Generation Z doesn’t know how to use artificial intelligence — at least not in the workplace, Toshiba CHRO Jason Desentz told HR Dive.
“It’s shocking,” Desentz said. “A lot of universities are actually not encouraging the use of AI, so when they do enter the workforce, they’re not even prepared.”
While Gen Z is using AI, they use it for travel or to seek out housing options, Desentz said — not for business applications. As far as training in that regard goes: “Actually, we’re having to start from scratch.”
Amid AI-enabled change, workers should be encouraged to experiment, Desentz said.
For this year’s group of more than two dozen interns, Toshiba provided each with a Copilot license and encouraged them to use and experiment with AI.
The company also offers workers an AI readiness course to learn the basics of the technology. Workers learn business use cases and are taught how to write AI agents to solve specific problems.
For example, HR employees were given 30 days and then presented their AI agents in a “Shark Tank” manner.
“We had Payroll Princess to answer all your payroll needs. We had Time Teamer, which addressed all your attendance questions,” Desentz said.
In HR, the idea is for workers to hand over question-oriented tasks to bots. That can involve questions about payroll, benefits or paid time off.
“They can throw an AI bot at that and then free up time so they can actually do more transformational consulting work with employees,” Desentz said. “I think AI is just the next chapter of continuous improvement of process.”
In the same way that companies shifted from paper resumes to applicant tracking systems and from on-site physical training to videos, so, too, are businesses adjusting to new technology.
“I’m looking more for continuous experimentation people. I want people that look for continuous improvement, who look at things and say, ‘How can I make this better?’” Desentz said.
Desentz said he’s approaching AI adoption the same way the workforce handled the introduction of the internet.
“People thought all your jobs were going away because it was going to be all online, right? That didn’t happen. We just shifted and altered our work,” he said.
He recommends companies find people within their organization to be AI champions who can experiment and mobilize.
“I would tell people at the end of the day: AI is really not the story. Adaptability is the story. AI is just the latest chapter,” Desentz said.
