business

Columbus 2020: How this city in Ohio is shaping the future of jobs & preparing the next generation [Morgan]

On 03/14/2019, in 21st century, business, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, future, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, society, United States, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Columbus 2020: How this city in Ohio is shaping the future of jobs and preparing the next generation — from thefutureorganization.com by Jacob Morgan

Excerpt:

When asked who is responsible for retraining and upskilling the workers who are displaced to to job automation, Kenny said it should be a combined effort between the community, the major employers, and educational institutions. These major players need to have open and honest discussions to figure out how jobs are changing and what needs to be done to better equip people for the future of work.

Even though there is a large responsibility on the community, employers, and schools, that does not leave the individual employee off the hook. “The need, the velocity of which continued education is going to be required for you to be a competitive employee in the future is going to require a lot of responsibility. So you’re going to be responsible for raising your hand and saying, “I want that training. I’m willing to make a little bit of a time sacrifice to learn that skill to evolve as technologies evolve and continue my career. People that are willing to do that are going to have tremendous opportunity, maybe even greater opportunity than we’ve ever seen before. But those that are unwilling to do that or perhaps don’t have the insight and aren’t given the roadmap around that are going to have a difficult time.”

The Future Today Institute’s 12th Annual Emerging Tech Trends Report — from futuretodayinstitute.com

Excerpts:

At the Future Today Institute, we identify emerging tech trends and map the future for our clients. This is FTI’s 12th annual Tech Trends Report, and in it we identify 315 tantalizing advancements in emerging technologies — artificial intelligence, biotech, autonomous robots, green energy and space travel — that will begin to enter the mainstream and fundamentally disrupt business, geopolitics and everyday life around the world. As of the publication date, the annual FTI Tech Trend Report report has garnered more than 7.5 cumulative views.

Key findings for 2019 (emphasis DSC)

Privacy is dead. (DC: NOT GOOD!!! If this is true, can the situation be reversed?)
Voice Search Optimization (VSO) is the new SEO.
The Big Nine.
Personal data records are coming. (DC: Including cloud-based learner profiles I hope.)
China continues to ascend, and not just in artificial intelligence.
Lawmakers around the world are not prepared to deal with new challenges that arise from emerging science and technology.
Consolidation continues as a key theme for 2019.

LinkedIn Learning’s 2019 Workplace Learning Report: Key Findings

On 03/03/2019, in business, career development, collaboration, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, Microsoft, online learning, student-related, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, trends, United States, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

LinkedIn Learning’s 2019 Workplace Learning Report: Key Findings

Excerpt:

In 2019, our survey indicates that talent developers will spend more time finding and closing skills gaps while exploring learner engagement tactics to inspire the modern learner, including the incoming Gen Z workforce.

The shift is on and the stakes are high.

The 5 Biggest Artificial Intelligence Trends of 2019 [Marr]

On 03/02/2019, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, corporate / business world, data related items, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), trends, workplace, by Daniel Christian

81% of legal departments aren’t ready for digitization: Gartner [The Mitratech Team]

On 03/01/2019, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Blockchain, bots, business, career development, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, tools, trends, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

81% of legal departments aren’t ready for digitization: Gartner — from mitratech.com by The Mitratech Team

Excerpt:

Despite the efforts of Legal Operations legal tech adopters and advocates, and the many expert voices raised about the need to evolve the legal industry? A Gartner, Inc. report finds the vast majority of in-house legal departments are unprepared for digital transformation.

In compiling the report, Gartner reviewed the roles of legal departments in no less than 1,715 digital business projects. They also conducted interviews with over 100 general counsel and privacy officers, and another 100 legal stakeholders at large companies.

The reveal? That 81% of legal departments weren’t prepared for the oncoming tide of digitization at their companies. That leaves them at a disadvantage when one considers the results of Gartner’s CEO Survey. Two-thirds of its CEO respondents predicted their business models would change in the next three years, with digitization as a major factor.

Also relevant here/see:
AI Pre-Screening Technology: A New Era for Contracts? — from by Tim Pullan, CEO and Founder, ThoughtRiver

Excerpt:

However, enterprises are beginning to understand the tangible value that can be delivered by automated contract pre-screening solutions. Such technology can ask thousands of questions defined by legal experts, and within minutes deliver an output weighing up the risks and advising next steps. Legal resources are then only required to follow up on these recommendations, whether they be a change to a clause, removing common bottlenecks altogether, or acting quickly to monetise a business opportunity.

There are clear benefits for both the legal team and the business. The GC’s team spends more time on enterprise-wide strategy and supporting other departments, while the business can move at pace and gain considerable competitive advantage.

56% of employees lack digital skills needed for future jobs — from techrepublic.com by Macy Bayern
Only 29% of employees globally said their digital skills are sufficient, according to a Vodafone report.

Excerpt:

The majority of respondents (85%) said digital skills are necessities for their jobs, but only 29% of employees felt their skills are currently strong enough, according to the report. Specifically in the US, only 32% of respondents said their companies give them the opportunities or tools to continue gaining digital skills.

The Future of Leadership Development [Moldoveanu & Narayandas]

On 02/28/2019, in business, communications, Daniel S. Christian, future, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, organizational change, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The Future of Leadership Development — from hbr.org by Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas

Excerpt:

The need for leadership development has never been more urgent. Companies of all sorts realize that to survive in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment, they need leadership skills and organizational capabilities different from those that helped them succeed in the past. There is also a growing recognition that leadership development should not be restricted to the few who are in or close to the C-suite. With the proliferation of collaborative problem-solving platforms and digital “adhocracies” that emphasize individual initiative, employees across the board are increasingly expected to make consequential decisions that align with corporate strategy and culture. It’s important, therefore, that they be equipped with the relevant technical, relational, and communication skills.

…

The good news is that the growing assortment of online courses, social and interactive platforms, and learning tools from both traditional institutions and upstarts—which make up what we call the “personal learning cloud” (PLC)—offers a solution. Organizations can select components from the PLC and tailor them to the needs and behaviors of individuals and teams. The PLC is flexible and immediately accessible, and it enables employees to pick up skills in the context in which they must be used. In effect, it’s a 21st-century form of on-the-job learning.

In this article we describe the evolution of leadership development, the dynamics behind the changes, and ways to manage the emerging PLC for the good of both the firm and the individual.

From DSC:
What they describe as a “personal learning cloud (PLC),” I call pieces of a Learning Ecosystem:

“…the growing assortment of online courses
social and interactive platforms
learning tools from both traditional institutions and upstarts”

Microsoft’s HoloLens 2

On 02/27/2019, in 21st century, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, business, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, emerging technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI), Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), workplace, by Daniel Christian

Microsoft’s HoloLens 2: A $3,500 mixed reality headset for the factory, not the living room — from theverge.com by Dieter Bohn

Excerpt:

The HoloLens 2 is only being sold to corporations, not to consumers. It’s designed for what Kipman calls “first-line workers,” people in auto shops, factory floors, operating rooms, and out in the field fixing stuff. It’s designed for people who work with their hands and find it difficult to integrate a computer or smartphone into their daily work. Kipman wants to replace the grease-stained Windows 2000 computer sitting in the corner of the workroom. It’s pretty much the same decision Google made for Google Glass.

“If you think about 7 billion people in the world, people like you and I — knowledge workers — are by far the minority,” he replies. To him, the workers who will use this are “maybe people that are fixing our jet propulsion engine. Maybe they are the people that are in some retail space. Maybe they’re the doctors that are operating on you in an operating room.”

He continues, saying it’s for “people that have been, in a sense, neglected or haven’t had access to technology [in their hands-on jobs] because PCs, tablets, phones don’t really lend themselves to those experiences.”

Also see:

Microsoft is making a new HoloLens headset, called HoloLens 2. But, it’s only getting sold to companies, not consumers. Meant for professionals who work with their hands and not on computers, the new HoloLens has an improved field of view and doesn’t clip as much as the original. Dieter Bohn visited Microsoft’s campus to get an early look at the new HoloLens 2 headset.

Say hello to #HoloLens2. pic.twitter.com/eVBQ9OUeM1

— Microsoft HoloLens (@HoloLens) February 24, 2019

Addendum on 2/28/19:

Microsoft launches HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headset, betting on holograms in the workplace — from cnbc.com by Elizabeth Schulze

Excerpts:

Microsoft unveiled HoloLens 2, an upgraded version of its mixed-reality headset, on Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The new headset will cost $3500, lower than the cost of the earlier version.
The HoloLens 2 launch comes amid controversy over Microsoft’s $480 million deal to sell 100,000 of its mixed reality headsets to the U.S. Army.

Microsoft unveiled HoloLens 2, an upgraded version of its mixed-reality headset, on Sunday in Barcelona, in a bet that doubles down on the idea that businesses will increasingly use hologram technology in the workplace.

The HoloLens 2 headset will cost $3500 —$1500 less than the commercial price of the first HoloLens device Microsoft released more than four years ago.

Augmented Reality is the operations system of the future. AR cloud is how we get there. [Koetsier]

On 02/23/2019, in 21st century, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, corporate / business world, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Microsoft, society, tools, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), vendors, by Daniel Christian

Augmented Reality is the operations system of the future. AR cloud is how we get there. — from forbes.com by John Koetsier

Excerpt:

In the future, every object will be smart.

Not necessarily because everything will be made of “smart matter,” with chips, motors, sensors, and radios (although this is happening). But increasingly because we are starting to digitally paint over default reality, layering on data, insights, and entertainment in virtual or augmented layers. When we shift from smartphones to smartglasses over the next decade, this will only accelerate.

From games to street directions to metadata, from industrial heads-up displays to virtual gamescapes to workspace information, these new augmented, virtual, and extended realities will be aware, data-rich, contextual, and interactive.

But there is a core enabling technology required.

And I’m not just talking about smartglasses hardware with great functionality, good usability, and a reasonable price, which are probably at least three to five years away.

I’m talking about the augmented reality cloud.

Also relevant/see:

Microsoft releases new apps that make augmented reality way more helpful to businesses — from businessinsider.com by Rosalie Chan

Meet @FastCompany’s Most Innovative Companies 2019

On 02/22/2019, in business, corporate / business world, innovation, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2019

SHIFT HAPPENS 2, 2019: Finding Strong Footing: The Future of Assessment in the Learning-to-Employment Landscape

On 02/22/2019, in 21st century, adult learning, assessment, business, business side of he, career development, change, colleges, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, dangers of the status quo, digital learning, disruption, education, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, new business models, online learning, parents/guardians, platforms, professional development, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt:

CONCLUSION
This paper has outlined the plethora of new credential types, uses, and modes of delivery. It also has highlighted advancements in assessment. In terms of assessment content, the progression of mastery-based assessments is a distinct departure from the traditional knowledge-based assessment approaches. New assessments are likely to enter the market, as companies see the tremendous growth of competency-based assessments that will be critical and necessary in the future ecosystem described.

Assessments are no longer just a source of grades for gradebooks. They have forged two meaningful bypass routes to seat time in higher education. In the first, competency-based education assessments gate the pace of student progress through the curriculum. In the second, certification by an exam delivers not a grade, but a degree-like credential in a relevant occupation, indicating skill and expertise. For some occupations, this exam-as-credential has already been market validated by employers’ willingness to require it, hire by it, and pay a salary premium for it.

All of these innovations are driving towards a common end. The future learning-to employment ecosystem will be heavily reliant on credentials and assessments. We see:

A future in which credentials will no longer be limited to degrees, but will come in varying shapes and sizes, offered by many organizations, training providers, and employers;
A future in which credentials will, however, be able to articulate a set of underlying “know” knowledge and “do” performance skill competencies;
A future in which a credential’s scope will be described by the set of competencies it covers, and measured via assessment;
A future in which a credential’s quality will be indicated by evidence of mastery within each competency before it is awarded;
A future in which quality metrics, such as consumer reviews or employer use of credentials will come into play, bringing the best and most usable credentials and assessments to the forefront.

And, finally, the future ecosystem will depend heavily on online and technology-enabled strategies and solutions. The working learner will turn away from those stringent solutions that require seat time and offer little flexibility. They will drive the market hard for innovations that will lead to consumer-facing marketplaces that allow them a “one-stop shop” approach for working, learning, and living.

The massive market of the working learner/the learning worker is here to stay. The future is that learner. Credentials and assessment will find their own strong footing to help successfully meet both the learners’ needs and the employers’ needs. We applaud this SHIFT. For, it will be an ecosystem that services many more learners than today’s education to employment system serves.

Most coherent report I have read on the erosion of degrees and the rise of assessing-for-work and amassing certifications as the competencies for the modern workplace. Jamai Blivin, of www.innovate-educate.org, and Merrilea Mayo, of Mayo Enterprises, have put in one report the history, current trends and the illogic for many people of paying for a retail bachelor’s degree when abundant certifications are beginning to prove themselves. Workforce and community colleges, this is a must-read. Kudos!

Per Gordon Freedman on LinkedIn

Getting smart about the future of AI [MIT Technology Review Insights]

On 02/21/2019, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, history, society, tools, United States, universities, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Getting smart about the future of AI — from technologyreview.com by MIT Technology Review Insights
Artificial intelligence is a primary driver of possibilities and promise as the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds.

Excerpts:

The Industrial Revolution conjures up images of steam engines, textile mills, and iron workers. This was a defining period during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as society shifted from primarily agrarian to factory-based work. A second phase of rapid industrialization occurred just before World War I, driven by growth in steel and oil production, and the emergence of electricity.

Fast-forward to the 1980s, when digital electronics started having a deep impact on society—the dawning Digital Revolution. Building on that era is what’s called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Like its predecessors, it is centered on technological advancements—this time it’s artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous machines, and the internet of things—but now the focus is on how technology will affect society and humanity’s ability to communicate and remain connected.

That’s what AI technologies represent in the current period of technological change. It is now critical to carefully consider the future of AI, what it will look like, the effect it will have on human life, and what challenges and opportunities will arise as it evolves.

See the full report here >>

Also see:

Where Next for AI In Business? An overview for C-level executives — from techrevolution.asia by Bernard Marr
Excerpt:
The AI revolution is now well underway. In finance, marketing, medicine and manufacturing, machines are learning to monitor and adapt to real-world inputs in order to operate more efficiently, without human intervention. In our everyday lives, AI kicks in whenever we search the internet, shop online or settle down on the sofa to watch Netflix or listen to Spotify. At this point, it’s safe to say that AI is no longer the preserve of science fiction, but has already changed our world in a huge number of different ways.So: what next? Well, the revolution is showing no signs of slowing down. Research indicates that businesses, encouraged by the initial results they have seen, are now planning on stepping up investment and deployment of AI.One of the most noticeable advances will be the ongoing “democratization” of AI. What this means, put simply, is that AI-enabled business tools will increasingly become available to all of us, no matter what jobs we do.

You’ll no longer need to be an expert in computer science to use AI to do your job efficiently – this is the “democratization” of AI and it’s a trend which will impact more and more businesses going forward.

The real reason tech struggles with algorithmic bias [Eisenstat]

On 02/13/2019, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, computer science, emerging technologies, ethics, Facebook / Meta Platforms, Google, morals/values, professional development, programming, society, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

The real reason tech struggles with algorithmic bias — from wired.com by Yael Eisenstat

Excerpts:

ARE MACHINES RACIST? Are algorithms and artificial intelligence inherently prejudiced? Do Facebook, Google, and Twitter have political biases? Those answers are complicated.

But if the question is whether the tech industry doing enough to address these biases, the straightforward response is no.
…
Humans cannot wholly avoid bias, as countless studies and publications have shown. Insisting otherwise is an intellectually dishonest and lazy response to a very real problem.
…
In my six months at Facebook, where I was hired to be the head of global elections integrity ops in the company’s business integrity division, I participated in numerous discussions about the topic. I did not know anyone who intentionally wanted to incorporate bias into their work. But I also did not find anyone who actually knew what it meant to counter bias in any true and methodical way.

But the company has created its own sort of insular bubble in which its employees’ perception of the world is the product of a number of biases that are engrained within the Silicon Valley tech and innovation scene.

Accenture Technology Vision 2019: The post-digital era is upon us — from accenture.com

In brief

Digital transformation grants companies exceptional capabilities. But it also creates enormous expectations.
Amid these rising expectations, every business is investing in digital technologies, raising the question of how leaders will set themselves apart.
Companies looking to differentiate themselves must be aware of five distinct trends that will characterize the “post-digital” future.

Here is the link for the report.

LinkedIn 2019 Talent Trends: Soft Skills, Transparency and Trust — from linkedin.com by Josh Bersin

Excerpts:

This week LinkedIn released its 2019 Global Talent Trends research, a study that summarizes job and hiring data across millions of people, and the results are quite interesting. (5,165 talent and managers responded, a big sample.)

In an era when automation, AI, and technology has become more pervasive, important (and frightening) than ever, the big issue companies face is about people: how we find and develop soft skills, how we create fairness and transparency, and how we make the workplace more flexible, humane, and honest.
…
The most interesting part of this research is a simple fact: in today’s world of software engineering and ever-more technology, it’s soft skills that employers want. 91% of companies cited this as an issue and 80% of companies are struggling to find better soft skills in the market.

What is a “soft skill?” The term goes back twenty years when we had “hard skills” (engineering and science) so we threw everything else into the category of “soft.” In reality soft skills are all the human skills we have in teamwork, leadership, collaboration, communication, creativity, and person to person service. It’s easy to “teach” hard skills, but soft skills must be “learned.”

Also see:

Employers Want ‘Uniquely Human Skills’ — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

According to 502 hiring managers and 150 HR decision-makers, the top skills they’re hunting for among new hires are:

The ability to listen (74 percent);
Attention to detail and attentiveness (70 percent);
Effective communication (69 percent);
Critical thinking (67 percent);
Strong interpersonal abilities (65 percent); and
Being able to keep learning (65 percent).

Learning Ecosystems

Columbus 2020: How this city in Ohio is shaping the future of jobs & preparing the next generation [Morgan]

The Future of Leadership Development [Moldoveanu & Narayandas]

Microsoft’s HoloLens 2

Augmented Reality is the operations system of the future. AR cloud is how we get there. [Koetsier]

Meet @FastCompany’s Most Innovative Companies 2019

Accenture Technology Vision 2019: The post-digital era is upon us

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