Erdinç Saçan: "AI only works if you keep investing in people.

Artificial intelligence is often discussed in the context of efficiency and automation. But what if you look at it as an accelerator of human talent? According to AI expert, lecturer and author Erdinç Saçan, that is precisely where its greatest promise lies. "AI can help us get into a flow, with more confidence and focus."

This series features innovators in the field of learning and development. How do you make talent development tangible? How do you create a real learning culture? And how do you use technology in a way that remains human? In this first article, AI expert Erdinç Saçan kicks off.

AI is often linked to productivity and automation. You, on the other hand, see opportunities for talent development. Tell me?

"Most of the focus right now is on how AI can make work faster or cheaper. How much time can we save by having routine work done by AI? To me, the real promise is how AI can do justice to people's natural talent. For example, if you no longer have to memorize all the German cases, you suddenly have the mental space to concentrate fully on what you want to say. People therefore gain more self-confidence, get into a flow faster and grow to realize their full potential more easily. Of course, as an employer, you reap the benefits of that in many ways."

It is expected that 67% of all jobs in the Netherlands will involve AI: that's over 7 million employees. This requires large-scale retraining. We developed an AI roadmap for this . How do you approach this at Fontys and how do you get everyone on board?

"Provide short lines of communication to all groups within your organization. Shortly after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, we put together a multidisciplinary team at Fontys. That team includes enthusiastic employees from all disciplines. So not only ICT, but also paramedical, communication and education, for example. Together we drew up a clear vision of the importance of AI and our goals. That is crucial: that everyone understands where you want to go together. Based on this, we developed several workshops: one basic, and one in-depth. 2,000 of Fontys' total of 5,000 employees - including receptionists, HR managers and controllers - already participated in such a workshop."

Not every employee sees the importance of (investing in) AI. How do you deal with that?

"Change management is the hardest thing in the world. Some colleagues say 'I'll be retired in three years, it will be my time.' Others are just too busy, or don't think it's important enough. And at the same time, on the other hand, you see more and more colleagues going all out, and, for example, having all student work reviewed by ChatGPT. The crucial factor here? "Time, time, and more time! Give your people time to get started with it, and also make sure there is enough time to supervise them properly. And from your multidisciplinary team, also set up a task force that continuously keeps up with the latest developments, and shares relevant developments immediately with others."

"Time, time, and more time! If you think talent development is important, you have to make time for it. Most importantly, give confidence to employees and show a clear vision."

Read the entire interview with Erdinç here