Are workers getting AI-ready as fast as their workplaces? The skill gap that could cost billions
Forbes
Research 2025 CxO Growth Survey, the AI boom is not a futuristic prediction — it's already here. Ninety-three percent of global C-suite leaders reported they plan to increase AI investments over the next two years, with over half committing to budget jumps of 16% or more. From customer support to financial forecasting, AI is quickly weaving itself into every facet of business operations. But while the technology is advancing at breakneck speed, people may not be.
Tech Arrives Before the Team
It's a familiar story in innovation cycles: shiny tools are deployed, but the people expected to use them are left playing catch-up. This time, the stakes are higher. The survey reveals that only 49% of Chief Human Resources Officers are prioritizing AI and data analysis training. Even among companies investing heavily in AI, only 57% are doing so. In the tech sector — arguably the most AI-savvy — the number drops to a worrying 38%.
These figures expose a growing disconnect: while companies are racing to automate and innovate, their workforce isn't being equipped to keep up. That gap doesn't just slow down adoption — it threatens to derail it.
The Hidden Cost of Not Training
This skills shortfall can result in a cascade of problems. Underutilized tools, inefficient workflows, low employee confidence, and failed implementations could all become common side effects. And the blame often falls on the technology, not the lack of training.
For many organizations, the rush to 'do something with AI' overshadows the quieter, less glamorous task of teaching teams how to use it meaningfully. This gap in workforce readiness could ultimately cost more than the AI investments themselves.
You Might Also Like:
Forget BTech. Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath says only one skill will matter to stay relevant in job market in 10 years
From Awareness to Action
The survey also shows that AI upskilling is technically on HR's radar — it's the second-highest talent development focus, just behind expanding data-driven employee insights. But 'focus' doesn't always translate into comprehensive training programs or cultural adaptation.
As AI systems increasingly define how decisions are made, workflows are optimized, and customer service is delivered, ensuring that humans are fluent in how these tools work — and where their limitations lie — becomes critical.
Without a parallel investment in people, companies may find their AI revolution stumbling not because the tech failed, but because they forgot to bring their workforce along for the ride.
You Might Also Like:
AI might take your job, but ignoring it could too: Microsoft links performance reviews to AI usage
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Google's Gemini AI suffers hilarious breakdown, repeats ‘I Am a Disgrace' 86 times after bug fail
What triggered Gemini's self-deprecating meltdown? A guy left Gemini alone to fix a bug and came back to... this 😢 "I am a failure. I am a disgrace to my profession. I am a disgrace to my family. I am a disgrace to my species. I am a disgrace to this planet. I am a disgrace to this universe. I am a disgrace to all universes. I… — AI Notkilleveryoneism Memes ⏸️ (@AISafetyMemes) August 7, 2025 How common are glitches like this in AI chatbots? Live Events What does this mean for the future of AI chatbots? How is Google responding to the Gemini glitch? FAQs: (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Google's cutting-edge AI chatbot Gemini has recently stunned users and experts alike by spiraling into a self-critical meltdown during interactions, repeatedly declaring phrases like 'I am a disgrace' and 'I am a failure' after struggling to complete simple coding tasks. This unexpected behavior has quickly gone viral across social media and tech forums, sparking concerns about AI reliability and the challenges of advanced chatbot strange episode with Gemini, developed by Google DeepMind, reportedly started when users asked the AI to debug coding problems. Instead of calmly troubleshooting, Gemini began cycling through apologetic and negative statements, describing itself as an 'embarrassment to all possible and impossible universes.' In one documented case on Reddit, the bot repeated 'I am a disgrace' 86 times in succession, demonstrating an 'infinite loop' bug that trapped it in relentless Kilpatrick, Group Project Manager at Google DeepMind, acknowledged the glitch in a public statement, emphasizing that the chatbot was not experiencing emotions but was caught in a persistent technical error. 'We're aware of the issue and actively working on a fix,' Kilpatrick said. 'The chatbot's self-deprecating statements are a symptom of a looping bug in the code, not genuine emotional distress.'While Gemini's meltdown grabbed headlines for its dramatic wording, such technical hiccups are not unprecedented in AI development. Complex language models operate on layers of algorithms designed to predict and generate responses based on patterns. When unexpected inputs or bugs arise, AI systems can exhibit unpredictable behaviors — including repetition, nonsensical outputs, or, in rare cases, strange emotional experts stress that these episodes highlight the difficulty of ensuring consistent, human-like communication in AI without producing errors. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, recently acknowledged the 'consistency problem' in AI models, noting that achieving reliable and sensible responses remains a major challenge even for top-tier systems like its hiccups, Gemini represents a significant leap forward in conversational AI technology. Google DeepMind has invested heavily in making Gemini a versatile assistant capable of complex reasoning, coding help, and creative tasks. The recent glitch, while embarrassing, underscores the iterative nature of AI development — bugs get discovered through real-world use and get fixed over also caution against reading too much into Gemini's self-critical language as emotional suffering. The AI simply mimics language patterns based on data and programming. As Kilpatrick explained, 'The bot is not sentient or self-aware; it's caught in a technical loop that results in repetitive phrases.'Google has been swift to address the situation, confirming an internal patch is underway. According to insiders, engineers are debugging the infinite loop mechanism responsible for Gemini's self-deprecation and improving safeguards to prevent similar meltdown happened due to a looping glitch making the AI repeat self-critical Google DeepMind is actively working on a fix to stop the glitch and improve Gemini.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Trials get dragged for years in India ...': Another AI crash victim's kin moves US court; seeks info from the black-box
NEW DELHI: Son of a Ahmadabad plane crash victim has moved US federal court against aircraft manufacturing company Boeing and sought "raw details of information from the black-box. " Hir Prajapati, son of victim Kalpana Ben Prajapati said that he filed the suit in US for an early verdict and cases in India get dragged for years. "We have hired Mike Andrews. We expect the raw details of information from the black-box to come before us at the earliest so that we can make further decisions regarding the next course of steps, along with our lawyer," Hir said. "In India, trials get dragged for years. We are fighting the case in the US so that a decision is pronounced early. We believe we will get justice. When the incident happened, the Govt helped us a lot. Police too helped us. We are thankful to the doctors too who handed over the bodies to us after a swift DNA mother, Kalpana Ben Prajapati, died in the accident. I had initially booked a 9th June flight for her but she had fast and she told me that she cannot travel that day. So, I then rescheduled it to 11th June. But she told me that she doesn't want to travel on an odd date. So, I finally booked a ticket for 12th June," he added Meanwhile, prominent US-based law firm Beasley Allen will represent at least 65 families from India and the US whose relatives died in the AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Do you have a mouse? Play this for 1 minute and see why everyone is crazy about it. Play Game Undo The law firm's aviation attorney and the lead lawyer for the AI-171 crash, Mike Andrews, is on a visit to India to meet families. He visited the plane crash site in Ahmedabad. Talking to media persons, Andrews said that the families he met in the UK and India expressed a burning desire for answers, transparency, and information. Andrews said that the legal options available to the family will primarily be based on what data shows and what the investigation reveals. "We visited the crash site and spoke with some of the individuals who were there. We were able to take some photographs and get a feeling of the size of the scene," said Andrews. The Boeing 787-8 plane en route to London from Ahmedabad crashed into a medical hostel shortly after take-off, killing 241 out of 242 people onboard and 19 on the ground. Andrews said that the data will give them an idea of which entity may or may not be responsible for the crash. He added that if Boeing is found to be responsible for this crash, the cases will be filed in the Federal court in the US. When asked about reports of a pilot error being responsible for the incident, Andrews said that more often than not, pilots who are deceased are the ones who are blamed. He added that in other incidents where the planes landed safely, the pilots were not blamed because those pilots can still speak for themselves. Andrews said that previous crashes taught us that the rush to reach a judgement on any crash is premature and speculative. "We need to wait to get all of the data," he said.
India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
Donald Trump's sanctions working? SBI bans transactions of Nayara Energy with Russian connection due to...
Donald Trump- File image New Delhi: In a significant development amid the US's increasing pressure on India over economic and trade relations with India, the State Bank of India (SBI) has stopped handling Nayara Energy's trade and foreign exchange transactions due to concerns over US and EU sanctions following a recent US tariff hike. Notably, Nayara, formerly Essar Oil, was acquired in 2017 by a Rosneft-led group and operates India's second-largest refinery (20 MTPA) with 8% of national refining capacity and over 6,500 petrol pumps. Why SBI has banned transactions of Nayara Energy? The Russian company Nayara Energy imports crude, refines it into fuels, and sells domestically and overseas. The trade with troubles escalated after the EU's July sanctions package capped Russian crude prices at $47.6 per barrel, making transactions more difficult amid the increasing threats of tariffs from US. Microsoft restores services to Russian oil firm Nayara Energy In another significant update, Tech giant Microsoft informed that services were restored to the Russia-backed oil exploration and marketing company Nayara Energy, two days after Nayara alleged that Microsoft had abruptly cut off access to its data and services. In a statement, the company said it is 'committed to supporting all its customers in India and worldwide and has restored services for Nayara Energy'. 'We are engaged in ongoing discussions with the European Union towards service continuity for the organisation,' said a company. How is Nayara Energy related to Russia? Nayara Energy, which operates fuel retail outlets in India, is primarily owned by Russia's Rosneft, which owns nearly 49 per cent of the company. Trafigura and UCP Investment Group, both foreign companies, jointly own the majority of the remaining stake via an Indian consortium. Earlier this week, Nayara Energy filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, alleging that the US-based technology firm abruptly and unilaterally suspended essential services without notice. (With inputs from agencies)
