Today’s Morning Buzz is brought to you by Bill Brantley, Chief Learning Officer for BAS2A (instructional design and talent development consultancy) in College Park, Md. Connect with Bill on LinkedIn.
What I’m reading: “Reverse Training Design: Start at the End to Revolutionize Corporate Learning” by Mark Mrohs.
What I’m watching: The new “Connections” series by James Burke.
What I’m working on: Preparing two short, online courses to teach state and local employees how to incorporate AI tools in their work effectively.
Are you and your colleagues suffering from “tool fatigue?”
Stop and think of how many computer programs and apps you use during the workday. How many tabs are open on your web browser? How many emails are sitting in your inbox? If you are like most government workers, you are constantly working with many tools as you communicate with your boss, collaborate with colleagues, create reports, analyze data, and deal with your work responsibilities.
And now, you have to add artificial intelligence (AI) tools to your toolkit.
State and Local Governments are Embracing AI
- States and local governments are inventorying how they use AI tools. For example, Connecticut has mandated the inventory of all generative AI and automated decision-making tools by the end of 2023.
- Local governments are creating regulations and public registers of approved AI tools. Municipalities like San Jose and Seattle have implemented rules for the responsible use of algorithmic tools, with San Jose maintaining a public-facing algorithm register. This register provides clear explanations of approved AI tools and their use cases in simple language, offering a learning resource for employees.
- Other state governments use “strategic pauses” to assess and strategize implementing AI tools. Maine’s state government banned AI tools for six months beginning June 21, 2023. The purpose was to “safeguard their networks, data, and people while policies and procedures are developed.”
- New Jersey, as have other state and local governments, implemented a training program for public sector employees. There are university and government partnerships to offer AI training, such as Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered AI’s government education program.
But AI is Changing Every Day!
Vanja Pantic, the Communication Lead for CitizenLab, observes:
“While AI will continue to develop by the minute, public servants shouldn’t wait to implement these tools in their work. Rather than be intimidated by the sheer number of tools available today, public servants should instead carefully identify their pain points and look for tools specifically tailored to solving their unique challenges. Slow and steady, starting with one tool, they can open the door to true innovation that improves their own efficiency and the services their community experiences as a result.”
The keys to learning AI are identifying your work challenges and determining how AI tools can help you meet the challenges. If you start with the problem-solution approach, you will be more successful in learning AI. The solution-problem approach is counterproductive because most people pick the hot AI tool at the moment and then look for a problem to solve. Using the solution-problem approach will have you chasing trends and working on challenges that are probably not priorities in your work. Prioritizing your critical issues first and then searching for the appropriate AI tool means you are more likely to learn AI because you can immediately apply your knowledge.
Four Free or Low-Cost Sources for AI Training
- Online Courses from Reputable Organizations:
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- Google’s Generative AI Learning Path offers 10 introductory and intermediate courses, covering topics like Generative AI Fundamentals and Encoder-Decoder Architecture.
- Microsoft’s “Transform Your Business With AI” course is a learning path designed to understand basic AI terminology and practices.
- LinkedIn’s “Career Essentials In Generative AI” training course provides a four-hour series of videos covering core concepts and ethical considerations in AI.
- IBM’s “AI Foundations for Everyone” course on Coursera suits beginners and includes modules like “Building AI-Powered Chatbots Without Programming.”
- Digital Partner’s “The Fundamentals of ChatGPT” course on Alison.com is a free, accredited course covering the basics of Generative AI and ChatGPT
- YouTube Educational Channels:
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- AI Explained: Offers simplified explanations of complex AI mechanisms, suitable for beginners and experienced tech enthusiasts.
- Two Minute Papers: Provides succinct, information-packed videos on the latest AI and machine learningresearch.
- Robert Miles: Focuses on ensuring safety in AI with in-depth discussion videos.
- Dr. Alan D. Thompson: Concentrates on the augmentation of human intelligence and integrated AI.
- MattVidPro AI: Covers a range of AI technologies like ChatGPT with practical guides.
- AI Podcasts and Webinars:
Podcasts like “The AI Podcast” by NVIDIA or webinars hosted by AI research institutions can offer insights into the latest developments in AI, including generative AI, in a format that’s easy to digest during a commute or break.
- Online AI Communities and Forums:
- Learn AI community by Towards AI on Discord offers a platform for AI enthusiasts to interact and share AI knowledge.
- Subreddits like r/learnmachinelearning and r/machinelearning on Reddit are excellent for staying updated with news, finding resources, and asking questions.
- The Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning Facebook group is active and vibrant, discussing the latest AI breakthroughs.
- Machine Learning space on Quora allows for in-depth Q&A with machine learning experts.
- HuggingFace on Github offers a tech-centric community with a wide range of machine-learning resources.
Create Your AI Learning Plan Today!
What are your top three work challenges? How can AI help you – specifically – with the work challenges? Once you know your learning goals, select an AI tool and use it for small tasks. Once you gain confidence, tackle larger tasks or adopt a new AI tool. Soon, you will master the tools of the AI revolution and beat tool fatigue!