Millennials quietly leading the AI revolution, says report
LONDON, 1 days ago
Millennials have embraced artificial intelligence (AI) more fully than any other generation, according to a new survey by Slack, a Salesforce company.
One in three workers between the 28 and 43 age group use generative AI tools daily, and one in four (25%) employ them multiple times per week, stated the survey findings.
This cohort is also more likely to understand and trust AI agents, according to the research, and millennial workers lead all their peers in using the technology to increase productivity, automate repetitive tasks, and take on more strategic responsibilities.
Of course: Gen Z is not far behind in any of these categories - and far ahead of their oldest colleagues in using AI on the job. But companies have yet to fully benefit from their new hires’ AI experience, it stated.
"Gen Z is using AI a lot for educational and personal projects," said Lucas Puente, the Vice President of Research for Slack. "But when it comes to the workforce, they haven’t established the same level of comfort," he added.
*Go deeper: That’s where millennials can be a company’s biggest training asset. These more seasoned, AI-savvy employees can help newer hires get up to speed.
For example: A key thing millennials can teach their newest coworkers is good judgment, said Jenny Simmons, Vice President and Global Head of Enterprise Learning at Salesforce.
However, Gen Z must learn how to set boundaries around technology, when they can trust what the AI is telling them, and when to be skeptical. That usually requires deep expertise in subject areas that newer hires have yet to acquire, she stated.
"Team members need to understand which tools they should be using, where they’re allowed to put sensitive data into the system and where they shouldn’t," she said.
"The cohort that’s been in the office for a while will know the types of outputs the company is looking for and how to check that against what things like AI agents are doing," she added.
*Learning curve: Learning how to collaborate with both human colleagues and the emerging agentic workforce is another area where newer workers could use guidance.
"Developing relationships that reach across different areas of the business will be crucial to both their careers and the success of the company," remarked Gemma Quinn, the Salesforce’s Vice President of Global University Recruiting.
"When you come out of university and into a large company, one of the first things you need to learn is why networking is so important," she pointed out.
"When people sign on for their first full-time jobs at Salesforce, we set up networking events for them to meet with people who work in different groups across the company. And it just evolves from there," explained Quinn.
Having built their careers during periods of rapid technological advancement, millennials can also help assure newly hired Gen Z workers that AI is not going to take away their opportunities to grow and learn on the job.
"AI will not eliminate entry-level jobs, but it will cause these jobs to evolve," said Quinn. "But newly hired employees will be able to do a lot more than they could even a few years ago because of this technology," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
