Hybrid Intelligence: Bridging the Skills Gap
With IT spending projected at $4.5 trillion in 2022, it’s clear that cutting-edge technology is on every IT manager’s wish list this year. However, while investing in emerging technologies is essential, companies cannot beat the competition by simply increasing their technology spending. IT managers need to create foolproof strategies that consider what these new technologies will do and how they will upskill workers to use them.
Additionally, inflation will have a big impact on IT budgets as vendors will adjust prices based on the current market. Therefore, CIOs must be selective when choosing digital solutions.
So which technologies will win in 2022 and beyond? Those that allow businesses to capitalize on existing technology infrastructure. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and a hybrid intelligence (HI) approach can close skills gaps within a workforce and help workers fundamentally change the way they work and work. interact with technology.
The skills gap is wider than ever
IT skills gaps continue to threaten industry resilience. According to Salesforce, nearly 75% of employees feel ill-equipped to learn the digital skills needed for the future of work. Yet despite these concerns, only 28% participate in digital skills training and learning programs.
[ Also read 7 ways CIOs can prepare today for the future of work. ]
This gap is concerning, but there is an opportunity to address this issue, develop employee skills, and make daily tasks more meaningful and productive.
CIOs now face a dual challenge: they need to upskill their workforce while meeting the growing demand for innovation, and keep the organization competitive by implementing advanced technologies across business functions. key business assets while managing aging and cumbersome legacy systems.
These challenges are intertwined and CIOs need to consider them together. Start by asking yourself: what will the reinvented workforce look like when it has access to the full potential of AI and IoT?
Hybrid intelligence and the reinvented workforce
As AI evolves, so does its central role in reshaping the technological workforce as we know it. As technology advances, skill expectations of employees also increase. To stay competitive, employees need to focus on driving strategic changes in the business rather than busy work.
There is great potential in combining AI with human intelligence to create a hybrid approach that can dramatically increase the accuracy and efficiency of decisions across the enterprise.
Fortunately, there is great potential in combining AI with human intelligence to create a hybrid approach that can dramatically increase the accuracy and efficiency of decisions across the enterprise.
By bringing AI into the workforce, IT managers can provide a new partner to help workers in ways that weren’t possible before. For example, AI unlocks new types of information that a human with linear optimization would not be able to create. Therefore, AI acts as a digital mentor and inspires workers to adopt new processes and ways of thinking.
[ Also read 3 ways artificial intelligence can help unite remote teams ]
Additionally, AI can empower executives by creating autonomy for decision-making to solve complex problems through analysis and optimization. AI also frees up time for employees and managers, allowing them to focus on the higher value, strategic tasks that senior executives expect from their teams.
Finally, AI requires training and interaction with human workers to become increasingly efficient. Therefore, in a hybrid intelligence environment, workers not only use AI tools, but also participate in their training.
Building hybrid intelligence
Many people mistakenly understand AI as a technology that will replace jobs – but instead, AI will transform existing roles in incredible ways. As a result, leaders will need to develop new roles for those working with AI, such as educators, collaborators, and innovators.
Workers who interact with AI will not do so in a silo; these teams will be cross-functional and empowered to think quickly, innovate better, and work together to achieve diverse goals. These roles reflect the business benefits of AI: it enables leaders and employees to collaborate more effectively, transforming and reshaping work as we know it.
One of the most critical skills employees will need to develop is to teach AI if it is to reach its full potential as an equal partner in the hybrid intelligence environment. The teaching process can be simple and will not always require workers to learn specific skills. But managing complex use cases and creating opportunities for productivity improvement will require employees to significantly improve their skills.
For example, leaders must recognize the importance of repeatedly performing, verifying, and documenting actions to improve AI tools. In this way, AI can become even more useful in creating more accurate diagnostic results and predictive insights needed for business functionality.
As human experts and AI become increasingly active in the hybrid intelligence environment, the scope and nature of work that AI can perform will become more diverse and advanced. IT hiring, in turn, will be more tied to more sophisticated, knowledge-based work.
But first, leaders must equip teams with the right mindset to help AI reach its full potential. Only then will AI be able to create opportunities for more dynamic roles that will rapidly transform organizations and help them stay relevant and resilient for years to come.
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