This presentation discusses five fundamental changes which have to take place to ensure that today’s workforce is ready for tomorrow’s technology.

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5 Ways To Prepare The Workforce
For An AI Future
(That doesn’t involve the extinction of mankind)

2. © 2015 – STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL – Red Ant®
There’s no better way to divide the opinion of those involved in the tech
industry than to ask what they think about cognitive/AI and the future of
the world’s workforce. One thing we can be sure of is that the way we
work with technology will have to change – and those prepared to make
that change will reap the benefits of a new, computer-assisted industrial
landscape.
The following slides discuss five fundamental changes which have to take
place to ensure that today’s workforce is ready for tomorrow’s
technology…

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The new wave of ‘learning’ computers such as IBM Watson
do not require programming in the traditional way. Rather,
they ‘learn’ to use data from a knowledge base, which can
be anything from huge databases to training manuals to
blog posts and social interactions. The role of the
developer (and end user) will be to train the computer to
give the best response in any situation, by giving examples
or by responding positively or negatively to its outputs.
Natural language processing – i.e. the ability to understand
how humans speak – provides an intuitive and simple way
to educate what is effectively a four year old child, albeit a
very gifted one.
1. Developers will become
trainers rather than
coders/programmers

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Until recently, computers have done what we as users and
developers have told them to – the output has depended
entirely on input, with no deviation from a rigid framework
of performance. They are tools that we use to get the job
done – put in a question and out comes an answer which
we accept as right, no debate or discussion. With cognitive
and AI, users will achieve the best results if they enter into
an ‘ask’ rather than ‘tell’ dialogue with the technology – one
which improves the quality and accuracy of the outcomes
with each use. This involves evolving out of a de facto
master/servant role into something more symbiotic –
working with the technology to achieve the most desirable
outcome.
2. Everyone will have to get
used to computers working
with them instead of for them

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Progress in any walk of life necessarily involves moving on
from outdated, inefficient ways of doing things, even if we
are nostalgically or, indeed , financially attached to them.
It’s why most of us don’t use steam trains, fax machines
and Internet Explorer any more. The development of more
intelligent machines will undoubtedly mean that
mundane, repetitive tasks will become automated – it has
already happened in the manufacturing industry and will
soon be part of helpdesk/customer enquiry services, data
input and other areas where computers can be ‘taught’ to
quickly analyse information to provide accurate content to
users.
3. We will have to accept that
machines will handle more of
the mundane tasks which can
now be mechanised

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The erosion of human involvement in simpler tasks will
lead to the development of a whole new industry focused
on providing the soft skills which computers can’t provide.
They may be able to intelligently analyse billions of
datapoints, but they are not (and are unlikely to ever be)
able to understand nuance, tone, body language and all of
the other psychological facets which make us human. New
roles will become available based on the provision of a
warm, caring, human experience as a counterpoint to the
mechanised elements facilitating our day-to-day lives.
4. We will have to consciously
develop soft, ‘human’ skills
which will become vital for the
services which computers
can’t provide

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The government has already recognised the importance of
computer literacy with the introduction of an education
programme designed to equip students with the skills they
need to compete in an increasingly technical workplace.
Even as the use of cognitive/AI grows, and now matter how
easy-to-use and intuitive computer interaction becomes,
prospective employees will be expected to have a
reasonable level of technical literacy as a matter of course
– it will be on a par with English and maths as a core
competency. ‘I don’t do computers’ will immediately rule
you out, even if you have finely-honed ‘soft’ skills.
5. Technical competence
among the workforce will be
as important as English and
maths

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The Future?
We have to trust that the overarching aim of those involved in the development of cognitive
computing and AI is to further the progress of mankind, because it is inevitable that it will
become part of our working lives. The sooner we embrace it and adjust to it, the sooner we will
reap its benefits in the workplace.

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RetailOS Cognitive Accelerator

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