Embracing AI in the Workforce Starts with Higher Education

by Jaci Lindburg, Ph.D. and Cassie Mallette

We are over a year into the launch of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to the public. While the common initial response from the public was often one of fear or uncertainty, more people are starting to see AI as a tool and an opportunity rather than a replacement and a threat.

According to Lightcast, a program that analyzes trends in the job market, the number of monthly job postings mentioning AI skills has increased by more than 6600% in the past year, with additional market research showing that AI is a “top three” digital skill needed in today’s workplace. This already massive demand will continue to grow as AI becomes more advanced and companies understand the benefit of using programs such as ChatGPT in the workplace. With artificial intelligence skills being more in demand, it is crucial for higher education to be at the forefront of preparing students for what their future occupations will ask of them.

When people think of students using AI tools like ChatGPT, they may jump to the misguided conclusion that they would only use AI to do their work for them. This notion is incredibly limiting and does not give students the credit they deserve. Students are embracing AI and learning how it can benefit them in their studies as one of many “tools in their toolbox.” Students want to learn how to use AI effectively and believe they will need to know how to use AI in their future careers. By teaching students how to use AI to brainstorm, problem solve and think through decision-making scenarios, we make our students more marketable to employers. Teaching them the future-ready skills they can implement into their careers can increase their ability to work more efficiently, make complex decisions faster and improve a company’s production output.

While it is perfectly natural to be fearful of a technology developing as rapidly as AI, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) community is actively shaping a different approach that broadly embraces AI. Rather than dismissing this technology as a fad or seeking strategies to decrease or even prohibit its use, the campus is coming together to engage in critical dialogue, training and professional development on this critical development.

Many faculty and staff at UNO are already embracing the power and potential of AI, learning how to leverage AI in the classroom and in their careers. Several are focusing on how we can equip our students with these future-ready skills and how to be ethical consumers of AI. Through panel discussions, workshops, events, and AI resources such as the ChatGPT/AI Prompt book, UNO’s Division of Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives (ILCI) is taking the lead in supporting faculty who are ready to integrate AI and helping students learn how to use it effectively.

The UNO Chat GPT/AI Prompt Book is one such resource developed for the UNO community that demonstrates how students can use AI in their studies and how faculty can incorporate it into their courses and daily work. Ultimately, our aim with this resource is to teach individuals how to be better prompt engineers and develop the skills needed to utilize this emerging technology as one of the many tools available to them in the workforce.

At UNO, we are excited to see how the promptbook enables faculty to better understand how they can use AI in the classroom, teach students how to use AI for future careers and in their studies and how they can use AI to work more efficiently. We are not only dedicated to helping prepare students for the workforce, but also helping upskill our faculty so they feel empowered to utilize AI appropriately and proactively in the courses they teach.

The ultimate goal at UNO? Ensure that students are well-prepared – including on the appropriate use of AI – for not only their future careers, but also to be engaged, productive, well-informed citizens. As AI continues to advance, UNO’s Division of Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives will continue to not only support our campus, faculty, and students but also share effective practices and innovative ways to implement AI with the broader Omaha community.

How can alumni, and those already in the workplace get involved in our campus efforts with AI? Twice each year, UNO hosts a Future of Work Symposium Series dedicated to unpacking critical issues and co-creating solutions. Much of our content of the first three events in this series has included elements of AI. Watch for our next event in this series coming up in early Summer 2024.

In addition, UNO is rapidly developing a number of short-form, skills-based microcredentials, perfect for the working professional. These non-degree offerings typically take 15 hours to complete and are focused on the development of a specific competency or area of focus. We like to say – “give us three of your lunch breaks a week for five weeks and you can complete a microcredential.” In 2024, UNO plans to launch its first AI microcredential, with the intent of adding additional offerings on this topic throughout the year. More information on microcredentials at UNO is available at online.unomaha.edu.

We frequently get asked the question: “Will AI replace humans?” Simply put, our answer is no. AI is not a tool that is here to replace us; rather it is a tool that can help us work more efficiently, productively and creatively. By embracing AI, particularly to assist in the most mundane and repetitive elements of our work and lives, we free up our highly valuable time to focus on uniquely human and highly rewarding opportunities for critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, collaboration, consulting
and analysis.

Through continued collaboration with our community partners and employers, UNO is in a great position to deliver the AI skills that the workforce demands.

	Jaci Lindburg, Ph.D. serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her seventeen-year career in higher education has largely been focused on using technology to innovate and align campus offerings with what’s needed most in the workplace and communities we serve.
	Cassie Mallette serves as an Instructional Designer at UNO, where she also teaches Sociology. Her work focuses on mentoring and supporting new online faculty, having led numerous seminars on effective practices for teaching online and artificial intelligence.

The authors can be reached for questions or comments at jlindburg@unomaha.edu or cmallette@unomaha.edu. For more about UNO’s Division of Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives, visit innovate.unomaha.edu.