Need for More AI Training Persists in Organizations

New Association for Talent Development (ATD) research uncovers the need for more artificial intelligence training and policies in the workplace.

According to Organizational Use of AI for Talent Development: A Focus on AI Literacy, more than 70 percent of employees are very or extremely interested in learning more about AI, but less than a third of organizations require AI training for employees. ATD President and CEO Tony Bingham and UMU Founder and CEO Dongshuo Li discussed the report during a recent webinar hosted by UMU.

“People are using AI, like it or not,” Bingham said. “They’re playing with it personally and they’re probably experimenting with it within the organization. If we are not providing guidance and training on AI, then we are putting our business at risk. There’s no way to sugarcoat that.

“I think AI training should be mandatory,” Bingham added. “The adoption is widespread enough that training should be required because everyone who interacts with it has the opportunity to learn, but they also have the opportunity to share data that they maybe shouldn’t be sharing.”

The study, sponsored by UMU, examines how TD professionals view AI safety and security, how they are training employees on AI, how they are using AI, whether AI improved their work, and any concerns they have about AI. AI literacy is defined in the report as the degree to which organizations are using AI tools in the workflow, which includes AI trends for training and staff, AI safety and security, and how professionals measure AI impact on improvement.

“Given the permeation of AI tools and resources in the workplace, it’s time for leaders to create plans, strategies, and policies that help their employees understand and harness the transformative power of AI to improve organizational outcomes,” according to the report. “It is critical that TD professionals are prepared to help their organizations integrate AI tools.”

Although the report shows that 59 percent of organizations have either advanced or proficient AI literacy, the regional differences are telling. Twenty-one percent of respondents from Japan indicated that they have advanced AI literacy in their organizations, while only 10 percent of US respondents admitted having AI literacy. One-third of the rest of the world said they have advanced AI literacy skills. Fifteen percent of the report’s respondents indicated they have minimal AI literacy skills.

“I feel an increasing mission and responsibility from all TD professionals to not just help everyone understand some basic AI literacy or how to interact with AI, but also to encourage everyone to think that AI matters from another angle or perspective,” Li said.

Both leaders emphasized the importance of organizations to consider the risks, rewards, and ethics of AI. A little more than half of TD professionals said their organization considers the risks and rewards of using AI, while 27 percent of organizations aren’t having this discussion.

“I think the responsible use of AI has to start at the top of the organization, and it has to start with governance and a proper governance team that determines how AI can and should be used,” Bingham explained. “I think it is up to TD professionals to make sure all the employees understand the policy and train on it.”

Li added, “We must be cautious. Whenever people adopt to a new technology, we need to balance the safety perspective.”

AI is rapidly transforming the workplace, and the interest among employees in learning more about this technology should be enough to compel organizations to prioritize AI training among staff and workers.

“Today is the slowest rate of AI change—it just keeps accelerating, so we need to keep adjusting our training to keep up with those changes,” Bingham added.