As AI advances at breakneck speed, a critical gap is emerging in the business world — a lack of AI literacy.
New data shows that most companies are lagging behind in educating their workforce about AI. And this could have serious consequences on their future competitiveness.
The 2024 State of Marketing AI Report, soon to be released in collaboration with the Marketing AI Institute. flowrecently found that:
- 67% of respondents cited a lack of education and training as the biggest barrier to adopting AI in marketing (up from 64% last year).
- 75% of organizations either offer no AI-focused training for their marketing teams (47%), it's in development (24%), or aren't sure if it exists (4%).
Why is this important and what can you do about it?
I got the answers from Paul Roetzer, founder/CEO of the Marketing AI Institute. Episode 105 of Artificial Intelligence Show.
The urgent need for AI literacy
Without a fundamental understanding of AI in an organization, companies will continue to face significant challenges that are hindering AI adoption and success, Rutzer says. These include:
- Lack of AI-aware talent
- Fear of change among employees
- Difficulty in developing useful AI strategies
“Until we level the understanding and build a fundamental understanding of AI, you're going to have the same problems,” Rotzer warned.
In fact, it's so important that the Marketing AI Institute made its stated mission “AI Literacy for All” as a company to launch in 2024. After introducing the conceptRutzer wrote:
Continued AI advancements in language, vision, prediction, persuasion, reasoning, decision-making, and action will augment human capabilities and redefine cognitive work at a rate and scale the economy has never seen.
Millions of jobs will be affected as companies realize the power and potential of AI to increase productivity, efficiency and profitability.
The future of all work is human + machine, and we are developing under the assumption that at least 80% of what knowledge workers do every day will be assisted by AI to some extent in the next 1-2 years. . (Note: There are an estimated 100 million knowledge workers in the US alone, including consultants, marketers, lawyers, accountants, writers, bankers, software developers, doctors, artists, engineers and teachers.)
As the rate of change accelerates, due to increased competition between large AI technology companies and research labs, every business in every industry faces opportunities for disruption and the threat of disruption.
We've presented and spoken to thousands of marketers and business leaders over the past year. We've seen first-hand how executives are reluctant to adopt and shape an AI roadmap in the face of complex challenges, including: lack of AI-savvy talent, legacy tech stacks, rapid The expanding AI tech landscape, fear of change by staff, industry regulations, privacy and security concerns, and increasing competitive pressures.
What has become clear is that our mission must be geared towards advancing the North Star of accelerating AI literacy for all.
We believe you can build a better version of any business through a responsible, human-centered approach to AI, but success requires a commitment to AI education and training across the organization.
The power to combine domain expertise with AI knowledge
Roetzer emphasizes that the goal of “AI literacy for all” is not to turn everyone into AI experts. Instead, it's about empowering professionals to apply AI knowledge to their existing expertise.
“We need people with basic AI knowledge who then use their domain expertise to become thought leaders in their company or their industry,” he explains.
“[Imagine the] A 30-year lawyer who is interested in AI or a CFO or an HR person or a marketer, whatever, taking their domain expertise and experience and insight and understanding what AI can do. Now you can really move forward as an organization.”
The way forward
While AI in business is about the current state of literacy, Roetzer sees reason for optimism. He encourages the audience to be “spark plugs” in their organizations, driving AI literacy initiatives.
For companies looking to increase their AI literacy, Roetzer offers some practical advice:
- Start an AI academy within your organization.
- Make AI education part of professional development
- Encourage employees to learn about AI through podcasts, courses, and reading.
- Promote transparency about AI initiatives within the organization.
- Create a formal AI roadmap and change management plan.
“Keep taking the next step on literacy,” Rutzer emphasized. “Keep moving forward, but bring people from your organization with you.