Robots aren't taking your job 🤖

Today’s Thoughts ☠️

Hey there 👋,

I’m staring at what feels like a million tabs across my 3 screens.

I’m in the midst of deciding what to share with you this week. Could AI help me with this? Doubt it.

I’m not worried about robots taking my job. AI replaces and supports tasks not jobs. That feels like a good topic to explore today.

How do the tasks → skills → humans relationship play out long-term.

In today’s chat 👇

• Why robots aren’t taking your job.

• 3 insights from the CIPDs Learning at Work 2023 Report

• Can and should you automate HR?

The Big Thought

AI isn’t stealing your job (Yet)

Stop worrying about AI taking your job.

The truth is no one knows what the future holds. I know that’s easy to say and harder to think with the endless news pieces which bloat our social feeds. We’re all navigating this together. Like we always do.

The following is my thesis and dubious speculations on the next few years (FYI, I'm not an AI expert. I work in L&D. These are my opinions on the impact on skills and careers at large)👇

1️⃣ Generative AI will replace/support tasks, not jobs

The media is scaremongering with the whole "AI will replace your job" content.

It might happen, and it might not.

In my work, what we're doing to research the roles of the future with generative AI is understanding what tasks it could replace and or support.

Based on this, we're identifying the common skills needed to do those tasks.

The question then becomes whether current Gen AI standards replace those entirely or only partly. If partly, what % and how much human interaction is needed?

Looking at this from a task lens (vs jobs) enables companies to evaluate where they can:

1. Best utilise humans

2. Simplify time-killing processes

3. Get a clear view of the skills needed for org performance

Gen AI will replace some tasks and thus jobs, but it will also create new ones.

In new ones, you could simplify time-killing processes. You might work on the training data a LLM is fed. This might consist of quality checks, reducing code hallucinations etc.

LinkedIn CEO, Ryan Roslansky proposed a similar concept when he wrote about how AI will accelerate workforce learning, and heighten the importance of skills in his article, Redefining Work.

Ryan proposed we stop looking at jobs as titles, and rather a collection of tasks.

These tasks will evolve as AI and other technologies do. He recommends you unpack your job into the main tasks you do daily.

You can bucket those tasks in this format:

1. Tasks AI can fully take on for you, like summarising meeting notes or email chains.

2. Tasks AI can help improve your work and efficiency, like help writing code or content.

3. Tasks that require your unique skills – your people skills – like creativity and collaboration.

2️⃣ You should unlock your human skills that current Generative AI cannot mimic

Too many of us think that current GEN AI is like the Terminator and just learns on its own. It doesn't.

Tools Like CGPT are classed as narrow AI e.g. can only focus on one or a select set of tasks but need human input.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the Terminator and Ex Machina situation, and we may never get there (FYI, I'm not an expert so don't hold me to that).

What I'm encouraging organisations to focus on is unlocking more human skills to work with new technology. These skills include critical thinking, emotional intelligence, objective reasoning etc.

Gen AI can't do this and it is always needed.

Microsoft’s branding of generative AI tools as a copilot works well here. Ultimately, organisations should look to how any tool can empower and enhance the human experience, not replace it.

Focusing on nurturing your human skills will be worthwhile.

Thankfully, this way of thinking seems to be shared by some C-suite teams.

Kelly Monahan, managing director of Upwork’s research institute, told Tech Brew “We saw [C-suite executives] actually seeing this much more of an augmentation play with their workforce as opposed to automation”.

Let's change the conversation...

AI tools won't replace jobs. They'll replace tasks.

They've actually been doing this for decades already. Artificial intelligence is not new, friends.

As we continue experimenting and learning in this space, I'm intrigued about the effect of tasks on roles with new AI tools. This will no doubt change the jobs we know today.

I believe there's a more actionable conversation with a focus on tasks AI can replace/support vs. jobs. This is the same with the introduction of any new technology. Old tasks go and new tasks emerge.

Anyway, that's my thought over.

Deep Thought

CIPD Learning At Work Report: 3 Key Takeaways

Here’s a quick breakdown of the CIPDs learning at work research. You can download your copy here. These are my personal takeaways.

1️⃣ The evolving workplace context and priorities

As the report rightly says, the past two years have seen significant global challenges, leading to an uncertain workplace environment.

The big concern for leaders seems to be the constant skills and labour shortage. Economic and technological disruptions in the ways we work need the skills to meet that demand. It’s no easy task.

Organisations recognise this and are preparing as best they can to move with the times. With 44% of skills for the average employee expected to change over the next 5 years, the work is cut out for us all.

The good news is this has put learning strategies high on many organisations’ agenda as they look to navigate the emerging skill gaps.

Hopefully, less whack-a-mole and more military strategy.

See page: 4-5

2️⃣ More money + more fame = more work

Your L&D team’s newfound fame in your organisation comes at a cost.

A 53% increase in workload to be exact. A resurgence in resources means double time for L&D teams. Two sides of this story here:

1. More organisations value their L&D team

2. But those L&D teams need to rise to the challenge of the work

This is where the problem starts. The report shares that teams face challenges with capacity constraints, and shifting business priorities (been there!) and the need for clear insights into effective strategies to meet all of this

See pages: 9 - 10

3️⃣ The value of L&D

The value of L&D in organisations always feels like a weird point to me.

I’m biased because I work in the industry, but if life is learning and learning is life. Surely, you want people on your side who can enable that? Or, maybe I’m crazy.

An interesting data point shared that L&D leaders feel their teams and work are valued by those it serves. Yet, the practitioners within the team had the opposite view. They didn’t feel valued at all.

See page: 35 -37

LinkedIn

I post so much on LI, even I lose track of all the stuff. Here’s a quick roundup of drops to keep you and me in the loop:

1️⃣ How to intelligently create your learning technology ecosystem

2️⃣ Why you need to stop worrying about AI taking your job

3️⃣ How do we interact with generative AI?

4️⃣ The 6-step guide to building a modern L&D team

5️⃣ The questions you need to ask learn tech vendors about their AI capabilities

Make AI Your Partner, Not The Problem 🤝

I’m making learning Gen AI tools like ChatGPT simple and easy to empower you at work and save tons of time!

Join L&D professionals future-proofing their skills with AI in hours, not days.

Get started with my beginner’s crash course

Smart Thoughts

Content that has caught my attention and might interest you too.

🤔  What to automate when automating HR

Thinking of using some fancy tech to automate classic HR tasks? Read on, friend.

The team at HR Brew have curated some classic HR tasks which can be set on auto-pilot by leveraging the latest technology.

💡 Want more creativity? Take a break

I personally find it hard to take breaks when attempting to awaken the creative side of my mind.

I often find myself staring at my screen in frustration for hours with nothing to show. This happens almost weekly with this newsletter. It’s all part of the process though.

One thing I experiment with is micro-breaks. They seem to reset and refresh my wires. It’s good to know the smart folks at Harvard agree.

Here’s some tips to supercharge your creativity.

🔥  The 10 challenges for L&D leaders today

After what feels like an eternity in the L&D ring, some things never change.

If this roundup from the Learning and Performance Institute is to be believed. Neither do the things that keep L&D leaders up at 3am.

Here’s 10 things fellow pros are worried about, I mean, solving in their own world.

If you're curious, here's three ways I can help you 👇

1/ My L&D toolkit stack with 20 zero-cost tools.

2/ Join my ChatGPT Crash Course for L&D Pros to improve your generative AI skills.

3/ Work with me on your projects and L&D challenges.

Please share your thoughts with me on these pieces or anything I share on LinkedIn or hit 'reply'. Chat to you soon.