Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionise the way we live and work. However, one of the significant challenges facing the industry is a shortage of experts with the skills and knowledge needed to fully harness the power of AI. This is a significant opportunity for anyone with a reasonable understanding of business and computing to educate themselves in AI and either join a company or start a business to help companies implement AI into their workflows. By doing so, small businesses can become more efficient and profitable, and ultimately drive economic growth in Canterbury.
Only in the last couple of months, AI has started to become mainstream and we are seeing exponential uptake from companies adding a wide array of features to their existing software packages or APIs. People are going to be needed to teach this technology to the masses and watching short videos can only get you so far.
In fact, what is needed is a lot of semi-technical people from a wide range of industry backgrounds who know more about the industry and how the business ticks than having to understand the rationale of how machine learning algorithms sample their data sets. You don’t need to know how an internal combustion engine works in order to teach someone how to drive a car, AI is the same.
If you understand how business works and you are the go-to technical person in the office, who fixes the IT issues, you are poised for this type of assignment because learning AI tools is easy, what can’t be taught is industry insight & experience. Guess what, any person that says they are an expert at Chat GPT3 has probably only been using it for 2 months or less because it only became available to the public 2 months ago.
One of the reasons for the shortage of AI experts is the rapid pace of technological change. As AI technologies continue to evolve, it can be difficult for individuals and organisations to stay up-to-date with the latest developments. There are many resources available to help individuals and businesses acquire the knowledge and skills needed to work with AI. Online courses, tutorials, and training programs are readily available and can provide a solid foundation in the fundamentals of AI, but companies don’t always want the headache of having to do their own research to find out what to learn and they want to be able to pick up a phone when they have a question.
There are lots of organisations and communities dedicated to fostering the development of AI expertise, such as OpenAI, which provide resources and support for individuals and businesses looking to develop their AI capabilities. You don’t need a degree in computer science or any prerequisite to learn the content, some of the content is dedicated to computer programmers but there is a lot of content for people wanting to learn how to implement the technology vs create the technology.
AI is not just restricted to big companies, small businesses can also leverage AI to improve their operations and stay competitive in the market. For example, small retail businesses can use AI for inventory management, supply chain optimization, or even personalised marketing. Similarly, small manufacturing companies can use AI for predictive maintenance, quality control, or process optimization.
The shortage of AI experts presents a significant opportunity for anyone with a reasonable understanding of business and computing to educate themselves in AI and potentially start a business to help small businesses implement AI into their workflows. By doing so, small businesses can become more efficient and profitable. The time is now to take advantage of this opportunity and become an AI expert.
