AI biweekly: AI and the Future of Jobs

Dear Artificial Intelligence Enthusiasts,

To succeed in AI, people and talent is the true differentiator. Obviously, Tech at large is critical and CIOs need to drive a significant part of the AI transformation journey. But: the real difference is made by HR.?You can recode and upgrade your platforms, you can hire new vendors – but in the end the most difficult task is to upskill, recruit, and build a new culture company-wide to embrace and foster the AI transformation journey. Organizations and their teams need to continuously learn how to make the most out of AI (see our 4th?annual report with MIT SMR on how successful companies have deployed “Organization learning” to support effective roll-out of AI). ?

The need for upskilling and reskilling is massive – and workers are fully aware. According to our?2021 Decoding Global Reskilling and Career Paths Study , 41%?percent of workers globally are more concerned about automation now than they were before the pandemic. This is not new:?we’ve had those concerns with any invention that involved technical progress: be it robots, computers, phones, the internet. People were skeptical, repellent – and in the end: all those things created jobs and facilitated our daily work. Yes, some jobs will be shifting – some might be gone. But others will emerge, and all is linked to the right education and adequate retraining:?The secret sauce is?upskilling at scale.

Finally, there are two counter intuitive facts that all of us – and especially HR teams - need to communicate broadly:

1. AI?brings happiness ?in the workplace (our respondents exposed to AI in their jobs saw improvements in collective learning (87), team morale (79%), and collaboration (78%)):
2. 96% of all workers at threat?from technology could find similar or better work with adequate training ?

Do you agree? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next time,

Sylvain Duranton

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Five More Links for you to Read:

Robots Won’t Close the Warehouse Worker Gap Anytime Soon

WIRED explores the endless innovation in warehouse robotic automation, but also the unique challenges that prevent this type of technology from fully replacing human workers in the logistics context.

How the infrastructure law funds — and mandates — AI and automated tech

A slew of provisions funding in the latest infrastructure investment and Jobs Act could have a profound impact on people and how they work. A number of specific initiatives are intended to push the United States towards a more high-tech, automated workforce.

How Cloud-Based Supercomputing Is Changing R&D

The cloud has made the processing power of the world’s most powerful computers accessible to a wider range of companies than ever before. Instead of having to architect, engineer, and build a supercomputer, companies can now rent hours on the cloud, making it possible bring tremendous computational power to bear on R&D. But where should companies start?

Managing AI Decision-Making Tools

The nature of micro-decisions requires some level of automation, particularly for real-time and higher-volume decisions. Automation is enabled by algorithms (the rules, predictions, constraints, and logic that determine how a micro-decision is made). The critical question is, how do human managers manage these types of algorithm-powered systems.

Robot workers are being hired at record rates in US companies - here’s why

US companies ordered more robots than ever before in the first nine months of 2021, as they struggled to recruit staff. Factories and industrial concerns in North America ordered a record 29,000 robots during the first nine months of 2021, a 37% increase on the previous year. Economic disruption caused by COVID-19 and increased remote working has accelerated technical take-up rates.