Steve Jobs once said that “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”.
In 2022, the world was rocked by the launch of an innovative AI tool which was free to access and revolutionary in the way people could search, analyse and enquire. This tool, of course, was ChatGPT which for many, marked the moment AI entered everyday life.
Since then, AI tools have been entering mainstream systems left, right and centre from Copilot and Claude in 2023 to Google AI overviews and Gemini in 2024. Over the last four years, we’ve seen an AI race as major tech companies competed to launch AI tools which have become part of our everyday infrastructure. The leaders have been set in the development of this technology but, yet to be determined, are the industry leaders in its adoption.
With the US and China being marked as global technology leaders, looking closer to home, the UK has placed a major emphasis on workforce AI skills, set out in the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan to boost economic growth and provide jobs for the future.
However, a recent survey of more than 2,000 business leaders conducted by BusinessLDN revealed that “half of London’s businesses say their workforce does not currently have the skills needed to meet their organisations requirements in the age of AI”.
How then, can businesses in London ensure they embrace innovation and position themselves as leaders rather than followers in the race for successful AI adoption?
This is a question we’ve been considering at King’s College London, with an emphasis on ‘successful’ adoption focused on upskilling professionals with an in-depth knowledge of AI that can be applied to their own field.
During this time of incredible change, King’s has considered how to provide professionals not just with the academic theory of AI, but with the skills and dispositions required to transition from the work they are doing now to the kind of work they’ll be doing in the future with AI.
We’ve developed a flexible, part-time, online MSc in Applied AI for professionals in non-technical fields. The programme comprises a core of subjects, including how to build models, how to programme, and understanding the nature of generative AI and predictive AI. This sets the foundations for skills required in any career, but through elective modules relating to topics such as business, entrepreneurship, law, society and science, students can tailor the programme to meet their own ambitions and interests.
Furthermore, to address the London AI skills-gap, King’s is partnering with industries to offer staff access to this programme and provide them with the AI skills required in their organisation. If you’re looking to build AI capabilities, let us know by contacting us by email and we can discuss a tailored partnership plan to meet your needs.