and increasingly intense climate changes, which are putting our very existence on the planet at risk.

Amid all this, companies need to quickly update themselves, adapt their systems to these new tools, organize their databases, and prepare their employees for a radical shift in their work routines.

The advantages are undeniable: more productivity, speed, efficiency, creativity, and innovation — all with fewer people (and therefore at a much lower cost). Isn’t that wonderful?

What’s being sold — and what many people firmly believe — is that artificial intelligence will solve all past, present, and future problems. And all of this with just one click, as the novelty-spreading gurus like to say.

IT’S NOT JUST ANY HUMAN BEING

But the truth is that humans with above-average communication skills and vocabulary are needed to accurately convey a company’s needs without resorting to clichés. On top of that, they must have a refined critical sense to evaluate whether the machine’s contributions are valid, identify biases, determine what can be improved, and filter out relevant information from mere noise.

In short, this collaborative work needs to be led by a competent and highly qualified professional; we must not forget that the machine is just an assistant.

Machines are not creative; they work predictively based on past patterns and existing statistics.

They can significantly boost productivity and assist with ideas (that someone has already had), but letting them make decisions is like letting a young prodigy take charge of a company: they lack experience, awareness, worldview, critical thinking, or cunning.

No matter how brilliant or intelligent they may be, they simply don’t know how the world works; they can’t differentiate right from wrong — and therefore lack scruples or limits.

In other words, it’s like hiring a psychopath for a leadership role. Have you ever thought about that?

AND WHERE DOES DIVERSITY COME IN?

This brings us to the issue of diversity and the need for empathetic humans capable of making contextualized judgments, developing argumentative reasoning and reflective analysis to make better use of artificial assistance.

Think about it: a mind like this can only be built with a broad repertoire, life experience, extensive study, and balanced perspectives.

Continuing this train of thought: it’s impossible to have a broad, varied, rich repertoire while living only among people who are just like you.

There’s a saying that goes: if two people think alike, one of them is unnecessary.

Because it’s through differences that our repertoire grows, our vision expands, and biases become evident.

When you talk to or work with someone whose religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, physical condition or nationality differs from yours, you’re given an incredible opportunity to broaden your horizons.

For companies, this is the path to fostering tolerance, curiosity, creativity — and giving employees the chance to see problems from angles other than the obvious ones.

It’s healthy to be confronted with what seems strange or absurd or uncommon. It’s precisely what opens our minds and helps us learn; Epictetus once said: “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”

Companies with homogeneous teams lacking diversity or inclusion will hardly have leaders with well-developed critical thinking skills and broad enough repertoires to make important decisions wisely.

Staying in a bubble and believing that the world revolves around what we’re familiar with is a dangerous trap in a globalized world.

Those affected may not even realize they’re working with biased foundations that fail to reflect broader realities — which naturally leads to misguided decisions and strategies that can come at great cost.

The consequences can manifest not only as lost clients and business opportunities but also as missed chances to retain excellent workers who could contribute more significantly to company growth.

Limited leaders with narrow worldviews struggle to retain talent and keep their teams productive and motivated.

MORE ABOUT THE TOPIC

With this in mind, the NGO Janainas based in Berlin, Germany is developing the In Culture project. Its goal is to help German companies learn how to value diversity and respect differences.

Additionally, the project focuses on vulnerable groups so they can learn how to deal with prejudiced colleagues and leaders while discovering ways to protect themselves and ensure peaceful and respectful workplaces.

We live in challenging times where many companies forget basic principles of innovation — principles we know will come at a high cost due to short-term thinking.

Personally, I’m thrilled to contribute to this movement that means so much to me alongside brilliant professionals like Evelyne Leandro and Lívia Rangel. If you’d like updates or news about the project, visit Janainas’ page!