Every day my inbox is flooded with news and reports about gen AI (artificial intelligence). Some of it is interesting, some of it is innovative, some of it is inspiring, and some of it sounds far-fetched. Let’s look at some of the recent research.
An interesting statistic passed my desk in May. It states nearly two out of three small business employees say AI can increase or retain headcount. Cox Business surveyed small business owners and employees on their view of the technology.
The study found 52% of small business owners said AI enables them to increase or retain employees, and 65% of small business employees said AI enables them to increase or retain employees.
I find these surveys intriguing. Sure, there are noteworthy use cases where AI can absolutely create new business models, heightening workloads and thus necessitating increasing employees. And, of course, there are situations where businesses are already short-staffed and AI can help fill in some gaps, thus enabling businesses to retain their current workforce, while adding technology. But is this an accurate picture of the majority of companies now?
And is it mostly small businesses, no less? I am sorry, I must raise concerns about the damage this research, and others like this are creating, especially for industry as a whole and the future of work. We are still in the early days. What is the long-term impact on the workforce? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. And I am afraid that is what is happening. We need more transparency here across the board.
The bottomline is I absolutely see the opportunities that AI offers to many different industries. These opportunities simply cannot be ignored. Artificial intelligence can speed up processes, heighten safety, minimize manual labor, and provide greater insights about a business or project leading to greater overall efficiency, just to name a few of the benefits.
As an example, we see Schoox launched an AI-driven skills mapping feature, which can personalize learning for employees, ultimately helping them reskill, upskill, and advance their careers. By connecting learning to skills, organizations can identify and close skill gaps efficiently. Certainly, a tool such as this can help employees grow within their business—ultimately helping businesses to soar to new heights. This is an example of how AI can increase or retain employees.
As I always say, data is the new oil, and companies that aren’t tapping into this today are going to be left behind. At the same time, we must proceed with caution. We must have a strategy for how we are going to leverage all this data if we want to make the most of it. We must make sure the data is good quality. We must pause and sometimes ask the hard questions.
Perhaps, most importantly, we also must realize the rise of AI will have an impact on our workforce. We can’t have one without the other. They are the ying and the yang and how we choose to leverage one will in fact impact the other. We must consider both in tandem if we want to have successful outcomes in our businesses.
But if we put the cart before the horse, are we overhyping playing a game of smoke and mirrors, which will result in more companies experiencing a lot more stumbles, resulting in very little success and the legal nightmare that might come. And I can bet most small companies cannot afford to fail. Have you considered how it might impact your workforce and your company? What steps are you taking to ensure implementation is successful?
Want to tweet about this article? Use hashtags #IoT #sustainability #AI #5G #cloud #edge #futureofwork #digitaltransformation #green #ecosystem #environmental #circularworld