AI may not be available for every job, but it could be for some.
UPS’s largest layoff in its 116-year history is the result, in part, of new technologies, including AI, CEO Carol Tomé said during a February earnings conference call. Meanwhile, IBM plans to pause recruiting for roles it says could soon be automated by AI, CEO Arvind Krishna told Bloomberg last year.
Workers are not optimistic about the future. In a recent McKinsey survey, 25% of professionals said they expected their employer to lay off staff following AI adoption. Well, their pessimism is not misplaced. According to one estimate, around 4,000 workers have lost their jobs due to AI since May. And in a survey by Beautiful.ai, which makes AI-based presentation software, nearly half of managers said they hoped to replace their employees with AI.
But a cohort of major technology providers and consultancies aims to push back against the idea that AI will lead to job losses, citing the need for reskilling and upskilling within the tech sector. information and communication (ICT) in particular.
This cohort, called the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium (ITC), is led by Cisco with support from Google, Microsoft, IBM (visibly), Intel, SAP and Accenture. The ITC’s mandate is to explore the impact of AI on employment while enabling people to find AI-related training programs and connecting businesses to “skilled, ready-to-work” workers. employment,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch during a briefing.
“ITC’s unique approach will research and assess the impact of AI on specific job roles, including skills and tasks, and recommend training for an AI-enabled ICT workforce” , said the spokesperson. “Consortium members and advisors share a common perspective that a greater sense of urgency is needed to understand the impact of AI on key roles within the ICT industry. »
In the first phase of its work, ITC will assess the impact of AI on 56 ICT job roles and provide training recommendations for relevant roles. These 56 roles, which the ITC has not yet disclosed, were selected for their “strategic importance” in the broader ICT ecosystem and the impact of AI on the tasks required to fulfill these roles, a said the spokesperson, as well as for roles that offer “promising opportunities”. entry points” for low-level workers.
“These positions comprise 80% of the top 45 ICT job titles collecting the highest volume of job offers for the period February 2023-2024 in the United States and five of the largest European countries in terms of workforce in ICT (France, Germany, Italy, Spain). and the Netherlands),” the spokesperson said. “Collectively, these countries represent a significant segment of the ICT sector, with a combined total of 10 million ICT workers. »
If the goal is to allay fears of a massive AI threat to livelihoods, incumbent tech players will need to deliver much more than vague promises and vague reports.
The ITC plans to release its findings in a report this summer. And beyond that, he has yet to find a road map.
“The Consortium will determine the scope of its ‘phase 2’ in mid-2024,” the spokesperson said. “As we move forward into Phase 2, the Consortium may consider inviting other organizations and institutions to join our collaborative efforts to support the success of an AI-enabled ICT workforce .”
And therein lies the problem with industry consortia like this.
If the goal is to allay fears of a massive AI threat to livelihoods, incumbent tech players will need to deliver much more than vague promises and vague reports. IBM has committed to training 2 million people in AI by 2030; Intel said it would upskill more than 30 million people in AI in the same time frame.
“Consortium members have set forward-thinking goals with skills development and training programs that will positively impact more than 95 million people around the world over the next 10 years,” said the spokesperson. word.
Still, it’s unclear how many AI roles will be available at that time.
According to a recent analysis from Lightcast, a job market analytics firm, demand for AI roles is decreasing rather than increasing. In 2022, AI-related positions made up 2% of all job openings in the United States. In 2023, this figure has fallen to 1.6%.
“Members of the consortium are committed to developing career pathways, particularly in employment sectors that will increasingly incorporate artificial intelligence technology,” the spokesperson said. “This is a voluntary and transparent effort by companies to assess the impact and identify pathways for upskilling and reskilling technology roles most likely to be impacted by AI… We have the intention that this work produces real and tangible recommendations that will meet the needs of businesses and workers. »
I will book a few judgment until we see these “real and tangible” recommendations. But I hope that whatever form they take, they will be accompanied by action plans – or any action, in fact. Big Tech has big promises to keep, particularly when it comes to the future of work and the tech industry’s role in shaping it.
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