AIBU to hesitate over AI training at work?

[IlovePhilMitchell]

Are you going to embrace AI at work or wait till it’s forced upon you?

I work for a large corporate, and lately the opportunity to do a voluntary course to become more fluent in AI/co pilot at work has come up. It’s a paid course and the expectation would be to use it in your role and team. Im tempted but I feel like a turkey voting for Christmas. Am I being rediculous? 🤣

On the other hand I’m early 40s and not retiring anytime soon so I better get with the times. I feel like younger people will come into the workplace and be really good at this stuff.

I’d definitely go for it. Most people my age (31) and younger are already well experienced in using different AI models.

Even if you never really use it, can’t hurt to brush up your technology skills.

Yes, you do need to learn to use AI. You will get left behind if not.

However, I’ve done some AI courses and have learned more through using it and learning from colleagues rather than the courses.

It will be the people that don't use AI that will be first out the door.

I would go for it. It is a good tool and if anything you can learn how to use it better. It's a bit like an accountant a few years ago saying they don't want to learn excel as it will take their job.

Hi OP, I'm older than you and I use AI daily at work (also a corporate role). It's not replacing my job and it can be really helpful but you do need to know how to work with it.
Obviously it depends on what you actually do but you're more likely to become irrelevant if you don't keep up with the skills needed to work with AI than having your job completely replaced by it.
Do the course for sure.

On an individual/career level, unfortunately it’s probably best to do the course.

On a global level, we are sleepwalking into an absolute fucking disaster by not resisting AI as it currently stands. Turkeys voting for Christmas doesn’t even begin to cover it, so YANBU.

This. I am amazed at the teams at work saying how they have trained AI models to do their function and how they now employ fewer people without understanding that they are training the model to replace them.

I am currently being forced to train an AI model to take over part of my function. It is rubbish in that what it produces is of no use but I am expected to download my experience based on decades on experience and further education so eventually it can replace me and all future workers.

You don’t need to worry about young people coming into the work place OP. There won’t be any jobs for them, because the AI they love so much has taken over! It’s the youngsters who are the turkeys voting for Christmas.

Most of the people I know who are gleefully embracing AI are millennials/Gen X professionals - they know they’ll be retired by the time their jobs are made fully obsolete by it and don’t give a shit about the next generations. It’s not just down to the young.

I’ve embraced AI at work, it helps me a lot with the mundane stuff. I’m doing everything quicker, no doubt my outputs are much improved. My skillset is still very much needed, for now

I'm having a similar experience and personal debate in my job.
I have genuine concerns about the impact AI will have and I have very loudly expressed those concerns with my manager - but ultimately I've been told to keep quiet and do the training anyway. I've been told the company I work for has already assessed the impact and they're happy they're being ecologically and ethically sensible so "i don't need to think about it"

I have done the training and started using AI in very small ways so that I "tick the boxes" but honestly Iv'e not yet found anything using AI that I'm likely to need to do on a daily basis in my job..... but thats probably just me being stubborn with it.

I'd do the training as you need to understand it. It will become part of work from now on and those that don't adapt will get left behind.

I'm sure people resisted email coming in and said 'what's wrong with faxes'. The company you work for won't particularly care on your personal views on AI.

My rudimentary knowledge of AI saves loads of time in my role. Rightly or wrongly, I keep quiet about the time savings because, yes of course if it saves loads of time, ultimately they'll need fewer of me.

I don't think it will replace me completely, but definitely see a situation where far fewer people are needed in my role.

However, I don't think me refusing to use it or learn about it will prevent that.

You can choose not to use AI while it is still voluntary. But others will be using it and there is a danger that you will make yourself much less valuable to your employer if you are unwilling to leverage the productivity gains that it offers.

There are serious environmental concerns, for sure, and there are many other ethical issues at play. But at am individual level, it would be pretty foolish not to unskill yourself while you have the opportunity.

I find that AI greatly enhances my productivity at work, but it doesn't replace my judgment - it can only produce high quality output if it has the right input. Learning to give AI optimal instructions, knowing how to verify the information that it churns out, recognising when to use AI and when you need an actual human - all of these are skills that we will need in the workplace going forward. Learn now before you get left behind.

I'm 49 and AI is incredibly useful in my role. However, it is an add on and not a replacement for the type of work I do.

Yes this is my situation, but I do understand that whilst the skills set is needed, if it takes less time to get things done the company/the world will need fewer people in the role.

Same. I always felt overworked and was definitely working over hours to keep on top of everything (expected in a senior role so I never really questioned it).
AI has sped up some of the routine / mundane stuff which means I am better at the creative side (it is crap at that; I’ve tried) and I’m still busy but have more time to spend on the bigger, more important stuff and it feels much more under control.

Just bear in mind that using the AI of today to "help" and correcting the models used in your own business / sector is, effectively, training it.
I used to work for a very large technology company, and we automated and scripted so much of our work (long before AI) and once we'ed perfected multiple routine tasks, and gone back to ask "What's next?", they reduced the team from 15 to 5 people over the course of the subsequent 5 months.

I'm absolutely anti-AI. Personally I don't see how my role would be improved or made easier by it and continue loudly question how AI usage can be justified given my organisation's stance on being eco-friendly.

I’m not sure why you wouldn’t embrace it, particularly if it’s going to be part of your job. And the last thing you want is others being more productive by using it and you being left behind. That said, check everything and use it sensibly.

Take the course.
Understand AI limitations.
Be aware where critical thinking is needed.
Understand where it helps and hinders
Dont want to? Well that woukd be foolish
You will be kicked out if you do not get to grips with using AI as a tool.

It’s interesting because for me in my area of the public sector where our lower grades have already been decimated meaning there’s a lot of admin in senior roles now, it means they can get more value out of me now. I’m spending more time on what they actually need me for.

I'm 50 and embracing it. I work for a software company so it's being incorporated in all our products as well as internal systems.

The better you understand it, the more you furture proof youself.

It is, imo, still highly flawed in many areas, and companies are often finding it hard to tangibly point to financial gains from it vs. cost. But if they are pushing it, go with it and learn.

Get on with it or youll get left behind

It's completely pointless to resist AI and refusing to become literate will make you obsolete more quickly than AI implementation ever could.