Why organizations need to rethink skills to realize AI returns

As companies expand their use of artificial intelligence (AI), many are looking for ways to measure returns on those investments. The source article says 88% of businesses use AI in some capacity. It also reports that half of London businesses say their workforce lacks the skills needed to meet their AI requirements.

Adam Field, identified in the article as Chief AI Officer at Tungsten Automation, argues that organizations need to rethink job descriptions and skills. Alongside technical knowledge, he points to digital literacy, critical evaluation of AI outputs, workflow integration, business understanding and creativity. These capabilities, the article says, matter across levels of seniority.

The article describes a labor market with professional roles combining human judgment and AI tools, alongside repetitive tasks handed over to AI. It says employers risk overestimating employees’ abilities when expectations are not specified in job descriptions. Field’s proposed approach is to name the AI tools a role will use and state the skills needed to use them, including critical thinking.

It also highlights “dark data”—information held in documents, emails, PDFs and other unstructured formats—as a barrier to reliable AI results. Making that information usable with appropriate structure, context and governance can help organizations move from isolated pilots to production, the article says.

AI may take on routine tasks, but the article argues that human judgment, creative thinking and leading people through change remain valuable. It also notes that AI is creating roles such as AI evaluators and human-in-the-loop reviewers. Field’s view, as presented in the article, is that AI is reshaping jobs, and that companies may struggle to realize returns without adapting roles and skills.