Reimagining Skills

Question From Our Curiosity Agenda?

As our team explores how we can leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate progress toward economic equity, we’re filling up our “curiosity agenda” with big questions we’re eager to explore.??

This month’s question came from what we learned at SXSW and what we’re hearing in our ongoing conversations with education and workforce leaders. Read to the end of the newsletter for a bonus question that will never get old!???

How are organizations’ needs for deep domain expertise intersecting not only with AI’s capabilities, but with new imperatives for constant learning, agility, systems thinking, and human skills??

• AI is revolutionizing the accessibility of specialized knowledge and skills. Many organizations building “small language models” tapping into proprietary data can likely attest to the benefits for employees, leaders, and customers alike—as can solopreneurs using generative AI tools for specialized tasks like creating websites, code, and marketing copy.??
• However, leaders at SXSW also underscored the importance of domain knowledge as a key ingredient for critical thinking and judgment, which will help employees evaluate AI outputs and use them responsibly.??
• Some leading organizations are pairing domain knowledge with technological acumen and human skills. For example, Johnson & Johnson is developing "bilingual” employees who bring both domain knowledge and an understanding of technology and data. Sunita Mishra , chief medical officer at Amazon Health Services , said her team is bringing clinical and product development staff together both in hybrid roles and for shared learning.??
• It’s clear that teaching employees new skills will still be crucial and a nonnegotiable as skill half-lives shorten, new technologies develop, and the pace of change accelerates.??
• But getting clear on exactly what workers will need to learn—especially the right balance of human skills, learning-as-a-skill (h/t to our friend Aneesh Raman at LinkedIn), sufficient domain knowledge to understand context and make decisions, not to mention the ability to apply knowledge across domains, feels increasingly important, both within large organizations and for entrepreneurs and small businesses trying to determine whether their new AI-generated product or service is ready for prime time.??
• Employers and training providers have their work cut out for them.??

In the Headlines: AI & the Future of Work and Learning?

• The European Union passed the AI Act, the world’s first major legislation aimed at governing the use, development, and transparency of AI. [CNBC, 3/13/24 ; MIT Technology Review, 3/19/24 ]?
• In the United States, the House of Representatives launched a new bipartisan task force on AI aimed at advancing both innovation and guardrails. [NBC, 2/20/24 ]?
• AI startup Cognition released what it describes as “the world’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer.” “Devin,” an AI “agent,” can reportedly complete coding projects on its own (though with some errors and delays), both demonstrating what’s possible with autonomous AI and raising concerns about implications for jobs. [Cognition Labs, 3/12/24 ; Ethan Mollick/One Useful Thing, 3/18/24 ; Business Insider, 3/14/24 ]????
• “Buy now, pay later” fintech company Klarna announced that its new AI customer service assistant “is doing the equivalent work of 700 full-time agents,” resolving customer inquiries faster and more accurately—a development that “appears to have fundamentally altered the way the company hires.”? [Klarna press release, 2/27/24 ; Fortune, 2/28/24 ]?

New AI to Know?

• Lots of news in semiconductor development, including NVIDIA’s announcement of its new “Blackwell” chip and the Commerce Department’s new multi-billion-dollar chip production deal with Intel. [Ars Technica, 3/19/24 ; Fortune, 3/20/24 ]?

• Apple and Google are in talks to bring Google’s Gemini AI model to the iPhone. [New York Times, 3/19/24 ]?
• Several generative AI models have run into challenges creating ahistorical images, possibly as the result of efforts to correct for stereotypes and biases in underlying data. [Axios, 2/23/24 ; Axios, 3/1/24 ; New York Times's The Daily Podcast, 3/7/24 ; Semafor, 3/13/24 ]?
• Anthropic announced its Claude Model 3 family. [FastCompany, 3/4/24 ]?

The Latest From JFF and the Center for AI?

• “Upskilling Your Workforce for the AI Era,” SAP Insights , March Newsletter?
• “Businesses Are Counting on AI, But Skilled Labor is Lacking, Survey Finds,” EdWeek Market Brief , 2/12/24?
• “How Texas is Preparing Higher Education for AI,” The Texas Tribune , 2/12/24?
• “Colleges Are Touting AI Degree Programs. Here’s How to Decide if It’s Worth the Cost,” CNBC , 2/2/24?
• “The Impact of AI on Work: Redefining Jobs and Workweeks,” Reworked, 1/29/24?

Your Voice?

We want to craft this newsletter with our community to create a dialogue around leveraging AI to drive equitable economic advancement.??

Here’s our bonus question: Who has been especially thoughtful in engaging Generations Z and Alpha more intentionally in the conversation about how AI is reshaping the future of work? This future, after all, is the one these generations are inheriting.???

We look forward to hearing from you !?

Fireside Chat Series?

In our monthly fireside chat series, we have conversations with innovative leaders across the ecosystem to explore key questions at the intersection of AI, equity, workforce, and education. ? ?

AI for Justice: Unlocking AI’s Potential for Individuals With Records?

Friday, March 29, 2-3 p.m. ET?

Much of the discussion regarding AI within the justice system focuses on its use for securing convictions or monitoring individuals who are incarcerated. There's a significant gap in conversations about how AI technology can be harnessed to positively impact those who have been involved with the justice system, such as by facilitating pathways to stable employment for individuals with criminal records. Join us for a fireside chat between Lucretia Murphy, vice president of JFF's Center for Justice & Economic Advancement , and Jodi Anderson Jr., CEO and cofounder of Rézme , to explore how to prioritize the needs of individuals who are currently or formerly incarcerated in the era of AI.?

Register here! ?

AI in HR: Advancing Equitable Talent Management Practices?

Friday, April 26, 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET?

The use of AI in the human resources field is already commonplace, especially in recruitment and hiring, because of AI’s ability to drive efficiencies for talent leaders. However, the use of AI also has the potential to exacerbate existing biases. In April’s fireside chat, we will dive into the impacts of AI on talent management practices and explore how HR practitioners can use the technology to drive equitable economic advancement.??

Register here !?

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