Pluralsight’s Latest Research: While AI Is Booming, Human Intelligence Remains Critical

In 2023, AI was a massive global conversation driver across industries, especially in the tech sector. AI advancements promise to change the way the world works and learns in 2024 as well, but there is still much growth and maturity that must happen before the average organization and individual can reap the benefits of this promise.?

Pluralsight’s latest research, the AI Skills Report, shows that, unsurprisingly, 92% of organizations have accelerated AI initiatives over the past year. What's surprising? Despite the increased investment in AI technologies, 90% of leaders don’t fully understand their team’s AI skills. On top of that, 80% of executives agree that their organizations invest in new technologies without considering the training employees need to use the technology.?

There are still major gaps between AI investments and AI skills for the majority of organizations. Here are some of my key takeaways from our AI Skills Report.

The connection between human intelligence and artificial intelligence?

For AI initiatives to succeed, technologists must have the skills to leverage AI tools. Although 81% of technologists said they are confident about integrating AI into their roles, only 12% of those same technologists feel they have significant experience working with AI.

The bottom line is this - organizations are not prepared to reap the full benefits of their AI investments without a workforce that is enabled with the skills they need to do the job. Investments into artificial intelligence without corresponding investments into human intelligence will ultimately fail.?

In order to fully leverage the promised benefits of AI, CEOs must prioritize intentional skills development strategies that are tightly coupled with their business’s AI-transformation strategy. They go hand-in-hand because, ultimately, it's humans that unlock the power of AI.??

We are having discussions about this internally at Pluralsight as I’m sure many of you are at your organizations as well. In the spirit of drinking our own champagne, throughout 2024, we are driving internal learning programs at Pluralsight to ensure all of our team members are fluent in AI and prompt engineering specifically. Throughout that journey, we’ll be able to measure what percentage of our organization can leverage these powerful skills and where we’re lagging behind. Then we’ll sharpen our focus on the areas that need more help. If you’re curious about how your organization can use data like this to enhance your tech skills investments, please reach out and we’re happy to share more details.?

Navigating AI skill threat?

There is another crucial reason to invest in upskilling your talent in AI - workers anxiety surrounding AI and their skills. As many as 74% of IT professionals worry that AI tools will make many of their day-to-day skills obsolete. Additionally, 3 in 4 IT practitioners fear skills that were once crucial in their roles could quickly become replaced by AI advancements. This is indicative of a term we call “AI Skill Threat,” or the fear, anxiety, and worry that technologists' current skills will quickly become obsolete as they adapt to AI-assisted technologies.?

Despite this anxiety around AI and job security, technologists are willing to learn. Most technologists feel confident in integrating AI into their roles. However, only a fraction of those technologists have substantial AI experience. But self-assessment of skills is fallible and may not be an accurate way to represent knowledge. Having confidence in AI abilities without any actual formal training may put organizations at risk in areas like data security and privacy. Technologists need basic AI literacy and hands-on experiences to both learn and apply their knowledge in an environment that fosters support and learning from mistakes.?

Both executives and IT professionals agree that maintaining a focus on talent, training, and culture are crucial components to keep in mind while preparing for AI integration and adoption.?

AI today and tomorrow?

Many organizations are actively embracing AI, with 20% having formally implemented AI-related technologies and tools, and an additional 55% expressing intentions to do so in the near future.?

The truth is that most leaders and IT professionals believe organizations who do not invest in AI in the near future will fall behind the competition. While many believe AI is going to be vital in the future, even the organizations that are adopting AI are still struggling to implement a holistic AI strategy that invests equally in talent and tools.?

The clock is ticking for organizations to catch up to the rapid growth of AI, and this can’t be done without a solid plan for adoption as well as a properly trained team. For sustainable AI growth, organizations and tech teams must start with a strong foundational knowledge of the basics and build upon those skills. Leaders must embrace the combined power of artificial intelligence and human intelligence if they are going to see lasting impacts from their AI investments.?