Artificial intelligence in the workplace | Economy

Microsoft and LinkedIn publish a comprehensive survey on the rapidly growing use of AI at work. Many employees are still experimenting with AI. From a business perspective, this should now create new added value.

(red/chuck) Microsoft and LinkedIn as a platform for managers have published the Work Trends Index for 2024. The focus is on the topic of artificial intelligence and its use in the workplace, hence the title: “AI at work here. Now comes the hard part.” The study is based on a survey of 31,000 people in 31 countries, as well as work and hiring trends on LinkedIn, trillions of productivity signals in Microsoft 365, and Fortune 500 customer surveys.

The use of generative AI in the workplace has nearly doubled in the past six months
What is particularly clear is how, just a year later, AI is impacting the way people work, manage and employ people around the world. The use of generative AI in the workplace has nearly doubled in the past six months. LinkedIn is seeing a significant increase in the number of professionals adding AI skills to their profiles, and most executives now don't want to hire someone who doesn't have AI skills. These leaders have reached a difficult point: moving from experimentation to tangible business impact.

At the same time, Microsoft is announcing new features in the Copilot app for Microsoft 365, and LinkedIn is making more than fifty free online courses available to LinkedIn members to help professionals at various levels improve their AI skills. The report highlights several findings, including that 75% of knowledge workers now use AI at work. AI saves time, enhances creativity, enables focus on core tasks and also provides scope for new value creation.

The majority of companies lack an implementation plan
59% still have concerns about measuring productivity gains from AI, and 60% say their companies lack an implementation plan. The pressure to show an immediate return on investment (ROI) makes managers lazy, so about 80% of employees take matters into their own hands and use their own tools at work. However, this makes it difficult to capture the advantages that can arise from the strategic use of AI.

Current data also shows a hidden shortage of professionals looking to change their careers and huge opportunities for those improving their AI skills. A majority of executives (55%) fear there won't be enough skilled workers to fill job openings this year, with leaders in cybersecurity, engineering and creative design being the hardest hit, according to other survey results.

Artificial intelligence raises the level of employees
While two-thirds of executives worldwide would not hire someone without AI skills, only 39% have received AI training from their companies, and only 25% of companies plan to offer such training this year. So professionals are educating themselves. Since the end of last year, the number of LinkedIn members adding AI skills like Copilot and ChatGPT to their profiles has increased 142x, and the number of non-technical professionals using LinkedIn Learning courses to improve their AI capabilities has increased 160 percent.

“AI is redefining work, and it's clear we need a new set of rules,” said Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn. “It is these leaders who focus on flexibility rather than stability and invest internally in building competencies that give their companies a competitive advantage and create more efficient, more engaged, and more equitable teams,” says Roslansky. “AI is democratizing expertise across the workforce,” adds Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Every organization has the opportunity to apply this technology to improve decision-making and collaboration – and ultimately business outcomes.”

red/czaak, Economic Issue web article, May 10, 2024