The majority (80%) of workers are interested in gaining more artificial intelligence (AI) skills, but employers aren’t taking the steps to teach them, according to a Genpact report released on Monday. While more than half (53%) of senior executives claim they reskill employees, only 35% of workers said reskilling opportunities are actually available, the report found.
Use of AI is rapidly growing in the enterprise, with digital transformation spending predicted to hit $2 trillion by 2022. Previously, consumers held fear and doubt about AI infiltrating their lives, afraid robots would take over their jobs. However, recent research predicts that AI won’t take jobs, but will actually create new jobs and support human workers.
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Because of this knowledge, opinions surrounding AI have completely shifted, according to the report. Some 53% of respondents said AI makes their lives better, and 36% of workers said AI brings more career opportunities. This attitude change can also be attributed to the successful deployment of AI in many organizations’ core processes, the report found.
“There’s no question that businesses are at an inflection point with their use of AI. The visionaries are beginning to embed AI as the neural wiring for their enterprises,” NV “Tiger” Tyagarajan, president and CEO of Genpact, said in a press release. “To achieve greater impact, we must change the narrative about lingering concerns. It is critical to educate both employees and customers about AI’s potential, and enable them with tools to take advantage of its benefits.”
However, a disconnect between executives and workers prevents employees from fully reaping the benefits of AI, the report added. While employees want to learn more about AI functionality, executives aren’t following through with training. The most opposition to AI, however, is seen in entry level workers (19%), as they come into the office with negative preconceived notions of AI, said the report. Companies must inform their employees about the benefits of AI, in order to get everyone on board.
For advice on how to shift your company culture to be ready for digital transformation and AI initiatives, check out this TechRepublic article.
The big takeaways for tech leaders:
- While most workers (80%) are interested in learning more about AI, employers are not adequately offering opportunities to reskill. — Genpact, 2019
- Opinions surrounding AI in the workplace have shifted with employees, who are encouraging its integration and deployment. — Genpact, 2019
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Source: TechRepublic
