IT Industry Creates AI Council to Upskill Its Workers

The industry acknowledges that, while AI may be disruptive, it can be used to make workers more productive and efficient.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has boomed in the past year, especially with the growing adoption of ChatGPT and other chat-based Large Language Models (LLM). Though many workers are wary about AI and the threat of job displacement, a LinkedIn study shows that Filipinos are willing to upskill and learn more about AI. In fact, 55% of the study’s respondents say that they are already using AI in their jobs. 

While AI has the capacity of being disruptive, it also promises to make workers more productive and efficient. For this reason, the local IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry has decided to set up what it calls an AI Council. According to the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the AI Council is meant to upskill its workers in generative AI. 

Generative AI “refers to deep-learning models that can generate high-quality text, images, and other content based on the data they were trained on,” according to IBM. 

AI Council to Partner with Learning Academies, Industry Associations

A report by ABS-CBN News notes that the AI Council aims to partner with learning academies as well as industry associations in its quest to upskill IT-BPM workers. 

“Together, they aim to enhance the workforce’s skills in programming, data science, data analytics, and AI ethics, with the overarching goal to empower professionals with advanced capabilities, enabling them to take on higher-value tasks,” IBPAP said in a statement. 

Why Other Industries Should Also Choose to Upskill 

The IT-BPM industry’s decision to set up an AI Council is an example that other industries should follow. AI is becoming more and more widely used and accessible, and this will only accelerate in the coming years as more industries adopt AI. According to marketing predictions by research firm Gartner, by 2026, 80% of creative talent will use AI daily.

While job displacement is a very real threat, people-centric policies that focus on upskilling workers, such as those by the AI Council, can ease the shock of displacement. Ultimately, upskilling can benefit humans to learn to use AI in their daily tasks.