Irish businesses need major upskilling and proper understanding of AI before they can unlock its value

More than 30 senior Irish business leaders are gathering in Dublin to discuss the opportunities and challenges posed by Generative AI technology and to assess how companies and organisations can unlock its value.

The gathering at Ibec headquarters, hosted by the Technology Ireland, Digital Skillnet and London Business School, includes discussions about the need for significant upskilling of Ireland’s workforce at a level previously unexpected before the evolution of AI.

Executives attending two days of talks have discussed areas such as business process re-engineering, understanding the principles of responsible AI and its ethical implications, the strategic alignment of AI, and business modernisation. Also discussed was the use of the many popular tools such as Co-pilot, ChatGPT,  Sonnet 3.5 and the underlying technology of LLMs, data science and risk mitigation.

Among the speakers at the event in Dublin which concludes today (Friday) is globally renowned AI expert Nicos Savva, London Business School, Professor of Management Science and Operations, who provides businesses and organisations  with a clear evidence-based understanding of Generative AI.

He added: “Merely implementing AI technologies without strategic integration and proper understanding can lead to substantial investments with little return, potentially resulting in the trough of disillusionment. The real value will come from finding clever ways to integrate the technology in our everyday workflows and leveraging the technology competently.”

Technology Ireland Digital Skillnet Director Maire Hunt said:

“Our goal, in the Technology Ireland Digital Skillnet, is to bridge the gap between recognizing AI’s potential and actually implementing it effectively. That means that organisations need to have the right skills, capabilities and strategies to realise business value in terms of innovation, productivity and speed.

“While the technology is still developing rapidly, forward-looking companies have already completed the experimentation phase and are now proceeding to full deployment across key business functions. But a significant process of AI upskilling at scale is required.”

Una Fitzpatrick, Director of Technology Ireland which has carried out significant work on the legislative framework for AI said:

“Informed leadership is crucial in harnessing the power of transformative technologies. We want to ensure that  business leaders are prepared to navigate the AI revolution, turning potential into real sustainable value for their organisations, and applying responsible AI frameworks in their companies.”

The Technology Ireland Digital Skillnet will be launching a suite of programmes to address the needs of different groups within companies from Business AI Users, Technical Leaders and Teams, Data Scientists and Strategic Leaders creating business ready applications.

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