You can probably now add AI training to the list of required work videos you aren’t allowed to fast-forward through. Buuut, maybe there aren’t even enough companies requiring AI instruction to skip.
According to a recent survey from OwlLabs and Pulse, almost 70% of companies have added AI tools to their workflows but just 38% are actually training their employees how to use it.
Companies without AI training risk investing in a tool no one uses (or uses poorly), creating a workforce that falls behind the competition. An improperly trained workforce also risks misuse of AI tools and consequently organizational security issues.
“People in positions of power tend to roll this out thinking everybody will just start using it. But that’s simply not what happens,” said Conor Grennan, Chief AI architect at NYU Stern and CEO of AI training consultancy AI Mindset, . He has provided training to NASA, McKinsey, PwC, Amazon, Unilever, JPMorgan, and others.
But before signing everyone up, CFOs should understand that AI training isn’t just about teaching humans how to use a new tool, it’s about training them to think differently, to identify biases, and to change behaviors, according to Grennan.
“People in finance tend to want to have a new tool,” he said. “But this is not a new tool. This is a new way of thinking and working.”
Here’s how some experts are approaching AI training as a mindset shift rather than a technical skill.
Behavioral change. Companies often treat AI like a software program with a steep learning curve, when it is more akin to healthy eating: something that people might understand intellectually but which requires a behavioral change to actually be effective, Grennan said.
“People are treating this like a general digital transformation, when it has actually everything to do with change management,” he said.
He focuses AI trainings on shifting mindsets around approaching work rather than on “prompt engineering” and new features. He thinks the finance department is particularly susceptible to erroneously viewing AI as the next Excel.
And just like eating healthy, don’t fall for the snake oil salesmen, warns Glenn Hopper, an AI consultant and trainer. If someone is promises immediate returns on investment or guaranteed productivity increases from a few hours of AI training, it’s probably too good to be true.
News built for finance pros
CFO Brew helps finance pros navigate their roles with insights into risk management, compliance, and strategy through our newsletter, virtual events, and digital guides.
Go practical. PwC is making AI integral to its business, and according to its Chief AI Officer, Dan Priest “materially changing the business…does require training.” He finds microlearning training videos for employees, hosts prompting parties where expert and beginner prompters come together, and invites business school professors to lead formal trainings on AI for business strategy. His team has also created low-code or no-code sandboxes for employees to safely experiment with the tools.
Priest’s AI training philosophy is grounded in practicality. He focuses trainings on increasing employee confidence and comfort with using tools and expanding their thinking of how the tools can be used.
Hopper tailors training tasks to mirror the daily work of the employees he’s coaching. Before the training, Hopper will get a report from the hedge fund and private equity group he is working with. He then demonstrates how to recreate the report more quickly using AI.
“Where the technology is today, it has become the equivalent of an exoskeleton,” he said. “You’re still driving, but you have these additional powers and efficiencies and speed with what you do.”
Buy in from leadership. Grennan emphasizes that using an AI enterprise tool that’s been vetted by senior leadership to ensure it has privacy and security guardrails embedded is key to reducing risks.
Priest’s team at PwC has invested in what he calls “responsible AI” by restricting what datasets teams are allowed to upload, creating firewalls within the programs, and implementing appropriate admin controls.
Hopper always talks to senior leadership before his trainings to understand the company’s AI usage policy or helps them create one before rolling AI out to the entire company. If leadership isn’t on board, no matter how good the training is, the employees won’t be able to use the AI for their work.
“If I don’t have the buy-in from IT and the security folks and the compliance folks of the company, then the training is meaningless,” he said.