Workshop Equips Attendees With Tools to Evaluate AI Solutions and Reskill Talent for Optimal AI Use

Submitted by the SIOP Work Smart Series Committee

The August 14 Work Smart session Understanding and Evaluating AI Solutions, coordinated by Christine Boyce and Jean Stetz-Puchalski, was an engaging and interactive experience that was part education, part thought leadership, and incorporated past, present, and future perspectives on the state of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

The session was anchored by an interdisciplinary team of experts that included SIOP Fellow Dr. Evan Sinar, futurist Alexandra Levit, SIOP Fellow Dr. Fred Oswald, and Harvard Business School Microeconomist Dr. Jorge Tamayo. Together, they helped SIOP members and non-members expand their language fluency in AI and become more savvy buyers of AI-related services. In addition, they discussed the new ways of thinking required to successfully engage with and utilize AI, and shared tips on how attendees can stay current in their own careers. This powerful conversation included a deep dive into how to reskill talent in today’s rapidly evolving context.

During the session, Sinar took a focused look at generative AI, including possible use cases and benefits, the changing relative importance of skills in the broader Human Resources domain, factors to consider when choosing generative AI models, prompt engineering advice, and what it takes to be ready to utilize generative AI from both a data perspective and psychological one. Tamayo then explored the impact of AI from an economic lens and highlighted the transformative changes coming to the workforce, the time it will take to realize the benefits of modern AI, the marked polarization between high and low skill occupations resulting from such changes, and the paradigm shift that needs to happen to make reskilling efforts successful.

In closing, Oswald and Levit joined Sinar and Tamayo for a facilitated discussion driven by audience questions. Oswald explained the critical research done to date in the world of talent assessments and beyond, and Levit spoke about the broad impact of AI to our world in general and what individuals can do to maintain career relevance over time. The audience was highly engaged, and their questions covered a wide range of concerns from the practical (how to distinguish a high-quality AI tool from one that’s just following a fad) to the more future-focused (how will companies address growing privacy concerns), thus creating a truly collaborative discussion.

By design, the learning experience extended beyond the live session. Session coordinators and speakers collaborated to deliver a robust resource toolkit that incorporated the content from the session and reflected what our audience members were curious about, including strategic questions to ask potential vendors as you evaluate AI solutions, current articles on AI fundamentals, academic and research-based whitepapers, books, videos, and answers to questions submitted during the live event.

“Acknowledging that this is a massive topic and that our learners have varying needs, we sought to create opportunities for depth and breadth, and most importantly to create a map for where attendees can go to carry their learning forward,” said Ali O’Malley, Chair of the SIOP Work Smart Series Committee.

SIOP members and non-members can still register to access the session recording, slides, and resource toolkit at on the event webpage.

Thank you to our speakers for so graciously sharing their time and expertise during this impactful session. For more information about sponsoring this SIOP learning channel, please contact Susan Rogers at srogers@siop.org. If you have questions or ideas for the Work Smart Series Team, please email WorkSmart@siop.org.

Save the Dates:
The next Work Smart session, Combating the Toxic Workplace, will take place virtually from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, November 13. This highly interactive session will feature Drs. Allen Gorman and Claire Reynolds Kueny as they guide us in implementing evidence-based strategies to recognize and combat toxicity.

Then, on Wednesday, December 4, Dr. Hannes Zacher will anchor the final Work Smart session of the year: Enriching the Employee Value Proposition through Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility.

These events are open to both SIOP members and non-members. A registration link is forthcoming and CE credit is pending. We encourage you to register even if you’re unable to attend live. All registrants will have ongoing access to session recordings and resources even if they are unable to join the virtual experience.