British Employees Lack The Training To Use AI Tools

Uploaded on 2023-07-26 in TECHNOLOGY-Key Areas-Artificial Intelligence, FREE TO VIEW

UK workers are becoming more engaging to the use of generative AI tools in their daily work operations, but a lot of employees still don’t use these technologies safely. A study from Salesforce found that more than one-third (38%) of workers are already using, or planning to use, generative AI in their jobs. However, a majority of survey respondents (62%) said they lack the skills to use them “accurately and safely”.

Salesforce’s survey, which was conducted in partnership with YouGov reflects the thoughts and opinions of almost 1,400 full-time, UK-based workers across sales, service, marketing, and commerce. In particular, It has revealed that skills shortages at organisations across the UK pose a serious challenge to the uptake of generative AI tools.

Common concerns around accuracy and safety focused specifically on the potential for generative AI platforms to generate inaccurate, false, or misleading information. Previous research from the firm found that just one-in-ten UK workers felt they had adequate AI-related skills, including the knowledge of how to effectively use generative AI tools.

Almost half (46%) revealed they held serious reservations about inaccurate outputs from these tools.

And 58% were concerned about issues relating to bias when using generative AI technologies.

The issue of accuracy has been a long-running trend since the emergence of tools such as ChatGPT in late 2022.
While generative AI has been hailed as a transformative production technology concerns over the accuracy of the content generated by these platforms have been a recurring talking point.

Some organisations have already advised workers against using AI tools workplace settings, while others like JPMorgan Chase said they will not be embracing generative AI until the widely known flaws have been addressed.
Zahra Bahrolouloumi, CEO at Salesforce UKI, said that although organizations are embracing the potential benefits of generative AI, safety and responsible use remains a key stumbling block. “Generative AI is the most important technological breakthrough of our lifetime, revolutionising how businesses interact with customers,” she said. “But its potential will only be realised if we put trust and safety at the center of this technology.”

Data & Security Skills Are A Key Requirement

This latest study appears to reinforce the pervasive issue of skills shortages, highlighting that over two-thirds (67%) of workers are “concerned their broader teams do not have the skills to effectively and safely use generative AI.
The long-running shortage of applicable skills is being exacerbated by the fact that organisations aren’t investing in training to use generative AI tools, the study noted.

More than three-quarters (79%) of workers said their employers do not provide “any form” of generative AI training to support them in using these tools.

Over half (55%) said they would like their employers to provide them with training opportunities to maximise the use of such tools and alleviate concerns over safe usage.

Furthermore, the survey noted there is a growing disparity between senior staff and the broader workforce at many organisations over how to responsibly integrate tools.

More than three-quarters (77%) of C-suite and managing director-level employees said they were confident about their ability to safely implement generative AI technologies.

In contrast, fewer than one-third (35%) of senior and junior managers (29%) responded in the same way

Overall, Salesforce’s study found that the ‘democratisation’ of AI skills should be viewed as a critical goal for enterprises to fully maximise the use of generative AI technologies in operations.

Salesforce: YouGov: ITPro: Digit.FYI: HRNews: CityAM: Image: Levart Photography

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