Microsoft has announced a new AI Skills Initiative aimed at helping communities to learn to harness the power of AI. The initiative, part of Microsoft’s Skills for Jobs program, includes new, free coursework developed with LinkedIn; a new grant challenge with data.org for organisations to create new ways of training, upskilling, and reskilling workers in generative AI.
According to Microsoft’s recent Work Trend Index, AI is uniquely poised to create a whole new way of working just as the pace of information work is outpacing our ability to keep up. According to the India findings of the Index, 76 per cent of Indian workers said they struggle with having enough time and energy to get their work done.
Gunjan Patel, Director and Head – Philanthropies, Microsoft India, said, “AI skills represent the third-highest priority for companies’ training strategies, alongside analytical and creative thinking. AI has tremendous potential to empower workers, however, we need to ensure that everyone has the skills to use it. The new AI Skills Initiative marks a new beginning that will build on a new wave of technology innovation to come.”
Lessening workforce
While 74 per cent of people say they’re worried AI will replace their jobs, even more — 83 per cent — would delegate as much work as possible to AI to lessen their workloads. To that end, Microsoft’s AI Skills Initiative will aim to help workers stay ahead of emerging skills gaps and alleviate digital debt – the crush of data, information, and always-on communications – and unleash creativity.
Microsoft, data.org, Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, and GitHub are launching an open grant program to explore, develop, and implement how non-profit, social enterprise, and research or academic institutions can train and empower the workforce to use generative AI.
This global grant will support organisations driving skilling and economic growth especially those focusing on fair and community-led implementations of generative AI with historically marginalised populations around the world. In addition to financial support, the awardees will receive access to a cohort experience, Microsoft events, Azure-based cloud computing resources as well as data training and technical guidance from Microsoft and GitHub experts.
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Published on June 30, 2023
