The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

MADISON, Wis. – Artificial intelligence is smoothly fluent even when it’s wrong. It’s not always endearing to software code writers who see their work as part “art form” and part science. It can challenge habitually shy engineers to work with others. It helps people produce polished work much faster, but that same efficiency gain can trigger a form of self-doubt known as “AI imposter syndrome.”

Those were among qualifiers cited by AI users from Wisconsin industry during a recent forum at the UW-Madison College of Engineering. But those are mostly bumps in the road of adjusting to change; none of those users want to return to older ways of doing things.

That’s an important disclosure at a time when AI is steadily taking root in businesses and institutions of all types in Wisconsin, even as public perceptions remain skeptical for reasons ranging from Jensen Huang’s fall at Nvidia to stock market uncertainties to individual jitters about being left behind.

Steve Nackers, director of electronics and connectivity at Sub-Zero Group Inc., summarized AI training inside that Fitchburg-based manufacturer with a subtly different acronym: “AI is augmenting your intelligence” versus a substitute for human talent.

That theme was reinforced by speakers from i3 Product Development in Sun Prairie, Epic Systems Corp. in Verona, and others over the course of the two-day conference, which was themed around preparing or retraining “AI-ready” engineers for the workforce. Such efforts are not confined to the state’s largest university. They’re taking place in other public and private colleges statewide – not to mention hundreds of workplaces.

Why? AI is here to stay in ways that range from making global software systems more hacker-proof to improving health care, traffic safety, farming, energy generation, advanced metal fabrication and more. It’s a hidden part of other everyday life functions, too, such as smartphone cameras, spam filters, credit card fraud detection, face recognition and driver navigation apps.

Still, there is public unease about AI. Fear of job losses is one major reason.

That’s likely true in the short run. Advances in technology have done so throughout history, as evidenced by today’s lack of blacksmiths, lamplighters, switchboard operators, elevator operators and bowling alley pinsetters.

People tend to believe that when jobs go away, they’re not replaced by new jobs. But that’s largely incorrect. Economists call it the “Lump of Labor” fallacy – the notion there is a finite amount of work to be done in the world.

AI will create more work as it becomes a bigger part of how things are done. The World Economic Forum has forecast AI will generate a net of 78 million jobs globally by 2030. That represents 170 million new job roles and displacement of 92 million existing job roles.

A stunning 59% of today’s global workforce will need reskilling or upskilling by 2030, which can understandably make people nervous.

It’s worth noting 59% is a global estimate, and it may progress faster in some places than others. Nations that invest in talent and skills will be the ones best positioned to capture those jobs. AI will create more jobs at home than it replaces if America leads this technology, as it has many times in the past.

One theme of the “AI-Ready Engineer” conference was the need to help engineers improve communication, teamwork and other “soft” skills that make them more valuable to employers.

Also discussed was the notion that working professionals who already understand various engineering disciplines – civil, mechanical and chemical, for example – can learn AI applications through career development programs. InterPro is such a program within the College of Engineering.

The abilities of society and the economy to absorb the onset of AI will continue to be tested. Both need to happen, because the technology is not going away.

Still is past president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. He is an adviser to Competitive Wisconsin Inc., a non-profit public policy group.