Using Traditional Training Approaches for ‘Chaotic Tech’ like Gen AI, Guarantees You Will Fail
Chaotic Tech is like jazz and depends on improvisation within a rough framework
Worker confidence in career progress is low
The average worker is feeling unprepared for the future. We are entering the skills economy. The only way people will feel confident is when the organizations invest in upskilling employees for the GenAI age
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7222251275101335552/
Sequential Tech vs Chaotic Tech?
Today we take 5G networks for granted. It has been around since 2019. 4G to 5G took a decade. In 2001 we saw 3G and 2G was introduced in the early 1990s. It has taken a decade in between every tech upgrade in our mobile network. That is sequential tech for you. It is spread out over time, giving time for hardware, software and the ecosystem to be trained and upgraded to the faster download speed and new apps and possibilities. Faster download speed provided a big boost to us watching videos online.
Sequential tech decisions maybe complicated and have many moving parts. Upskilling strategies for sequential tech, like the transitions from 2G to 5G, benefit from a structured learning style due to their predictable progression. This allows for the development of standardized training materials and systematic, step-by-step instruction, ensuring employees build their knowledge progressively. Regular feedback and evaluations ensure mastery at each stage, providing clear benchmarks and performance metrics. This structured approach aligns perfectly with the incremental and straightforward nature of sequential tech advancements.
The teacher is teaching the student how to use circles to build the body structure of a horse.
Training for sequential tech needs standardized course design, structured content, textbooks, feedback can be a great way to improve and that is how traditional L&D works. That is how our education system has worked so well. It was designed for sequential tech liked environments. To test the learning of sequential tech we can design tests and since there is one right answer, as soon as you figure what is the correct answer you can ignore everything else. What is the next number in the sequence? 3, 9, 27, 81, 243,.. it is 729.
Upskilling strategies for sequential tech benefit from a structured learning style - the ability to standardize training materials, the effectiveness of step-by-step instruction, and the consistency of feedback and evaluation mechanisms.
Upskilling for sequential tech needs structured content, feedback and plenty of exercises.
Chaotic Tech is like Jazz
Generative is like Jazz. Yes you do need to learn to play the chords and notes. But the true magic of jazz comes from being able to improvise, respond to the other musicians and create something neither had planned on playing. It is spontaneous. Learning jazz emphasizes improvisation, ear training, and personal expression, with flexible practice routines and a focus on spontaneous creativity. Classical musicians adhere to a well-defined repertoire and receive detailed feedback on technique and interpretation, while jazz musicians prioritize real-time adaptation and innovation, often participating in informal jam sessions. This mirrors the difference between sequential tech, which is predictable and methodical, and chaotic tech like Gen AI, which requires continuous learning and flexibility.
Read this: Preparing Our Children to Thrive in a Chaotic World: Why Embracing Messiness is Key
Organizations are approaching upskilling for chaotic tech with ideas that worked for sequential tech.
The Dilemma of Human Resources - a field report
In a recent gathering of the CHROs of twenty different companies, they all expressed frustration about getting inundated with constant updates about what is working and what is changing. The constant flow of information (often contradictory) and with the line between real news and fake new becoming blurred it is harder to keep up. Some are looking to leave the decision on using GenAI products to the CTO. Meanwhile employees want to know if HR is using GenAI and if so if their own data was being used ethically. What kind of decisions would now be made with AI that was being decided by their leaders. They expressed frustration that structured training material was becoming obsolete even before it was fully rolled out. Static training for a specific AI model quickly becomes outdated as new versions emerge, leaving employees unprepared for rapid changes.
Gen AI applications vary widely between industries and even between companies, requiring customized and flexible training approaches. Even within the HR function, the use of GenAI in hiring is very different and needs different guardrails compared to say learning and development or responding to employee queries or onboarding.
Why Chaotic Tech Needs a Different Approach
Think of upskilling like learning a new game. Now design everything to make that happen
Focus on culture - not curriculum: Being able to build culture that encourages experimentation and innovation is much harder to build than curriculum.
Focus on making it fun - not productivity gains to justify costs: Businesses find it easy to invest in technical training because that can be measured in the traditional models like Kirkpatrick’s model. Investing in leadership development generates more hand-wringing. The measures are fuzzy and debatable. GenAI training will be much more like soft skills training.
Peer learning - not expert led learning: Chances are that your employees are already using GenAI in their personal capacity. Provide them the same evaluation free playground to try out new use cases. Encourage cross functional teams. They will learn faster.
Using traditional training approaches to upskill people for GenAI will not work. GenAI is Chaotic Tech, lot like Jazz. Let people teach themselves about GenAI like learning a new hobby. The ideal employees you need to operate in this GenAI world will be innovative, creative, willing to try out ideas and fail. That is OK, because the rest of the work will be done better by GenAI.
Human+AI is harming those early in Career
From surgery to banking, tech is making it easier for experts to do their work. They do not need a Management Trainee or a junior human to assist them. The result is a drop in opportunities to learn for the early in career employees, widening skills gap, diminished mentorship, and long-term negative effects on organizational innovation and capability.
All the superstars age. They may be producing 3x more in their early years as they try to establish themselves. Organizations must leverage them for high impact solo work.
After 20-25 years of working, organizations must start viewing them as great collaborators—mentoring younger workers and helping teams succeed. Read this
The solution: Build in reverse mentoring opportunities. The younger employees help the experts and experienced people with tech. The experts learn about tech. The younger employees learn about the human skills. That is the perfect Human+AI use case.
Read more <click this> and
Don't seek feedback for the first 100 days
When you seek feedback too early during the practice, you will get feedback about all the places you are getting it wrong. That will dent your confidence. So wait till you get to an average level of performance. Seek feedback from someone who is just a notch ahead of you. They understand how hard it is to master a skill. They will share their own ideas and hacks.
What Cognizant said about skilling
"...Businesses will soon find themselves in dire need of a workforce reskilling program, with gen AI set to disrupt 90% of jobs by 2032, according to our recent research. In just two years’ time, according to another study, executives believe nearly half the skills that exist in today’s workforce won’t be relevant because of AI." Read more
Hat tip: Putul Mathur
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My email is abhijitbhaduri@live.com Follow me on LinkedIn
