Wrapping our minds around Artificial Intelligence

The factors that impact businesses and organizations are far-reaching and sometimes a little out of our sphere of knowledge. Keeping abreast of changes in technology certainly feels like a difficult proposition in this rapidly changing industry.

Artificial Intelligence is a significant topic with implications that we may not fully comprehend. We need to get ready for its impacts with forward-thinking policies and planning within our organizations.

The book that has been keeping me up at night thinking about these challenges is AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee. The author is featured on a recent episode of PBS’ Frontline “In the Age of AI,” which provides an interesting review of the issues.

The discussion is primarily about the race to develop and manage Artificial Intelligence and the implications and challenges that will result from its world-wide applications. While I am enthusiastic about the positive potential of AI in helping with planning, decision making, medical research, efficiency as well as a host of other tasks, we know that AI will also lead to significant jobs losses as well as changes in how we think about work. With the rise of AI, the current workforce will require massive retraining, and new workers will need to enter the labor market with higher levels of education and organizations will have to adapt with greater flexibility in how they manage the workforce.

Planning ahead for the work we will be doing tomorrow will be an important discussion across industries, educational institutions, and government. I hope sharing these resources with you offers a helpful overview of the challenges ahead.