Are you ready for a collaborative human-AI dynamic at work?

Are you ready for a collaborative human-AI dynamic at work?

How is artificial intelligence (AI) transforming professional environments, redefining job requirements, and presenting new ethical challenges? We talked with RMIT Senior Lecturer Dr Arthur Tang at the recent Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Day to find out.

Dr Arthur Tang, you have been studying the impact of AI on the workforce and professional environments. How might AI affect career development and job requirements in the coming years?

The advent of AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini, is poised to significantly influence career development and job requirements across various industries. As AI tools become more integrated into the workplace, the ability to work alongside and leverage these technologies becomes a critical skill. This shift is likely to redefine job roles and create new categories of employment.

For professionals with limited technical skills, AI opens up opportunities to engage in more complex problem-solving without the need to master computer programming or data science. For example, a marketing professional could use an LLM to analyse consumer data and generate insights for targeted campaigns, or a project manager could utilise AI to optimise resource allocation and project timelines based on predictive models.

This democratisation of data analysis and decision-making means that the future workforce will need to be proficient in AI literacy. Employers will increasingly look for employees who are not only comfortable using AI tools but who can also critically assess and interpret the outputs of such systems.

Dr Arthur Tang portrait photo Dr Arthur Tang is a senior lecturer of IT at the School of Science, Engineering and Technology, RMIT University Vietnam. (Photo: Luu Quy – VnExpress)

While the benefits of AI in the workplace seem significant, there have been concerns about ethical use. What are some of the key challenges we need to address to ensure AI is used responsibly in professional settings?

One primary ethical issue with LLMs is data privacy, especially when they handle sensitive information. Highlighting this concern, Samsung last year banned its employees from using ChatGPT and other LLM tools after sensitive corporate data, including a proprietary source code, was leaked through these platforms. This incident underlines the substantial risks involved in using public LLMs with sensitive information. It serves as a reminder of the need for stringent security measures in any professional setting that uses such technologies.

Another serious concern with LLMs is the accuracy of the information they provide. The phenomenon known as "AI hallucination", where AI systems generate plausible but incorrect or misleading information, presents significant risks, particularly in critical areas such as medical advice.

Our recent study investigated how LLM technology affects the dissemination of medical information, revealing that it exacerbates the digital divide. LLMs often yield better performance in high-resource languages such as English, potentially leaving speakers of less common languages, such as Vietnamese, with less reliable tools.

Moreover, socio-economic barriers such as limited internet access and low digital literacy further compound these challenges, restricting the effective deployment of AI technologies in economically disadvantaged regions. This situation highlights the urgent need for increased scrutiny and the development of improved methodologies in AI, ensuring equitable access and accuracy across all languages.

Looking ahead, how do you envision the ideal "collaborative human-AI dynamic" in the workplace? What skills should today's university students be developing to thrive in this AI-enhanced future?

The ideal workplace involves seamless integration where both humans and AI systems complement each other's capabilities. In such a dynamic, AI would handle large-scale data analysis and routine tasks, while humans would focus on areas requiring creative and critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and ethical judgment. This collaboration aims to leverage AI's efficiency and analytical capabilities alongside human empathy and strategic insights, enhancing productivity and innovation.

For today's university students, developing a robust set of skills that include AI literacy, data analytics, problem-solving, and ethical decision-making is crucial. As AI becomes more embedded in various professional fields, the ability to interact with and interpret AI outputs will become as important as understanding the underlying principles of AI technologies.

Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini are poised to significantly influence career development and job requirements across various industries. Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini are poised to significantly influence career development and job requirements across various industries. (Photo: Unsplash)

Recognising this, educators and students at RMIT Vietnam are deeply involved in the practical application of these skills. Students, in particular, play major roles in our research projects, with some even co-authoring high-quality research publications.

Led by RMIT Vietnam, our collaborative efforts in AI health informatics also involve partnerships with prestigious institutions, including the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the National University of Singapore. These collaborations enhance our ability to advance AI applications, contributing significant value both locally and internationally.

Overall, it is important that educational institutions adapt their academic and extra-curricular offerings to ensure that graduates are both adept at using AI technologies and cognisant of their implications. This prepares students for a job market where AI competence is not just advantageous but essential.

About the expert

Dr Arthur Tang is a senior lecturer of IT at the School of Science, Engineering and Technology (SSET), RMIT University Vietnam. He is a specialist in generative AI applications in health informatics, human computer interaction and augmented reality. Before joining RMIT University, Dr Tang served as faculty member at Sungkyunkwan University, University of Hong Kong, and University of Central Florida. ​He was recently a keynote speaker at the Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Day (AI4VN) 2024.

*The research projects discussed are supported by key contributors from SSET at RMIT University Vietnam, including Dr Stanley Luong, Mr Tom Huynh, and Associate Professor Minh Dinh, and RACE Hub at RMIT University Australia.

Story: Ngoc Hoang

30 August 2024

Share

  • Digital
Engage

Related news

Team discussion

Cross-border hackathon attracts bright minds in AI and cyber security
Science and technology
Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 18 Nov 2024

Students from Australia and Vietnam came together for RMIT University's first GenAI and Cyber Security Hackathon to tackle cutting-edge challenges.

Dao Hieu Phong portrait picture

Teen inventor of AI waste-sorting robot wins RMIT scholarship
Media Release
Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 18 Oct 2024

A straight-A student, young inventor, and jazz music lover – Dao Hieu Phong’s talents and interests are as broad as his curiosity.

Woman holds stethoscope attached to a smartphone

Research reveals AI's double-edged impact on health information
Science and technology
Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 15 Oct 2024

Did you know that asking an AI about heart problems in Vietnamese could potentially produce advice about Parkinson's disease instead?

news-thumb-healium.jpg

RMIT Vietnam students develop AI-powered medical information system
Science and technology
Icon / Small / Calendar Created with Sketch. 14 Oct 2024

HealthLight, an innovative AI-powered medical information system developed by team Healium from RMIT, is expected to address a critical gap in public health information accessibility in Vietnam.

Load more +