Insight 43 - Magazine - Page 14
Preparing the future workforce for
change is a key element, but will
automation presage the end of work
as we know it? No, said Ed Thomas,
not in the immediate future. AI tools,
as their name often suggests, should
be used as an assistant only: “It’s not
machine versus human. It’s human plus
machine.”
So how is education responding? Jyoti
Choudrie, Professor of Information
Systems, University of Hertfordshire,
said they had modules focusing on big
data analysis and the university is also
learning how this can be applied. With
traineeships and apprenticeships now
offered as part of post-graduate and
doctorate programmes that knowledge
can then be brought back to academia
as well as vice versa. Jyoti also talked
about the importance of intergenerational learning with young people
showing the older generation how to
use modern technology.
Bringing this back to Hertfordshire, Neil
Hayes, CEO, Hertfordshire Futures, says
there was a potential opportunity for
the county to benefit from becoming a
designated AI Growth Zone to accelerate
AI data centre development through
streamlined planning processes and
clean power provisioning. The trade
14
"It’s not machine versus
human. It’s human plus
machine"
Ed Thomas
Research Director, Global
Data Plc
off with these data centres could be in
terms of energy usage to enable them
to become more sustainable. This could
also include water cooling, as water
scarcity, Ed added, is a real issue that is
often overlooked. However, Ed warned,
as we have seen in the States recently,
there has been a significant pushback
against net zero which could result in
companies shifting their focus away
from reducing energy use to a greater
emphasis on innovation.
Michael Warr, Acting Director and
Programme Manager at Essex + Herts
Digital Innovation Zone (DIZ) said there
was also a real opportunity for these
data centres to seed new business
clusters, particularly businesses that
need connectivity. He also added that
AI Growth Zone status could add to the
totality of the place.
bIZ4BIZ INSIGHT MAGAZINE | APRIL 2025
SO WHAT CAN BUSINESSES,
RESIDENTS AND PLACES DO NOW
TO GET AI READY?
All agreed that AI is here, so rather
than shying away you need to
embrace it head on, collaborate and
build skills for future success. For
Julia in her business it is a ‘continuous
process’ not just building a model
for now. For Ed, he urged businesses
and organisations to adopt sensible
AI strategies and said that companies
that invest early will secure advantage
over their competitors. Michael
agreed that increasing digitisation
needs to be done responsibly and
sustainably and also in such a way to
make places more inclusive to ensure
no one is left behind.
In summing up, Michael provided the
perfect conclusion to this series which
chose as its starting point to delve
deeper into how Hertfordshire can
grow a more resilient, sustainable and
inclusive economy.
