Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies. Dr. Shirley Davis

and selection process. Here are some areas where automation and AI can assist with DEI:

       Using data tools’ algorithms to screen employee information to help managers create diverse interview panels that reduce implicit bias

       Using AI and data science to match high-potential applicants with job roles regardless of demographic information (such as race, gender, sexual orientation, name, ability, and age)

       Writing unbiased job postings with gender-neutral language

       Offering fairer salaries by analyzing market data to recommend more equitable pay ranges

      

AI has the ability to help humans make bias-free decisions only if the systems are built without unconscious bias. A key aspect of AI is that its systems are built on data and learn from data that a human with their own perspective programs in. If programmers build their own implicit biases into the systems, the systems become flawed. For example, many countries already have AI technology that tracks people’s movement and has facial recognition. But research indicates that facial recognition technology has the most errors with correctly recognizing Black and brown faces. When authorities use these systems, these errors can have negative effects on citizens.

DEI practices within AI are crucial. A study by AI Now found that only 15 percent of AI researchers at Facebook and 10 percent at Google were women. It also revealed that less than 5 percent of the staff at Facebook, Google, and Microsoft were Black, when the Black workforce in the U.S. is approximately 12 percent of the overall labor force. This lack of diverse engineers and researchers may result in the continuation of AI bias on a large scale. For example, in 2015 only 18 percent of computer science majors in U.S. universities were women, down from 37 percent in 1984. This decrease indicates a pipeline problem with education, hiring, and promotion within the field. Companies must ensure they build diversity, equity, and inclusion — not bias — into the root of AI systems.

Increasingly Underskilled

      A major trend shifting the workplace demographic is the growing skilled worker shortage. Skilled workers include electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, construction managers and workers, carpenters, and so on. Closing this skill gap with technology, more specifically automation and artificial intelligence, is on the horizon, which means workers skilled in the technology that creates and produces these solutions are needed as well.

      Accenture’s Future of Work research group found that countries that don’t invest in technological skill building may lose $11.5 trillion of economic growth. For example, up to 90 percent of human labor time may be replaced by automation and artificial intelligence (though actual numbers vary by industry and type of work). If they don’t address the skills gap and shortage, the following players face these potential economic losses by 2030:

       China: 1.7 percent loss of annual growth

       Mexico and South Africa: 1.8 percent loss of annual growth

       United States: $975 billion

       Germany: $264 billion

      So how does this information impact the nature of your own business operations, product offerings, and consumer base? Better yet, what can you do differently in your business to address these potential skill shortages? What type of work can you augment with intelligent technology and what work can artificial intelligence complete?

      

Creativity, social and emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and complex reasoning are noted skills that are increasingly vital in every workplace role. These skills are also essential to fostering and maintaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. The need to focus on building these skills along with technological skills is leading workplaces to require workers with a variety of skills and to make the worthwhile investment in broadening those skills.

Following are three tips for helping underskilled workers to build essential skills:

       Expand experiential learning opportunities through technical simulation training, on the job training, and apprenticeships. Add AI and virtual reality to immersive learning experiences.

       Build individuals and institutions. Focus on the professional development workers as individuals that have broad skills bases. Incentivize achievements at the individual and team/department levels.

       Empower learners and those in more vulnerable categories, such as older workers and lower-skill roles. Create career pathways and professional development/learning plans. Support workers through grant programs and tuition reimbursement for lifelong learning. Provide training in modular and creative ways that fit the individual learner’s lifestyle.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR JOBS, 2031–2036 EDITION

      Jobs experiencing the greatest growth potential:

       Home health aide

       Nursing assistant

       Construction worker

       Physical therapy aide

       Medical technologist

       Truck driver

       Operations research analyst

       Financial advisor

       Health services administrator

       Registered nurse

       Web developer

       Physical therapist

       Teacher

      Jobs that are predicted to disappear due to AI:

       Driver

       Farmer

       Printer and publisher

       Cashier

       Travel agent

       Manufacturing worker

       Dispatcher

       Food service worker and bartender

       Bank teller

       Military pilot and soldier

       Fast food worker

       Telemarketer

       Accountants and tax preparer

       Stock trader

       Construction worker