16 hours ago
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Justina Nixon-Sentill Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, IBM
While AI is set to reshape industries, a paradox is also emerging. Despite the growing demand for professionals with the knowledge to leverage the technology’s potential, there remains a shortage of AI-related skills.
A lack of AI-related skills – from proficiency in machine learning, prompt engineering and data science to an understanding of the ethical implications of AI – is hindering effective implementation of the technology.
In a recent report, 47% of executives said their employees lack the skills needed for AI. This will impact the ability of companies to take their AI projects from ideation to implementation.
The World Economic Forum’s 2023 report finds that 6 out of every 10 workers will need AI-training before 2027, but less than half have adequate training opportunities available today.
This skill-gap is not only bad for the careers of professionals but also hurts economic growth. Taking advantage of the opportunities presented by AI will require a new approach to education and training.
In the coming years, educational and business institutions will likely place greater emphasis on AI ethics—teaching skills, offering lifelong learning, and incorporating AI into their services to be more competitive.
AI ethics in particular will become a major concern. Today, generative AI has become available to anyone with a computer, smartphone, and internet connection. For employers and their IT departments this will lead to the problem of unauthorized use of generative AI by employees. This can expose companies to security, compliance and reputational risks. Additionally, AI ethics will also be necessary to manage new AI agents.
Without a basic understanding of how AI models generate their output, those responsible for protecting data or controlling systems will be unfit for the job. As AI and other new technologies rapidly advance, lifelong learning will become the new-normal. This process can be divided into developing skills that meet immediate needs, anticipating future needs and providing expertise that is always in demand.
Many traditional roles within institutions are soon to change. For example, some employees who currently work independently (i.e. are not managers of other people) may join new types of teams in which humans manage AI agents.
And to prepare them for this fundamental change, there is likely to be a rise in demand for online courses and digital credentials in AI-related fields like Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. Additionally, the future use of quantum computing will also continue to drive the need for new skills. Additionally, as the number and variety of cyber attacks continue to increase, the importance of up-to-date cyber-security skills will also increase.
AI and automation technologies can make even existing education platforms far more effective, as we may see in 2025. AI-powered solutions have reached a point where they are now becoming indispensable.
In such a situation, teachers will have to find new ways to understand the needs of students and match them with relevant courses or implement AI-powered tools to enhance coaching and feedback. These same technologies can also improve customer-service aspects of education. In the coming years, education systems and platforms will also benefit from multimodal AI models that can process audio, video, charts, and images to become more effective.
It is true that by adopting AI we can improve professional outcomes, improve our efficiency and even reduce costs. But for this, first we have to develop a skilled workforce for AI.
6 out of every 10 employees will need AI-training before 2027, but less than half have training opportunities today. This skill-gap is bad not only for professionals, but also for the economy. (© Project Syndicate)