On June 20, 2024, the Westchester-Putnam Development Board (WPWDB) celebrated a successful year of collaboration between state and county agencies, non-profits, public education, and the private sector to prepare the labor force for present and future technology changes. The meeting was held at 360 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains, NY (Reckson Metro Center Building) and was attended by over 140 local business, education, non-profit, and government leaders, as well as workforce staff.
After opening statements from Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne, and John Befus, First Deputy Commissioner, Westchester County DSS, a presentation on the topic of how AI will affect the workforce was given by Vlad Gogish, Senior Principal, Mercer, and Sam Winstel, Senior Associate, Communications & Change Management, Mercer. Both are industry experts from Mercer, a global human capital consultancy.
Gogish and Winstel opened their presentation with a short video that Winstel had recorded of himself speaking English. He then demonstrated the power of AI by translating the video into Spanish in a matter of minutes. The Spanish speakers in the audience concurred that the translation was accurate with an authentic Spanish accent.
Sam Winstel said, “I don't speak Spanish, but I made this video start to finish in about 15 minutes and I used a free AI application to do it. There are a lot of practical tools and applications like these out there like this one that are more than just as a gimmick, but a really useful way to translate something if you’re not a native speaker.”
Vlad Gogish said, “With generative AI we see a really unique opportunity to redesign work and upskill employees for the future. AI at its most basic level, can automate some of the more mundane tasks that our day-to-day jobs entail—data entry, simple writing and editing. At Mercer we talk a lot about what they call the hands, head, and heart model. We think about the hands as those day-to-day, simple tasks that you're doing in emails and spreadsheets, things like that. The head work is what takes a little bit more creative thinking, more complicated, subject matter expertise situations that drives your role at work. And then the heart piece of that is really that human touch, the empathy, the novel creativity that generative AI will never be able to replicate.”
They proceeded to explain the four phases of AI: Rule-based system; Machine Learning; Deep Learning; and Generative AI and how it is transforming the workplace and will potentially disrupt traditional career paths. Ultimately people will need to foster a culture of curiosity and willingness to learn, change, and upskill. They cautioned the audience on the risks and emphasized the need for ethics and integrity in guiding employers, staff, job seekers on the usage of the technology and to consider AI as similar to an intern—always check the work carefully! An example of misuse of AI was told by an employer who reviewed what looked like a perfect resume for a posted job. When the job candidate came in for the interview, it was revealed that the resume was generated by AI and that they themselves had few of the skills and experience listed. This story highlighted the ongoing necessity for human interaction in the workplace.
The 45 minute presentation was concluded with a town hall discussion where audience members shared anecdotes and/or asked questions.
Also in attendance were Westchester County legislators Judah Holstein District 10 and Catherine Parker District 7 and former NYS senator, 38th District David Carlucci.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said, “I commend the Westchester-Putnam Development Board for their achievements and for initiating the conversation on the advancements in AI. Our challenge is to determine AI's potential. We must figure out how to harness AI ethically and effectively, while also anticipating and mitigating its downsides. I am confident that by starting this dialogue, we will, as a community, prepare the next generation of decision-makers to best utilize this new and exciting resource.”
Putnam County Executive, Kevin Byrne said, “When we talk about AI in county government and its importance, we’re always trying to find new creative ways on how we can embrace it. We talk about how it can help augment our services—not replace them—for residents and how we can be better public servants in serving our taxpayers and visitors.”
Executive Director, WPWDB, Thom Kleiner said, “There's no better time to hear from some experts about what AI means for all of us. What we have to do as workforce professionals is to work with our job seekers and our businesses to make sure they have the tools to utilize AI, have it make sense, and to make its use worthwhile and not to be scared of it.”
First Deputy Commissioner, Westchester County DSS, John Befus said, “I think I can say that we who have been through changes in our professional career and know that they can be challenging and can create lots of anxiety. So as we move forward with this discussion, let's keep in mind not only the opportunities, but also the important relationships that we all bring to the work we do every day.”
