AI doesn't have to be a job-killer. How some businesses are using it to enhance, not replace

Coding. Research. Learning. These days, Jim Stratton, chief technology officer at human capital management platform Workday, turns to artificial intelligence to boost everyday tasks.

Nearly 60% of Workday's 20,000 employees regularly use AI in their daily routine. Half say it provides new insights or helps them be creative, and three-quarters report it makes them more productive, including Stratton.

"Increasingly, I lean on it as a tool to help get stuff done, and I find that I can get a lot more done than I could before," said Stratton. 

But Workday hasn't reduced its workforce despite the benefits of AI, and more companies like it are finding that AI augments their workforce rather than replaces it. The widespread adoption of AI technologies highlights the need for human skills to ensure the successful implementation of the tech. As a result, humans are as in-demand as ever, with AI creating new opportunities for those who embrace the change. 

Also: Employers want workers with AI skills, but what exactly does that mean?

"Artificial intelligence does not just help workers, artificial intelligence needs workers to function," said Nazrul Islam, co-author of research study "Worker and Workplace Artificial Intelligence (AI) Coexistence: Emerging Themes and Research Agenda," which argues that a collaborative relationship, where AI supports and enhances human abilities, is both realistic and already 

When it comes to skills like essential human and conceptual strengths, AI won't be able to outperform humans. Human skills involve managing people, emotional intelligence, coordination, and teamwork, while conceptual skills include creativity, critical thinking, and analytical reasoning.

This evolution means workers, even in traditionally technical fields, must now build and strengthen people-oriented skills that were perhaps undervalued in the past.

"Even engineers are having to think differently about their own mix of skills," said Aneesh Raman, chief economic opportunity officer at LinkedIn. "Having a deliberate mix of technical and non-technical skills is growing into a differentiator between a good engineer and a great one, especially in the AI-powered workplace."

Islam's study also introduces a new cyclical perpetual race between worker and workplace AI. As AI takes over certain functions, workers must adapt by learning new skills and continuously developing themselves to stay relevant in an AI-driven environment, highlighting the importance of upskilling more than ever. 

The need for upskilling 

While staying current in one's field is always valuable, learning to use AI tools effectively is increasingly what sets employees apart in today's workforce.

A LinkedIn report published at the beginning of the year found that 81% of global executives surveyed were more likely to hire someone who is comfortable using AI tools than someone with more years of relevant experience but less confidence using AI.

"I've long believed that AI will not replace humans, but humans with AI will replace humans without it," said Karim Lakhani, chair of the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard and Dorothy and Michael Hintze professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. "Upskilling is no longer optional, it's a career imperative." 

Workers are already taking the initiative to learn on their own. In the US, AI literacy is the No. 1 fastest-growing skill on LinkedIn. AI courses are also becoming increasingly available on learning platforms, such as Coursera, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services. 

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Business leaders and employers also play a crucial role in enabling this transition.

"With AI reshaping every industry, all workers have to keep learning how to use the tools or they'll fall further and further behind. And prioritizing upskilling is a responsibility on both sides, for companies and their workers," said Lakhani. 

A McKinsey Digital report, Superagency in the Workplace: Empowering People to Unlock AI's Full Potential, found that 60% of employees hold optimistic views about AI. Half expressed a desire for more formal generative AI training from their organizations.

One example that Hannah Mayer, a partner at McKinsey and co-author of the report, pointed to involved a client creating a training module with personalized nudges to help sellers prepare more effectively for customer interactions.

Proper training helps employees work more efficiently and understand that AI tools are meant to support them, not replace them. In the example above, workers become more productive without handing over their tasks to AI.

When advising business leaders how to remove friction in AI implementation, Mayer said, "provide the training that employees are so desperately literally asking for."

What is AI's ROI?

In theory, if employees can learn AI at work, they will then be able to apply those skills to their own tasks, which will make them more productive and efficient. However, adoption still faces hurdles. Developing these technologies as well as deploying them is costly, and the ROI remains unknown. 

The same McKinsey report found that across industries, most C-level executives reported limited returns on enterprise-wide AI investments. Only 19% saw revenue growth above 5%, and 39% saw a moderate increase of 1-5%.

Despite the perceived value, a LinkedIn study found that only half of the businesses using generative AI for two years have seen a 10% increase in revenue, a number that may not yet justify widespread implementation and training. A more effective way to assess ROI is to evaluate it on a case-by-case basis.

Also: 4 ways business leaders are using AI to solve problems and create real value

"There is a significant amount of time savings which can translate into money savings, because the analysts can spend their time now on more strategic work," said Andrea Derler, Ph.D, principal, research and value, at Visier, a people analytics company that provides businesses with AI-driven insights about their workforce.

For example, one of Visier's clients, Baptist Health, was able to reduce its turnover by 50% by using the workforce insights, which saves money as onboarding new employees is an expensive experience and also a morale killer for workers. Another client, whom Derler couldn't name, saved 80% of the time that it previously had spent gathering data.

Job loss in the wake of AI

Beyond the benefits, AI is replacing some jobs. News headlines abound with major companies reducing their workforces to implement AI. 

For instance, the cofounder and CEO of language learning platform Duolingo recently said the company would gradually stop using contract workers for tasks that AI can handle. Non-tech businesses are also feeling the heat. The United Parcel Service (UPS) announced plans to cut 20,000 workers due to the emergence of new technologies, including machine learning. 

Also: AI could erase half of entry-level white collar jobs in 5 years, CEO warns

This shift is not only expected but also reflects a common pattern seen in major digital transformations. Much like the internet boom, which rendered many traditional jobs obsolete, it also gave rise to entirely new industries and roles that were previously unimaginable, such as web UI/UX design, digital publishing, e-commerce, and social media management.

"It happened in every really big transformation in the last 20 years; whenever we had new technologies, jobs shifted, which is very unfortunate for the people involved, but it was almost part of the transformation," said Derler.

Jobs of the future

As history repeats itself, AI is now opening myriad jobs in the related sector, ranging from machine learning engineering and data annotation to AI ethics consultancy and prompt design. These positions reflect the evolving needs of a rapidly advancing technological landscape. 

"AI engineers, AI researchers, and AI consultants are some of the most in-demand and fastest-growing jobs on LinkedIn this year," said Raman. 

Also: The most critical job skill you need to thrive in the AI revolution

Even workers not directly in the AI field are getting opportunities to do more of what they want to do by delegating less important tasks to AI. 

Workday encourages and supports its employees' internal use of AI through a program called EverydayAI. Since establishing the program, productivity has risen, mutually benefiting employees and the overall organization without uprooting its current workforce. 

"We're seeing probably 20-30% in terms of AI-based check-ins, so that's a big productivity gain, and we don't look at that as we need 20-30% fewer developers, we look at that we can do a whole lot more, a lot faster," Stratton said. 

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