Why Workforce Development Is Key to Reaping AI Benefits

AI is changing industries and economies worldwide.

Workforce development is central to ensuring the changes benefit all of us, as Louis Stewart, head of strategic initiatives for NVIDIA's global developer ecosystem, explains in the latest AI Podcast.

"AI is fueling a lot of change in all ecosystems right now," Stewart said. "It's disrupting how we think about traditional economic development - how states and countries plan, how they stay competitive globally, and how they develop their workforces."

Providing AI education, embracing the technology and addressing workforce challenges are all critical for future workplace development.

"It starts with education," Stewart said.

AI Education Crucial at All Levels

Educating people on what AI can do, and how the current generation of AI-powered tools work, is the starting point. AI education must come at all levels, according to Stewart - however, higher education systems, in particular, need to be thinking about what's coming next, so graduating students can optimize their employability.

"Graduates need to understand AI, and need to have had touches in AI," he explained. Stewart emphasizes that this is broader than an engineering or a research challenge. "This is really a true workforce issue."

Stewart points to Gwinnett County in Georgia as an early education example, where the community has developed a full K-16 curriculum.

"If young kids are already playing with AI on their phones, they should actually be thinking about it a little bit deeper," he said. The idea, he explained, is for kids to move beyond simply using the tech to start seeing themselves as future creators of new technology, and being part of the broader evolution.

Nobody Gets Left Out

Beyond the classroom, a comprehensive view of AI education would expose people in the broader community to AI learning opportunities, Stewart said. His experience in the public sector informs his decidedly inclusive view on the matter.

Before joining NVIDIA four years ago, Stewart spent more than a decade working for the state of California, and then its capital city of Sacramento. He points to his time as Sacramento's chief innovation officer to illustrate how important it is that all citizens be included in progress.

"Sacramento was trying to move into a place to be an innovation leader in the state and nationally. I knew the city because I grew up here, and I knew that there were areas of the city that would never see innovation unless it was brought to them," he explained. "So if I was bringing autonomous cars to Sacramento, it was for the legislators, and it was for the CHP (California Highway Patrol), but it was also for the people."

Stewart elaborated that everyone coming in touch with self-driving vehicles needed to understand their impact. There was the technology itself - how autonomous vehicles work, how to use them as a passenger and so forth.

But there were also broader questions, such as how mechanics would need new training to understand the computer systems powering autonomous cars. And how parents would need to understand self-driving vehicles from the point of view of getting their kids to and from school without having to miss work to do the driving themselves.

Just as individuals will have different needs and wants from AI systems, so too will different communities, businesses and states take different approaches when implementing AI, Stewart said.

Diverse Approaches to AI Implementation

Public-private partnerships are critical to implementing AI across the U.S. and beyond. NVIDIA is partnering with states and higher education systems across the country for AI workforce development. And the programs being put in place are just as diverse as the states themselves.

"Every state has their idea about what they want to do when it comes to AI," Stewart explained.

Still, some common goals hold across state lines. When Stewart's team engages a governor's office with talk of AI to empower the workforce, create job opportunities, and improve collaboration, inclusivity and growth, he finds that state officials listen.

Stewart added that they often open up about what they've been working on. "We've been pleasantly surprised at how far along some of the states are with their AI strategies," he said.

In August, NVIDIA announced it is working with the state of California to train 100,000 people on AI skills over the next three years. It's an undertaking that will involve all 116 of the state's community colleges and California's university system. NVIDIA will also collaborate with the California human resources system to help state employees understand how AI skills may be incorporated into current and future jobs.

In Mississippi, a robust AI strategy is already in place.

The Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN) is one of the first statewide initiatives focused on addressing the emergence of AI and its effects on various industries' workforces. MAIN works with educational partners that include community colleges and universities in Mississippi, all collaborating to facilitate AI education and training.

Embrace Technology, Embrace the Future

Stewart said it's important to encourage individuals, businesses and other organizations to actively engage with AI tools and develop an understanding of how they're benefiting the workforce landscape.

"Now is not the time to stay on the sidelines," said Stewart."This is the time to jump in and start understanding."

Small businesses, for example, can start using applications like ChatGPT to see firsthand how they can transform operations. From there, Stewart suggests, a business could partner with the local school system to empower student interns to develop AI-powered tools and workflows for data analysis, marketing and other needs.

It's a win-win: The business can transform itself with AI while playing a crucial part in developing the workforce by giving students valuable real-world experience.

It's crucial that people get up to speed on the changes that AI is driving. And that we all participate in shaping our collective future, Stewart explained.

"Workforce development is, I think, at the crux of this next part of the conversation because the innovation and the research and everything surrounding AI is driving change so rapidly," he said.

Hear more from NVIDIA's Louis Stewart on workforce development opportunities in the latest AI Podcast.

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