Closing the AI Skill Gap Together

The majority of generative AI (GenAI, e.g. ChatGPT) predictions point towards massive gain in productivity. Studies range from articles positing up to a 40% increase in efficiency (1) to forward-looking analyses by consultancies like Gartner and McKinsey with statements like “30 percent of hours currently worked across the US economy could be automated” (2).

We stand on the doorstep to a fantastic opportunity, but also a great challenge to get everyone on board with the change.

I’ve stitched together a few recent pieces and thoughts on this important subject💡. All references are at the end.


😃 It’s for everyone

For companies to harvest the full potential of GenAI will require more than simply hiring for new skills, it's about re/upskilling your current workforce. Everyone must be onboard, bridging the knowledge gap between those proficient in GenAI and those who aren't will be of major importance. Not doing so could significantly set back your company.


👥 Consider two perspectives

🏢 The Business Perspective: Investing in reskilling shall be a long-term strategic play, make it a core strategic pillar that gets full support from all the leadership layers.

👩‍💼 The Employee Perspective: Reskilling supplies a pathway for career development and job security. But it’s also tough challenge to our egos and worldviews, imagine your top skill can now be automated and you are forced to re-skill - that’s not fun 😬.

Having a clear “why” is helpful to get employees onboard.

A recent HBR (3) article stresses how employees are more willing to engage in reskilling when they understand its value and when programs are designed from their perspective.


🏆 Give GenAI a positive vibe through your project managers

Successful practitioners seem to agree that it’s important with a few early successful pilots under the belt to inspire others. It makes sense to start up-skilling project managers and have them taking active roles in the GenAI journey. Project managers often have a wide exposure to different functions and can help to understanding where the chance of successful GenAI pilots is the greatest.

❓ What's the one skill you're looking to upgrade for the AI era? ❓

📖 References
1. Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality by Fabrizio Dell'Acqua, Edward McFowland, Ethan R. Mollick, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Katherine Kellogg, Saran Rajendran, Lisa Krayer, François Candelon, Karim R. Lakhani :: SSRN
2. https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/generative-ai-and-the-future-of-work-in-america
3. https://hbr.org/2023/09/reskilling-in-the-age-of-ai

Learn AI for Xmas

 🎄 We all love a great company Xmas feast, looking back on the highlights of the year, enjoying tasty food and fun games. But it can be a hassle arranging it 😓.

🎓 Why not take this as an opportunity to explore generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT/Bing/Bard)?

WHY?
📌 It’s a boxed project that steers the exploration towards a clear goal
📌 Minor (or no) security risks
📌 Uses capabilities that AI masters quite well, such as creativity and image generation. Giving a positive impression.
📌 The outcome is (very) important, but a failure will (most likely) not kill your business 😉

HOW?
📆 Book an all-hands 3-hour pre-Xmas workshop:

1️⃣ Start with an AI inspirational talk and a quick tutorial. Hire externally or let the AI geek of your company shine 🌟.

👥 Divide into small groups tasked to create a Xmas feast plan and invitation card, set some constraints for:
▶ Budget
▶ Location
▶ Elements that must be included, e.g., fun games, food, drinks or whatever.
▶ …

🤝 Let the teams work through it using AI help

🗳️ Cast votes on the invitation cards

📝 Follow through on the plans and continue exploring AI.

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🔥 Are you up for the challenge?

📸 If you do it, please share a photo from the festivity with me.

Surfing the wave of AI with grace

 Yesterday I had the opportuning to talk AI and project management with ALFRED Consulting AB - what a warm, innovative, and curious team 🤩 Thanks to Malin Kindstedt, Henrik Stadler, MSc, PMP, PMI-ACP and the rest of the team for the opportunity.

✨I still have two open spots talks in 2023, DM me if you are interested (Swedish or English).

😅 Trying to follow all AI media that washes over us can make the strongest hearted faint.

🧐 The topic for our discussions yesterday where to put all this into perspective, understand what is happening and how to turn it to a fantastic opportunity.

We already see studies on how these new tools boost our productivity and creativity, many roles will evolve in unforeseen ways.

So, what could you do?
🥱 If you are completely uninterested in AI:
📌 try to have an open mind and think about the possibility of automating the boring tasks to give you more time to do the things you like.

😃 If you are curious but haven’t started using AI
📌 try ChatGPT, Bard or Bing today, remember to follow the policy of your company.
📌 Chose a small project and work it through using your AI co-worker.
📌 Follow an AI-podcast or blog weekly. The progress within AI is very rapid.

🥳 If you are an all-in AI nerd.
📌 Be a source of inspiration to your friends and colleagues.

How do you feel about AI?

Unlocking focus with AI

 AI Helps Lower the Barriers, Giving Us the Opportunity to Focus on What We Like

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet up with Anders Öhrn, an entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in data science and AI, as well as building amazing startups around the globe. Inspiring, to say the least 🤩

It's often said that the best ideas come from people who switch domains. When experts from one field enter a new one, they provide a fresh perspective that can lead to fruitful ideas. However, to provide relevant ideas you must lift your knowledge to a base level, which is easier said than done 🥵

Anders showed me his early prototype solution for this problem, leveraging AI and access to open data to optimize your learning 🚀 🎓

Acquiring new knowledge can also be a necessary but unwanted distraction from your main work. Especially for startups, there are many tasks you either have to wing or hire expensive consultants for—such as contracts, GDPR, taxation rules, and so on. Worrying about all of this can keep even the best ideas from becoming a reality.

Thanks to advancements in generative AI and people like Anders, barriers are lowered, and more great ideas can be realized for our benefit 🥳

Amazing.

Has generative AI empowered you in any way?

Generativ AI ökar (eller sänker) din produktivitet

 AI verktyg har positiv effekt produktivitet så länge man håller sig till rätt uppgifter

Äntligen har generativ AI, eg. ChatGPT 4, funnits ute så pass länge att det börjar droppa in ambitiösa studier som fokuserar på om verktyget ger stöd eller inte 🥳

I en studie från Harvard Business School, av bl.a. Ethan Mollick (följ honom om du är nyfiken på AI och produktivitet), tar man en grupp konsulter, låter ena delen använda GPT-4 och andra delen får jobba på enligt eget huvud.

Bättre och sämre:

😁 gruppen som får använda AI presterar ca 40% bättre än den utan, detta så länge man jobbar med uppgifter som ligger inom AIs komfortzon (”within jagged frontier”)

🙁 för uppgifter utanför AIs komfortzon, blir gruppen med AI-stöd mellan 13% och 26% sämre än gruppen utan stöd.

🧐 Det gäller att ha lite koll på vad AI kan och sätta förväntningarna rätt.
Men det rör på sig…AIs komfortzon växer hela tiden så om du testade ChatGPT i början av året, är det tags att ta en ny titt.

Resultaten ger ytterligare stöd till det, numera, gamla uttrycket: AI inte kommer ta ditt jobb utan någon som använder AI kommer göra det.

Det finns helt klart risk för många bryska uppvaknanden där omvärlden har sprungit ifrån “Kodak moments”, men framför allt många möjligheter att använda detta fantastiska verktyg till att göra arbetet roligare och låta oss fokusera på det mänskliga.

Ett citat ur artikeln som stannade kvar i mig

“In our study, since AI proved surprisingly capable, it was difficult to design a task in this experiment outside the AI’s frontier where humans with high human capital doing their job would consistently outperform AI.”

🤔 AI är väldigt bra på tankearbete.

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