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Right now, Artificial Intelligence is as dumb as it’s ever going to be. The non-stop learning machines we’ve created are in constant supply of our man made source material and they’re becoming more advanced.

Seemingly, we’re all along for the ride, creators included.

What are we working with?

A balanced mix of hype and concern over AI has led to a global feeling of uncertainty surrounding these new tools and technologies. A cause for concern that led to over 1000 tech leaders calling for a pause in work on machine learning (ML) models more advanced than OpenAIs ChatGPT4. 

The open letter stated that “recent months have seen A.I. labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one — not even their creators — can understand, predict, or reliably control.”

Elon Musk was one of the signatories… though he has since announced he’ll be creating his own AI chatbot “TruthGPT”. As with most things from Musk, it’s not clear if this is legit (though the buying up 10,000 GPUs would say - yes) or if this is more professional level trolling of his ex colleagues at Open AI. Elon ‘co-founded’ OpenAI in 2015 but clashed with management and left the board in 2018, publicly citing conflict of interest with Tesla. 

Why the sudden cause for panic?

Businesses have used AI to streamline processes and improve customer services for years. Credit card companies use Machine Learning (ML) to monitor consumer card usage and alert anything suspicious. Search engines and email providers, such as Google, use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to improve the accuracy of search results and set up email spam filters. AI that improves efficiency is mostly welcomed with open arms.

However, this new AI that exists to entertain and educate is what has caused the change in stakes. AI is no longer just a technology being used in the background of our lives. It has very quickly made its way to the fore and is now raising questions of ethics. 

Who has control?

Current guidance surrounding how to use AI “responsibly” is thin. 

Eventually, governments will catch up and legislate. But could this “eventually” come too late?

Governments not having a full understanding and control over technological advancements is one thing, but the actual creators of the tech themselves not having full understanding and control, is for many techies and non techies alike, worrisome. 

What happens next?

There is no shortage of cash flow for the AI industry both in the public and private sector. Overall global spend is predicted to reach $154 billion in 2023, an increase of 26.9% over the amount spent in 2022.   

With this amount of money waiting to be spent, the piqued interest of the general public and the vast possibilities of AI technology means the only way is forward.

Which brings up the need for responsible use of AI. But who decides what is responsible? 

After a bit of back and forth I ultimately asked ChatGPT to weigh in and they came back with “ethical and fair AI development and use requires ongoing dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, including developers, policymakers, and members of affected communities.”. 

Can this happen? Or is the race to the top going to get in the way of this collaboration? We will all find out soon. 

Many of the world's current problems have been caused by previous innovations; air pollution from the industrial revolution, environmental pollution from recyclable and non-recyclable materials, water pollution from waste and oil spills.

Even as Big Tech – Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft et al commit to using 100% renewable energy and being carbon net zero by 2030 or earlier, concern about the carbon profile and energy use by infrastructure which increasingly drives commerce and digital behaviour is rising.

People and governments are becoming increasingly reliant on technology to offset and solve local and global issues. The evident negative consequences of human actions has ignited many in the digital space to seek solutions using the newest technologies. 

Tech for Good ranges from:

• Improving access to tech for vulnerable groups
• recycling old tech
• Using scalable AI to improve waste clearance and recycling efficiency
• Using AI and gamification to improve education and customer services
• Building new platforms to simplify and humanise money management and charity 

“leaps in technological innovation in AI, cloud computing and software robotics allow organisations to scale processes faster than ever before”

The origin story of many successful tech for good projects is start-up or side projects that gained funding and are now operating nonprofits. Tech for good is not intrinsically money or power motivated, it is solution driven.

A World in Need of Tech Talent 

A recent Forbes magazine article on the democratisation of technology acknowledges how leaps in technological innovation in AI, cloud computing and software robotics allow organisations to scale processes faster than ever before. 

Lean startups are delivering better experiences for their users by making use of AI.

A great example of this is The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation started in 2013 by then 18 year old Dutch inventor Boyan Slat.

Slat dropped out of his studies in aerospace engineering to develop and scale smart technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.

The Ocean Cleanup uses computer modelling to target plastic and the models will steadily improve with the field data allowing for continually smarter operations and more focused cleanup. The aim, on their website is “to put ourselves out of business once the oceans are clean.”

A Cleaner Tech Based Revolution

We are currently in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (dubbed Industry 4). It is the trend towards automation, cloud computing, cognitive computing, and artificial intelligence.

PwC recently stated that Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as the defining technology of our age, with many industries already utilising AI or Machine Learning in some form. 

Globally there is a huge recruitment drive for these skills. Using Glassdoor, Indeed and Government statistics Coding Dojo very recently released a report on the tech jobs most in-demand in 2022.

The top 5 are:

• Information Security Engineer
• Full-Stack Engineer
• Data Scientist
• Machine Learning Engineer
• Java Developer  

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, so the saying goes but Industry 4 moves us closer to the Imagination Age (the current Information Age’s successor) where creativity and imagination become the primary creators of economic value. The emergence of tech for good confirms this. 

Designers are used to having their skills redefined and scrutinised. In this article we take a look at the complex and developing nature of the UX and UI world. We explore why these skills are so important in the modern world and what the UK vacancy trends point to.

Firstly, who needs a designer? 

When the world went online, so too did the familiar brands we had become accustomed to; they all needed a website. Then, with the mass adoption of smartphones and subsequent applications, the world went fully digital and these brands had to properly modernise. 

But, this was not as simple as taking the logo and throwing it on a website. New skills were required in order to curate “the feel of a brand” and to determine exactly what a customer would be interacting with along their individual customer journey. 

A brand's messaging now needed to seamlessly translate across multiple digital platforms. And suddenly everyone needed a UX Designer. 

This caused a spike in clean design; if a business was going to modernise, it went all in. 

However, this trend does have its critics. Some blame the obsession with clean design as the reason for the worlds most iconic brands “modernising” their logos to a point where it “essentially removes any individuality from the brand.” 

Who’s really in control? 

UX Design (UXD) has an interesting history. By definition, UXD is the art of creating something led by the end users requirements. But then a brand new industry rose to the top of social consciousness: social media.

Social media shaped customer expectations and set the bar very high for UX. So high that it came close to backfiring with users having a lot to say about when Meta made changes to Instagram’s UI and how this would ultimately impact the UX. 

The UX and UI professionals working at the big social media companies are the tastemakers. They create something users get used to that other industries are then expected to adopt.

Who’s making it happen?

In real world terms this has led to UXD evolving into design that encourages customers to do exactly what the business wants them to.

In the realm of retail, they want their UX to result in the customer buying something in as few clicks as possible. In the case of banking they want their UX to allow you to securely and confidently make financial decisions without the need for in person or over the phone interaction.

This is where the cross over between UX and UI is most prevalent. Creating a good user experience for the customer is futile if the visuals don’t demand enough attention and encourage enough action.

A User Interface Designer is responsible for the visuals; they create what the customer will be looking at and interacting with. These design decisions should be based on the customer needs and wants discovered by the UX-ers who have gone through multiple stages of discovery.

However, it is not unusual for these different roles to merge into one “UX/UI Designer” position where the responsibilities stretch from discovery to creation to implementation.

Who’s got the skills? 

This merging of skills and positions can be the cause of some heated debate, which is likely to continue…

But the prevalence of “UX/UI” doesn't seem to be shifting. Infact, the tail may have wagged the dog and now if you’re a product based tech designer, in order to make yourself the most hirable candidate your skills should probably reflect a deep understanding of both UX and UI principles. 

According to ITjobswatch.co.uk, towards the end of 2018 there was a spike in demand for both permanent and contract “UX/UI Designer” roles. This spike now pales in insignificance when compared to the spikes seen since in 2020 and 2022. With the demand for permanent UX/UI Designers staying way above that of contractors since early 2022.

This all points to businesses starting to comprehensively understand the value of these skills and how their value increases on a long term basis. UX/UI Design skills are required in house and on hand if a business stands a chance of competing with the pace of change customers have come to expect.  

The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey warns business leaders that those entering today’s workforce have vastly different expectations and priorities from earlier generations. 

Key findings from the report reveal that younger people seek purpose and the opportunity to tackle broader issues through their work. They expect and encourage true diversity, and they absolutely prioritise achieving a positive work-life balance.

Gen Z considers this new direction to be overall good for wider society and wants support from people who have the real power to make this positive change for all. 

“...there is a sense that some older generations just don't “get it.”

Yet employers who invest in culture changes, up-skilling, and career development remain nervous that their financial and time commitments won't result in retained talent.

At CIO Crowd, a UK-based peer-led community for CIOs and senior IT leaders, a recent panel discussion on “Creating the New Work Environment” covered staff acquisition and retention in depth.

The debate heard one member put forward a positive outlook: “In many cases [within IT roles], you can’t promise staff that there will be a role that long [10 years]. So, what you have to do is assure them that they are going to have a good experience in a good environment and build a great CV. If they have the desire to stay and the opportunities are there, great. If not, both parties have still benefited.”

Amongst Gen Z and Millennials there is a sense that some older generations (and therefore their employers) just don't “get it.” For those that do it will still take careful consideration to implement the right changes.

Ultimately, the power is in the hands of businesses, but both employers and Gen Z must prevent a standoff where neither party trusts the other to fulfill their end of the bargain, only causing the skills gap to widen.

Skills, demand, and more skills 

Deloitte predicts the most useful tools and skills for someone to possess in the near future of work will be business management, creative and design tools, technical skills, data processing and analysis. 

With growth in the uptake of IT degrees continuing and as digital natives living in a world becoming increasingly dependent on digital innovations Gen Z may feel it has a unique upper hand in the jobs market. 

 “A survey from Indeed found 58% of Gen Zers would like to own a business one day” 

But, while we are witnessing a generation take full advantage of their native skills simultaneously, a skills gap is continuing, particularly in the IT sector.

When CIO Crowd asked its audience what they felt was the main factor contributing to the skills gap inside their organisations a huge eighty six percent of respondents said there root of the problem was too few job candidates with the right skills.

The CIO group concluded it is up to business to find ways of attracting, training and developing young talent before a competitor does. And it is an increasingly competitive landscape. Businesses can also expect to not only be competing with local and national employers but the Zoomer themselves.

A survey from Indeed found that 58% of Gen Zers would like to own a business one day, and 14% already do.

Some in this generation of job seekers are comfortable with the concept that their current skill set and demands are not suited to the traditional market and are seeking other avenues.

To get Gen Z on board and to retain their skills means thinking and acting on the challenges and priorities they themselves have set.

A strong employer brand is the foundation of successful recruitment. It’s what differentiates your company in the eyes of potential candidates, and as a recruitment specialist, I’ve seen how a compelling brand attracts the right talent.

At the heart of a strong employer brand is clarity. Companies must define and articulate their Employer Value Proposition (EVP)—a clear statement of what makes them a great place to work. This can include career growth opportunities, workplace culture, and unique benefits. Authenticity is crucial; empty claims or vague promises can harm your reputation.

Storytelling is a powerful tool in building an employer brand. Highlighting real employee experiences through testimonials, videos, or case studies creates a relatable and compelling narrative. Candidates want to know what it’s truly like to work for your organization, and honest, heartfelt stories go a long way in conveying that.

Digital presence also matters. From LinkedIn to Glassdoor, your online footprint should reflect your values and culture consistently. Highlighting career development programs, flexibility, and diversity initiatives on your website and social media can make a strong impression on job seekers.

By taking a genuine and strategic approach, companies can build an employer brand that not only attracts top talent but also retains it, fostering long-term growth and loyalty.

In today’s globalised and interconnected world, diversity and inclusion (D&I) are not just buzzwords—they’re essential components of a successful, modern recruitment strategy. While the moral and ethical imperatives are clear, the business case for D&I is equally compelling. Companies that embrace diverse hiring practices see significant benefits in innovation, employee engagement, and overall performance.

As a recruitment specialist, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of diversity in the workplace. In this article, we’ll explore why D&I should be a cornerstone of your recruitment strategy and how it can drive success for your organisation.

Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter in Recruitment

Diversity in recruitment refers to hiring candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, including different genders, ethnicities, abilities, ages, and more. Inclusion, on the other hand, ensures that all employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute fully. When combined, they create a dynamic workplace where different perspectives foster innovation and collaboration.

Diverse Teams Drive Innovation and Creativity

A homogeneous workforce tends to produce homogeneous ideas. Diverse teams bring together individuals with unique perspectives, experiences, and problem-solving approaches. This diversity of thought fosters creativity and innovation, enabling companies to develop more robust solutions and stay ahead of the competition.

Case in Point: Studies from organisations like McKinsey show that companies with higher gender and ethnic diversity are significantly more likely to outperform those with less diverse teams.

Enhanced Decision-Making

Diverse teams are better at making decisions. When people with different backgrounds and viewpoints collaborate, they challenge each other’s assumptions and reduce the risk of groupthink. This leads to more thoughtful, well-rounded decisions.

Example: A Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with above-average diversity in their management teams generate 19% more revenue from innovation than those with below-average leadership diversity.

Improved Employee Engagement and Retention

An inclusive workplace culture fosters a sense of belonging. Employees who feel valued and respected are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work. This reduces turnover and boosts overall morale.

Why It Matters: According to Deloitte, organizations with inclusive cultures are twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets and six times more likely to be innovative and agile.

Attracting Top Talent

Today’s job seekers prioritize diversity. Millennials and Gen Z, in particular, are drawn to companies that reflect the world’s diversity and demonstrate a genuine commitment to inclusion. By promoting D&I, you not only attract a broader pool of candidates but also enhance your employer brand.

Real-World Insight: Glassdoor reports that 76% of job seekers consider diversity an important factor when evaluating job offers.

Broader Market Insight

A diverse workforce can better understand and cater to a diverse customer base. Employees with different cultural backgrounds and experiences can provide valuable insights into the needs and preferences of various market segments.

For Example: Companies with diverse teams can tailor their products and marketing strategies to resonate more effectively with global audiences, driving growth and customer loyalty.

Implementing Effective D&I Recruitment Strategies

Knowing the benefits is one thing; implementing a successful D&I strategy is another. Here are some actionable steps to integrate diversity and inclusion into your recruitment process:

1. ‍Audit Your Hiring Process: Identify any biases in your current recruitment practices. This includes everything from job descriptions to interview questions. Use tools to detect biased language and ensure job ads appeal to a diverse range of candidates.
2. ‍Train Hiring Managers:Provide unconscious bias training for all hiring managers and interviewers. Awareness is the first step in creating an equitable hiring process.‍
3. Expand Recruitment Channels: Broaden your reach by sourcing candidates from diverse talent pools. Partner with organisations that support underrepresented groups and attend career fairs that focus on diversity.‍
4. Standardize Interviews: Use structured interviews with consistent questions for all candidates. This helps minimize bias and ensures a fair evaluation process.‍
5. Foster an Inclusive Culture: Diversity doesn’t end with recruitment—it’s an ongoing commitment. Promote inclusivity within your organization by celebrating different cultures, providing mentorship programs, and creating safe spaces for dialogue.

Overcoming Challenges in D&I Recruitment

Implementing D&I strategies isn’t without challenges. Some companies face resistance or struggle with tokenism—the practice of making a symbolic effort to be inclusive without real impact. To avoid this:

• Commit to Authenticity: Ensure your D&I initiatives are genuine and backed by action. Transparency is key.
• Measure Progress: Set clear D&I goals and track your progress. Use metrics to assess the effectiveness of your efforts and identify areas for improvement.
• Engage Leadership: D&I must be a top-down initiative. Leaders should model inclusive behavior and communicate its importance across the organization.

The Future of Recruitment is Inclusive

As the workplace evolves, diversity and inclusion will continue to play a central role in recruitment strategies. Companies that prioritize D&I aren’t just building better teams—they’re setting themselves up for sustainable success in an increasingly diverse world.

The benefits are clear: innovation, better decision-making, higher employee engagement, and a stronger connection to a global customer base. As recruiters and HR professionals, it’s our responsibility to champion these practices and create workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

By embracing diversity and inclusion, we’re not just filling positions—we’re shaping the future of work.

Ready to take your D&I strategy to the next level? Start today by evaluating your recruitment processes and making inclusion a core part of your company’s DNA.

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