As the curtain closed on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the story was clear: “Whatever the question, tech has the answer… for every industry.” The cornucopia of voice-activated-IoT-enabled-AI-analyzed-cloud-delivered possibilities did not disappoint. Even more impressive than the technology was the undeniable evidence that every industry is already a tech industry. Transportation, health, education, agriculture, construction, sports, finance, fashion, entertainment… the breadth of examples and leaders representing so many industries was impressive. It seemed that there is no problem that cannot be solved with technology – and there is no escaping technology in any industry, even if you wanted to.
However, I went to Las Vegas intent to explore a topic a little more mundane: People. I firmly believe that the “people side of tech” is frequently neglected, and the consequences are significant. (See “Three Questions to Ask About The People Side of Tech”). I share here some insights gained in exploring the people angle, which you might have missed in all the razzmatazz tech headlines:
Which Skills Are Going to Be Most Needed to Make All this Work?
Technology consistently amazes us with “what” but I quickly get concerned with “how”– especially the skills we are going to need to develop in our current and future workforces to pull off all the cool innovation. Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM, stated it bluntly: “Skills are the challenge of our time.” When I asked leaders which skills they were most concerned would be needed to make their hot new innovations a reality, most instinctively pointed to the tremendous demand for coding skills as well as competency with using analytics and AI. Commonly suggested was the need for a “bigger tent,” to bring more people into the tech-savvy world. This might be accomplished through more inclusive apprenticeship programs like the Apprenticeship Coalition CTA and IBM announced, or by building a more inclusive community as WiCyS, the Women in CyberSecurity, is doing. There were also those who thought we can close this skills gap significantly by simply training the machines to do the coding themselves!
But I also uncovered concerns that a higher level skill needed to be prepared for: We will need to be able to think BIGGER than the machines.
Making Data Make Sense
“Big data” has become overwhelming. Dr. Andrew Ng, CEO of Landing AI, confirmed that artificial intelligence is increasingly able to provide more useful small data which is selective, real time and closer to the user. NPR’s Meg Goldthwaite and several Forbes Most Influential CMO’s flagged that “marketing analytics” skills are more crucial than ever. But it is evident that how the problem is defined dramatically affects how the data is used, and that responsibility will continue to fall on the shoulders of problem-solving humans for the foreseeable future. Those I interviewed acknowledged that no matter how good we get at slicing and dicing the data, we must still pose the right questions, and make judgment calls when the data doesn’t make sense. Right along with building skills in coding and analytics, we must build and improve our ability to define the problems and the metrics clearly, and to ensure both are meaningful.
Systems Thinking
We heard incessantly about 5G’s promise to ignite a completely new landscape for delivering value. (And we will undoubtedly be hearing even more about it during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.) 5G was discussed as foundational for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab suggested will be disrupting every industry by blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological systems.
Okay, sounds like big change is coming. But what skills will be required for us to build and deliver on these sweeping promises? A common concern was that with increasing complexity comes a real need for people to look around the corner, beyond the immediate problem, in order to fully understand the context. We will need to regularly engage stakeholders across more functions as we define and solve problems, instead of working and thinking in silos. We will need to equip even young children learn to use “systems thinking,”a more holistic approach to problem solving. In doing so, there is the opportunity to anticipate and plan early for unintended consequences, even as we thrill and value the marvelous innovation at hand.
This was highlighted in a sobering discussion about Smart Cities, Public Safety and Disaster Preparedness. The question was posed: With all the new technologies, are we safer, more prepared, more resilient now? Some were confident that we are more prepared for emergencies, especially because everyone now is likely to have a cell phone on hand. But serial entrepreneur and CEO of Higher Ground, Rob Reis, challenged: “We do count on cell phones as the answer to emergency preparedness. But in the Santa Rosa fire or in Hurricane Sandy, cell towers were destroyed, we lost power. We are setting up new threats. Today, 50% of homes are using voice-over-IP for calling, which will go down if our power does.” Did we, the consumers and enterprises who became enamored with the lower price points of VoiP or the freedom of mobile phones, need to do more systems thinking early on? Or did we delegate that the responsibility to the technology providers, and expect that they would plan for us? In what ways should all of us — technology providers and technology users alike — step up right now and consider the practical implications and the unintended consequences of our newest shiny toys, artificial intelligence and drones?
Yes, technology is pretty complicated. But the “people side of tech” can be pretty thorny too. It is a journey that we need to plan more intentionally to take together. If you would like to explore this journey further, contact me and we can continue the discussion. https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanbaileyschramm/
