Embrace the future: Why HR Professionals must learn about AI. Now.

What you need to know and how to get started.

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It’s Friday.

I’ve spent much of my week on a castle (!) setting the organizational strategy for the organization I’m currently supporting. So much fun, but also, you get a bit tired.

After two weeks of break from the topic of AI, it’s time to revisit it again. A nudge, you might call it.

Let’s get to it.

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I've mentioned it a few times before, but still, most people seem to brush it off with a "yeah, I've tried it, it's cool and all, but I'll stick to what I'm doing."

This blows my mind. We are in the midst of a revolution, and you'll be telling your grandkids that you were alive when this happened.

AI is emerging as one of the most important technologies of our time, and it's progressing rapidly. The impact of these advancements will be profound across every industry, and it's not just limited to technology.

But I get it; believing a bald HR dude with a newsletter can be hard.

However, the multitude of studies and estimates in this area speak for themselves. For instance, AI could take 45 million Americans' jobs by 2030, and jobs requiring AI or machine-learning skills are expected to increase by 71% in the next few years. The OECD estimates that 14% of jobs across 32 countries are at high risk of automation. The numbers are staggering, to say the least.

(I could also mention that AI is expected to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030 or that 20 million manufacturing jobs will be lost to automation by 2030, and that 83% of employers expect to retrain at least a part of their staff in the next three years to get accustomed to AI.)

These statistics are not to scare you but to encourage you to think about what this will mean.

We are all novices in this area but must be more daring than ever. Read books, listen to podcasts, watch talks, and engage in discussions!

But where to start, you ask?

For books, I highly recommend;
- The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation by Darrell M. West explore how technology will affect jobs, skills, wages, and education in different sectors and regions.
- Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust by Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis examines the limitations and challenges of current AI systems and proposes a new approach to building more robust and reliable AI.
- The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World by Pedro Domingos introduces the concept of a master algorithm that can learn anything from data and explains how it could transform various domains such as science, medicine, business, and politics.

As for podcasts:
- AI and The Future of Work by Dan Turchin is an excellent choice, which explores how AI changes the workplace and interviews thought leaders and technologists from industry and academia.
- AI In Business covers topics such as AI trends, use cases, best practices, and strategies for business leaders,
- Artificial Intelligence, and you feature conversations with researchers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and philosophers about AI, science, technology, and humanity.

This is merely a starting point. An endless stream of talks, podcasts, and other resources is available, so don't be afraid to dive in and explore.

What I’m really getting at is that it is essential to understand what's happening and what's driving this change because it will undoubtedly impact you one way or the other. The sooner you understand that, the better off you, your team, and your organization will be.

(Also, don't forget to sign up for the AI + HR Roundtable series while you can. More information about the event will be revealed soon. Stay tuned, folks!)