“AI won't take your job, but someone using AI will.” While this quote may hold some truth, it must also be acknowledged that AI will displace some jobs.
This was one of the tough topics discussed on the panel “AI and the Workforce: Balancing Innovation and Human Capital” at the State of HR Summit 2024.
State of HR Summit
The State of HR Summit 2024, organized by Sprout Solutions, brought together industry leaders to discuss the evolving HR landscape. During the summit, Sprout Solutions shared its fifth State of HR report, revealing key insights about the readiness of businesses for AI. The report highlighted that a significant number of businesses (39 percent) are “Moderately Ready” for AI, indicating caution due to uncertainty or lack of preparation.
Meanwhile, 31 percent of businesses fall toward “Unready” and “Extremely Unready,” likely due to perceived risks such as security and privacy concerns, lack of transparency, and fear of job replacement.
The panel titled “AI and the Workforce: Balancing Innovation and Human Capital” featured Mharicar Castillo-Reyes, president and chief executive of Asticom Technology Inc.; Prof. Erika Fille Legara, Aboitiz chairman in Data Science at AIM; Reynaldo Lugtu, founder and chief executive of Hungry Workhorse; and Sara Venturina, chief data officer at GCash.
The discussion explored AI's impact on workforce strategy, the importance of strategically deciding how to integrate AI, and the ethical implications of AI deployment. One of the key points raised during the panel was the importance of organizations identifying strategic ways to decide what can and should be integrated with AI and what should not. It is not a simple matter of integrating AI wherever possible but rather a careful consideration of user readiness, trust and ethical implications of certain automation.
For instance, would you want a humanoid robot taking care of your grandmother? If a customer simply needs to ask a question or resolve an issue, an AI bot might be the perfect solution.
However, if a customer is upset, frustrated and irate, solving the problem is not the only objective. The human touch may be the only way to win back your customer's trust.
The importance of careful and strategic deployment of AI cannot be overstated. Organizations must painstakingly consider what can and should be integrated with AI, balancing efficiency gains with the need for human interaction. By focusing on these areas, businesses can navigate the challenges and opportunities of an AI-driven future, balancing innovation with humanity.
Putting PH on global AI map
In an AI-driven and remote work environment, continuous learning is crucial to bridge the skills gap and empower employees. Upskilling helps employees stay relevant, tackle new challenges, and advance their careers. The Philippines is already a top destination for outsourced services due to its strong English proficiency, tech-savvy workforce, and outstanding customer service. AI upskilling initiatives can drive business success and put the Philippines on the global AI map.
Connected Women, a community of over 180,000 members across the Philippines, upskills women and provides them with flexible remote job opportunities in the AI industry. Flagship programs, such as Elevate AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation) and GAIL (Generative AI Learning), are instrumental in bridging the gender skills gap.
In an exciting update this week, Connected Women announced that it is taking its ethical AI annotation services global, with the solutions division rebranded as Mettamatch. This move supports the Philippines' ambition to enhance its digital competitiveness and establish a strong presence in the global AI industry while enabling the country to play a role in shaping the ethical development of frontier technologies.
Mettamatch, which offers ethical AI data services and is compliant with data protection rules including the EU's GDPR, Singapore's PDPA, and the Philippines' Data Protection Act, and together with Connected Women, provides a case study of how companies can focus on economic opportunities and the importance of upskilling to remain competitive in the global market.
Be the first to comment