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We’re sure you’re well aware of the potential of artificial intelligence: after all, it’s been the talk of the town in both the tech industry and other sectors and with more and more companies realizing that their operations can be significantly improved with the help of AI, the need for skilled artificial intelligence professionals who are up for the challenge has risen.
What does this mean for you? Well, if you thought that AI skills were only valuable in tech settings or in AI-specific roles, it’s time to think again. The future is here and just about any role will benefit from learning a few AI skills.
In this article, we’ll dive into the rise of AI, why you should be prioritizing obtaining certain AI knowledge, the skills you should consider, and the roles and opportunities that will be available to you once you take the plunge into artificial intelligence.
Ready? Let’s dive right in.
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
You know that AI has gained popularity in recent years and there’s a very simple reason why: it’s making so many tedious and time-consuming tasks doable in a matter of seconds, in addition to eliminating the risk of mistakes and human error. And as it becomes increasingly more accurate in its impersonation of human behavior and decision-making processes, it can be entrusted with even more tasks.
We’re in the beginning of the artificial intelligence revolution, however, and we can’t rely too heavily on AI tools just yet. The use of said tools will require a skilled professional behind it to properly train it, identify any issues, and check what it’s producing.
If it’s used correctly, however, there’s tremendous potential:
Artificial intelligence can provide increasingly accurate and personalized recommendations to shoppers: all companies want to offer clients exactly what they’re looking for and with large amounts of data and even more options to display, artificial intelligence plays a crucial role with its ability to sort massive amounts of data and identify patterns and trends, showing users what, statistically speaking, they’re likely to be interested in.
Artificial intelligence can help doctors both diagnose and treat diseases: thanks to AI’s ability to analyze large amounts of data while protecting patient privacy, doctors and healthcare professionals can search for patients with similar medical histories or symptoms and view their treatment plans, seeing what’s worked and comparing their patient’s treatment plan to others who have had similar circumstances.
Artificial intelligence takes care of tedious and time-consuming tasks: AI tools are automated, meaning they can automatically take care of certain repetitive tasks, such as payroll, material orders, and data entry, leaving humans with more time to focus on exciting and demanding tasks.
Artificial intelligence can process and analyze huge amounts of data: as you’re well aware, the best decisions are backed by data, but as companies collect more and more data, knowing exactly how to make the best decision becomes a challenge. Luckily for businesses today, artificial intelligence systems are capable of processing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions on large amounts of data, showing you any patterns and trends that appeared in the analysis.
Artificial intelligence can help keep us safe: from identifying potential threats to flagging fraudulent banking activity, artificial intelligence systems can help us stay more alert when it comes to protecting personal information.
It’s clear: the potential for artificial intelligence tools is vast and it’s just a matter of time until absolutely every professional is expected to have these skills on their resume. So now that you know how AI can help you professionally, let’s dive into some of the skills you should prioritize and, of course, the roles and opportunities that will be available to you once your toolbox is overflowing with AI skills.
AI Skills to Learn
The array of artificial intelligence skills that you could learn are quite vast; at the end of the day, the right skill for you to learn will depend on your field, experience, and interests, but we’ve collected some all-encompassing AI skills that will propel your career forward, no matter where you currently are.
AI ethics
As you probably already know, the debate around ethics in artificial intelligence is quite widespread and there’s a good reason why: if the how of artificial intelligence is unknown, who will take responsibility in the case of a mistake or case of bias? And how can we ethically use AI to help us without taking jobs away from people who need them?
As the use of AI becomes increasingly far-reaching, more attention will have to be directed towards guaranteeing the transparent use of AI systems.
Data analysis
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the best decisions are backed by data and as you employ AI tools in your company, we’re sure data analytics AI tools will be one of the first. And although AI is capable of drawing conclusions and identifying patterns and trends, knowing how to build these AI systems to match your company’s unique needs and adjusting the tool as desired will help you reach even stronger conclusions.
Creativity
You might have expected us to mention Python or machine learning and while those are certainly great choices, we’re going to head in another direction: creativity. One of the most powerful, yet frequently forgotten, abilities of artificial intelligence is its creativity. With basically no limit to what it can come up with, knowing how to work with AI tools to design creative and attention-grabbing visuals or copy can completely transform your deliverables.
AI Roles & Opportunities
The road ahead for those with artificial intelligence skills is quite bright because an increasingly significant number of companies are looking for professionals who know how to make the most of the potential of AI.
There are quite a few, but here are some of the main roles and opportunities available to those who choose to invest in AI:
AI engineer: probably one of the most common roles in AI is an AI engineer; these professionals use AI and machine learning to develop the systems that help companies become more efficient.
AI researcher: there’s still tons of ground to cover in the field of AI and we’re just at the beginning of seeing what it can truly do; if you’re interested in diving into the theory and regulations surrounding AI, the research field might be perfect for you.
Data scientist: instead of just using the results that AI gives you to make decisions, what if you could build those systems yourself? As a data scientist, you’ll use AI to construct the systems that provide companies with their valuable, data-backed decisions.
Natural language processing engineer: one of the largest challenges facing AI experts is how to improve its ability to both understand and respond to humans; as an NLP engineer, you’ll work directly with AI systems, training them on how to best respond to and understand human dialogue or text.
There are quite a few options available to you with AI skills and the best part of all? These jobs will only continue to grow in demand, with high salaries offered for professionals who can truly meet the needs of companies looking to benefit from AI.
If you’re interested in adding AI skills to your resume, you’re in luck: Ironhack has just introduced our new AI School, the first of its kind dedicated solely to teaching you the necessary AI skills to propel your career forward.
Take a look at our available courses and let your AI skills grow.
We’ll see you in class!
