Unit Aim
The aim of this unit is to provide Learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills to adapt to and utilise emerging technologies.
Unit Content
LO1 Understand what an emerging technology is
What is meant by the term “emerging trend”: a new or developing pattern, behaviour, technology, idea, or phenomenon that is gaining traction or becoming increasingly prominent within a particular context or industry, key features (novelty, growing influence, change, evolution, potential impact).
Benefits of utilising an emerging technology: innovation and competitive advantage, efÏciency, productivity, enhanced customer experience, data-driven insight, scalability, adaptability, sustainability, environmental impact, talent attraction and retention.
Hazards of utilising an emerging technology: uncertain reliability and performance, security and privacy concerns, ethical and societal implications, regulatory and compliance challenges, dependency and vendor lock-in, technological obsolescence, and lack of skills and expertise.
LO2 Be able to respond to and use emerging technologies
Identifying key sources for information on emerging technologies: industry publications and journals, technology news websites, industry reports, market research, technology conferences and events, online communities and forums, academic and research institutions, venture capital, and startup ecosystem.
Identifying key emerging trends in technology: monitor industry publications and tech news, attend conferences and events, online communities and forums, track venture capital investments and startup ecosystems, market research, and network.
Proposing the utilisation of an emerging technology: conduct research, assess business impact, develop a proposal, engage stakeholders, create a roadmap, present and advocate, follow up, and iterate.
LO3 Understand the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Ethical implications of AI usage: bias, fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy, data protection, autonomy, human control, safety, reliability, economic impact, and societal impact.
Uses of AI
- Healthcare: medical diagnosis, drug discovery, personalised treatment.
- Finance: algorithmic trading, risk management, customer service.
- Retail and e-commerce: recommendation systems, inventory management, visual search.
- Transport and logistics: autonomous vehicles, route optimisation, predictive maintenance.
- Manufacturing: predictive maintenance, quality control, supply chain optimisation.
- Marketing and advertising: targeted advertising, content generation, customer segmentation.
- Cybersecurity: threat detection, vulnerability management, fraud detection.
AI tools: finding AI tools or programs, Chat GPT, fireflies, Jasper, Ai characters, chatbase, Murf, synthesia, descript, pictory, grammarly, otter.ai, Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion 2, etc.
Security risks associated with AI usage: data privacy, data protection, adversarial attacks, bias, fairness, malicious use, lack of explainability and transparency, supply chain risks, model robustness and reliability.
LO4 Be able to use AI ethically
Identifying the appropriate form of AI for a range of purposes: types of AI, paid AI services, free services, AI for writing, AI for websites, AI for imagery, etc.
Ethically using AI to support creation of an email: guide, template, entering appropriate data, confidential data.
Ethically using AI to support learning: templates, plagiarism, summarising content.
Ethically using AI to support the design of policy or procedure: templates, design, structure, copyright.
Ethically using AI to record a meeting: informing participants, data security, selecting a program, and transcribing tools.
