IgniteTech, an Austin, Texas, software developer, requires employees to spend 20% of their workweek exploring AI – and to document their compliance by using social media to share what they are learning. If it sounds like the NTCA 30-Day AI Challenge (minus the “required," and supplemented with prizes), then you might be on to something.
To be sure, AI has the potential to disrupt labor markets. But while many people are ready to light funeral tapers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is sharing a more optimistic view. BLS data project AI-related job growth in numerous industries, including software development, database architecture, engineering (aerospace, civil, electrical and hardware), and personal finance/investment analysts. Wharton, the business school at the University of Pennsylvania, surveyed executives in finance, tech, retail, manufacturing, and other industries and found that nearly half expect to hire more interns because of AI; 40% of those companies also plan to hire more entry level workers. BLS reports that even lawyers and paralegals are expected to see job growth; AI might be used for preliminary document collection and review, but human judgement and interactions will still be key components of the profession.
This integration of AI with the human endeavor is perhaps the key to approaching, at least philosophically, AI – as a tool that can advance human achievement, and one that must be embraced.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Accenture, a global consulting firm with nearly 775,000 employees (and a local office is just down the street from NTCA), is eyeing AI training as "reskilling," and factoring into performance evaluations employees' abilities to use GenAI tools. PwC, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, requires AI training for new hires. Perhaps counter-intuitively, deliberate focus on AI might spotlight naturally high achievers. Let's explain.
In the broadband and technology industries, we often talk about "early adopters." These are the first to subscribe to an ultra-level service; the first to sport smart glasses; the first to target IoT devices throughout their homes. From a psychological profile perspective, they can be described as having high tolerances for risk and exploration; learning agility; tech savvy; and, perhaps, leadership skills. Now ask: Who do you want on your team? Probably the explorer with a knack for learning and a streak of leadership to bring others along. I'm not proposing a directly proportional equation in which the worker who spends a full day dallying with ChatGPT, Jasper, Gamma or Synthesia is the next C-suite candidate. But as modeled by IgniteTech and the other firms, giving workers the space to explore AI as a tool to advance a firm's core mission-related undertakings can increase productivity, discover efficiencies and free-up talent to keep companies ahead of the curve.
Will there be labor disruptions? Yes. New technology always precipitates change. Early 20th century economist and philosopher John Maynard Keynes is credited with inventing the term "technological unemployment," which refers to conditions in which the speed at which efficiencies are realized outpaces the discovery of new applications to which workers can be applied. And this is a prescient signal for the changes that can be expected as AI advances across many sectors. At the same time, Russian economist Rostislav Kapeliushnikov shrugs off warnings of the "robocalypse." In an article titled, "The Myth of Technological Unemployment," Kapeliushnikov asserts, "in the long run, the reduction in labor demand under the impact of new technologies is merely a theoretical possibility that has never been realized in practice . . ."
So, how does a company (specifically, an NTCA member, wink!) put these theories into practice? That's the beauty of the NTCA 30-Day AI Challenge, a judgment-free zone (except that we'll be awarding prizes) in which to explore AI.
Start simple: Call your most creative employees, "Spend a few hours this week exploring how AI might help us serve customers better. Come back Friday and share what you learned." Or identify employees who exhibit natural curiosity and give them explicit permission to experiment. Ask them to spend an afternoon each week exploring AI applications that can help their roles or your business. Get together for high tea or coffee or Happy Hour where they can share what they are learning. Remember, the most creative members of your team might not need formal training – they just might need the green light and gentle nudge to dig in.
But definitely join the AI party – visit the challenge website and unleash curiosity and enthusiasm. The results may be unpredictable, but the outcomes will be positive.