5 Takeaways from Bloomberg Businessweek's Live Podcast at NJIT

Bloomberg Businessweek aired a live podcast from NJIT’s campus that dove into conversations about the future of work and how AI or other augmented technology is drastically changing the work we are tasked with. This raises concerns about the workforce — and how we should keep up with a constantly changing environment. A feat of notable speakers participated in the conversation, including Robert Cohen, Vice President of Research & Development and Chief Technology Officer at Stryker; Dr. Joel Bloom, President of NJIT; Dr. Don Sebastian, President of New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII); Michael Morris, CEO of Topcoder; Dean Kamen, Founder, FIRST and President, DEKA Research & Development Corporation; and a panel discussion with Marcus Weldon, Chief Technology Officer at Nokia; Virginie Maillard, Head of Technology Field Simulation at Siemens, and Joe Miletich, Senior Vice President of Research & Development at Merck.

Below are the top 5 takeaways from the conversation.

1. It’s all about data. 

AI helps collect massive amounts of data in less time than ever before. Robert Cohen, Vice President of Research & Development and Chief Technology Officer at Stryker shared how they are using data to help the healthcare industry.  In the last year, Styker analyzed 120,000 CT scans and collected operative conditions, recovery time, pharmaceuticals prescribed and rehab procedure of each patient. By pooling this data and stratifying it, doctors and surgeons can better answer questions about a patients’ personal care based on probability models from previous cases. 

2. Technology is bridging the physical and digital worlds to create “digital twins.”

Have you ever heard of “digital twins” before? The concept is one of the newest trends in technology. Weldon describes digital twins as “a big game, but for the real world. The point of the digital twin is for the physical and AI to interact with each other.” Essentially a digital twin is a virtual replica that connects the physical world to the simulation. You can explore what-if’s and conditions that would otherwise destroy the physical world.

3. Tech is innovating the workforce.

Sixty-five percent of current students will work in jobs that do not currently exist. Think about that — six out of every ten people will have a job title that has not currently been thought of yet! That's why Kamen says, “The world is moving so quickly that education needs to be preparing you how to learn and relearn and stay current. Students that have those skill sets will never have a shortage of opportunities in their careers.” Weldon said he looks for employees who can adapt to changing realities. Digital twins and other augmented technology will be to help employees do their jobs better. Therefore they will be able to do more things — the ability to be agile and adaptive to those responsibilities is key to the emerging workforce. 

4. BUT machines will never replace humans.

As machines become more intelligent, Miletech says that the combination of human and machine is becoming the “workforce of the future,” because it will increase the productivity in humans and will create knowledge to perform these daily tasks.” Weldon added that “[humans] will always perform the tasks because we are incredibly well-adapted for these physical world tasks. We know how to manipulate the physical world way better than machines.” AI will act as an extension of our brains that allow us to work more productively.  

5. Industry should leverage partnerships with universities.

A common theme throughout the conversation is the idea that technology is changing work and if the work is changing the workforce needs to keep up. That doesn’t only mean how or why people are hired, but the professional development of the employee. Miletich stresses the point of education being continuous and Weldon underlines the importance of employee adaptability. Cohen who is an NJIT alum points out the usefulness of Industries partnering with universities, such as NJIT, to get early access to future talent.

Listen to the podcast here: