Artificial intelligence is all about learning skills, not cutting jobs

With AI, more people are developing hard skills like data science and engineering and soft skills “AI can't do” — say tech experts

Cathriona Hallahan, MD of Microsoft Ireland, in the €27m Engineering Hub in Leopardstown, Dublin, where Microsoft Ireland is expanding, with new engineering roles supporting Cloud services and emerging technology solutions for customers around the globe.

Reskilling and talent retention initiatives will be a key element in Irish public sector moves to adapt cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), according to collaborative research by Microsoft Ireland and EY.

While AI is widely seen as a means to achieve efficiencies, the 'AI in the Public Sector' report produced by Microsoft Ireland and EY also points to an aligned focus on new skills development.

The report's key recommendations include the need for data to be seen as a key asset to align organisational culture, the need for transparency in public data management and the need for public sector leaders to drive adoption of AI.

It also notes that all employees can play a key role in helping get the maximum value out of data and realising the untapped potential of AI. Key to this will be developing hard skills like data science and engineering, but also soft skills that “AI can't do”.

Chief among the soft skills cited by the report are creativity, empathy and problem-solving. Negotiation, management, leadership and communications are great examples of how AI works with people; it doesn't replace them.

Cathriona Hallahan, MD of Microsoft Ireland, cites the example of the National Transport Authority (NTA), which uses a combination of AI technologies such as domain rules and machine learning to extract more value from different operational data sets to make intelligence-based decisions concerning service planning within the Greater Dublin Area.

“Through AI, the NTA is able to open up more opportunities to apply data set-based decision making to other aspects of its work, such as budget allocation and infrastructure planning,” states Cathriona Hallahan.

The report cites Mark Stopes, NTA's head of business intelligence, who says: “We are only at the beginning, and the impact that AI will have on the provision of public transport should not be underestimated.” 

 The Microsoft and EY research also showed that AI-pioneering organisations place as much emphasis on developing the skills of their people as they do on the technology itself.

“As you might expect in the age of AI, hard skills like data science and engineering are increasingly in-demand,” said Cathriona Hallahan. “But, when you consider the things that AI can’t do – such as creativity and empathy – it’s quite evident that there’s a wide-range of softer-skills that are becoming even more valuable such as negotiation, management, leadership and communications skills, and many more.

“There’s also a big opportunity to focus on reskilling. This not only helps maintain the institutional knowledge that is so vital for many public sector organisations, it’s also a great opportunity to strengthen employee engagement.

“Reskilling programmes offer a brilliant opportunity for employees to work with managers and to help shape their own unique career paths, which is really powerful in terms of promoting talent retention.”

 There are many free training and educational content available online, including Microsoft's AI Business School. This also includes a 'learning path' specifically designed for Government.

However, respondents to Microsoft and EY's survey show most EU public sector bodies are really only at the beginning of their AI journey. Among survey respondents across Western Europe, only 11% of respondents indicated their organisation had the right mix of AI-related skills.

There’s no lack of interest in the public sector for adopting and using AI. In fact, public sector organisations in Ireland have very high expectations of AI compared to European counterparts; more than 30% view AI as highly important for qualifying decisions and assuring quality.

Nonetheless, the Microsoft and EY survey showed that 54% of public sector bodies in Ireland have implemented AI. This builds upon previous research from Microsoft and EY into AI in 2018, which revealed that organisations were very early on in the AI journey, with 75% of public and private organisations either in planning or at pilot stage of AI implementation.

John Ward, emerging technology leader at EY Ireland, added: “When it comes to ‘getting AI right,’ there is no secret to success. Rather, the successful integration of AI relies on investment in the fundamentals. Data and technology are more obvious and widely-acknowledged. However, culture, talent and ethics are equally important. With the right approach giving due attention and investment to each of these areas, organisations have the best chance of success.”