AI Impact on Workers Being Assessed by Consortium

Nine of the biggest technology companies have joined forces to launch a consortium to assess AI's impact on workers.

The AI-Enabled Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Workforce Consortium will evaluate roles likely to be impacted by AI, recommending training programs to upskill workers.

The Consortium is led by Cisco and is being joined by other companies including IBM, Microsoft, Google, Intel and Accenture, Eightfold, Indeed and SAP are also participating.

The World Economic Forum predicts that technology will disrupt 44% of workers’ skills between 2023 and 2028.

“AI is accelerating the pace of change for the global workforce, presenting a powerful opportunity for the private sector to help upskill and reskill workers for the future,” said Francine Katsoudas, chief people, policy and purpose officer at Cisco. “The mission of our newly unveiled AI-Enabled Workforce Consortium is to provide organizations with knowledge about the impact of AI on the workforce and equip workers with relevant skills.”

The consortium plans to compile a report for business leaders and workers, analyzing AI’s effect on job roles. 

The initial analysis by the consortium will explore 56 positions. These positions represent 80% of the top 45 ICT job titles with the highest number of job postings on Indeed between February 2023 and 2024 in the U.S. and five major European countries including France, Germany and Spain.

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“Our research shows that virtually every job posted on Indeed today, from truck driver to physician to software engineer, will face some level of exposure to generative AI-driven change,” said Hannah Calhoon, head of AI innovation at Indeed.

The consortium’s report will contain insights and recommendations for employers looking to upskill staff to prepare them for working with AI. The group expects to share more details in the coming months. 

The group wants to explore training programs that go beyond workers, providing skills development for students, educators and career changers.

Each Consortium member has pledged to upskill millions over the next decade, including Microsoft’s goal of training 10 million people from underserved communities by 2025 and IBM’s promise to improve two million in AI skills by 2030.

The Consortium will be advised by trade union groups and nonprofits including the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, DigitalEurope and the European Vocational Training Association.

The Consortium was inspired by the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC)’s Talent for Growth Task Force which sought to expand training and methods for the tech sector across both sides of the Atlantic.

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“I am grateful to the Consortium members for joining in this effort to confront the new workforce needs that are arising in the wake of AI’s rapid development,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who is also one of the TTC’s five co-chairs. “This work will help provide unprecedented insight on the specific skill needs for these jobs. I hope that this Consortium is just the beginning and that the private sector sees this as a call to action to ensure our workforces can reap the benefits of AI.”