The skills gap is widening between people and AI. But many CEOs tell IBM they don't have the resources needed to close the skills gap brought on by emerging technologies. Artificial Intelligence is apparently ready to get to work. Over the next three years, as many as 120 million workers from the world's 12 largest economies may need to be retrained because of advances in artificial intelligence and intelligent automation, according to a study released Friday by IBM's Institute for Business Value. However, less than half of CEOs surveyed by IBM said they had the resources needed to close the skills gap brought on by these new technologies.

In the next three years, as many as 120 million workers in the world's 12 largest economies may need to be retrained or reskilled as a result of AI and intelligent automation, according to a new IBM (NYSE: IBM) Institute for Business Value (IBV) study. In addition, only 41 percent of CEOs surveyed say that they have the people, skills and resources required to execute their business strategies. The study, which includes input from more than 5,670 global executives in 48 countries, points to compounding challenges that require a fundamental shift in how companies meet and manage changing workforce needs throughout all levels of the enterprise. According to the global research, the time it takes to close a skills gap through training has increased by more than 10 times in just four years. In 2014, it took three days on average to close a capability gap through training in the enterprise; in 2018, it took 36 days.

In the next three years, as many as 120 million workers in the world's 12 largest economies may need to be retrained or reskilled as a result of AI and intelligent automation, according to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) study. In addition, only 41 percent of CEOs surveyed say that they have the people, skills and resources required to execute their business strategies. The study, which includes input from more than 5,670 global executives in 48 countries, points to compounding challenges that require a fundamental shift in how companies meet and manage changing workforce needs throughout all levels of the enterprise. According to the global research, the time it takes to close a skills gap through training has increased by more than 10 times in just four years. In 2014, it took three days on average to close a capability gap through training in the enterprise; in 2018, it took 36 days.

Artificial Intelligence is apparently ready to get to work.

The skills gap is widening between people and AI. Artificial Intelligence is apparently ready to get to work. Over the next three years, as many as 120 million workers from the world's 12 largest economies may need to be retrained because of advances in artificial intelligence and intelligent automation, according to a study released Friday by IBM's Institute for Business Value. However, less than half of CEOs surveyed by IBM said they had the resources needed to close the skills gap brought on by these new technologies. "Organizations are facing mounting concerns over the widening skills gap and tightened labor markets with the potential to impact their futures as well as worldwide economies," said Amy Wright, a managing partner for IBM Talent & Transformation, in a release.

From punch cards to command lines to graphical user interfaces (GUIs), the way people communicate with computers has evolved over the last half century. In those historic eras users were required to communicate on the computer's terms, entering inputs that were carefully crafted to stay within parameters the machine could understand. But now, with the advent of artificial intelligence, a new stage in the evolution of human-computer communication has begun to take root. Conversational user interfaces are designed to allow people to interact with computers naturally, without having to limit their inputs to a narrow range of options the machine has been pre-programmed to handle. In fact, conversational interfaces are by definition designed to mimic the way humans talk to one another.

ARMONK, New York - 08 Aug 2017: While marketing and sales professionals increasingly find themselves drowning in data, a new IBM (NYSE: IBM) study finds that nearly two thirds--64 percent--of surveyed CMOs and sales leaders believe their industries will be ready to adopt cognitive technologies in the next three years. However despite this stated readiness, the study finds that only 24 percent of those surveyed believe they have strategy in place to implement these technologies today. Surveyed executives from businesses that have outperformed their competition for the past three years in revenue growth, profitability, or other factors, made up 13 percent of the study. Of these surveyed Outperformers, 93 percent believe cognitive computing is mature and market ready, and 91 percent assert that cognitive computing is good for their organizations. Cognitive computing, such as IBM Watson, is a next generation technology that can quickly understand and reason vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, like sounds and images, in the same way humans do--by reasoning, learning, and interacting to improve accuracy overtime.