This article originally appeared on Inc Magazine.

With great technological advancements, like AI, comes great responsibility. Educating users and organizational accountability are critical.

This is an opportunity to come together to ensure that AI benefits everyone to reinvent a future where the entire labor force is elevated. The potential ripple effects of AI on society. 

AI will impact the workforce, and the ripple effects on society will be complex. However, it’s imperative to safely tap into the vast potential of AI for the benefit of people now–and in the future. Responsible AI isn’t limited to the typical themes like transparency, fairness, accountability, and privacy. It’s not only about including diverse perspectives during AI development, or including larger data sets to ensure unbiased results. While these aspects are important during the implementation and shaping of AI policy, there’s another critical aspect to consider: the impact on labor.

In the past, technological innovation has often considered the impact on people after the fact. This move-fast-and-break-things approach has arguably worked out in the long run, give or take some outliers.

But what if a different approach was taken?Instead of analyzing the effects on the labor force after widespread adoption, imagine if research and analyses were conducted on how workforces can be set up for success soon. This would require mindset shifts, creating a world where everyone can benefit.

What responsible AI could mean for the labor force.Responsible AI would include all of the above in implementing these incredible systems, but could also include adequate planning to upskill the labor force for future opportunities this technology is creating.

Focusing on the research now to pinpoint how specific tasks and related skills are affected will enable plans for moving people from declining tasks, and upskilling for future-compatible AI tasks. Identifying how a workforce can move from downward-trending skills and creating a path to learn the skills of tomorrow will be essential actions for responsible organizations.  

The goal should be to use AI to deliver innovative services to the labor force while making it efficient for the employees working with it. If they approach it thoughtfully, and engage it responsibly, organizations could use AI to create real value for people. How can organizations take a proactive approach with AI toward the workforce? It will take a collaborative effort with organizations, investors, and governments.  

While organizations can allow their workforce to have the right resources to upskill, investors can also play a key role in helping organizations understand the impact of automation and assess workforce development strategies to harness potential. Being proactive in addressing workforce implications doesn’t just acknowledge a social imperative–it also makes financial sense.

Boards should be informed about AI implementation plans and ensure that management is addressing the implications that come with adopting new technologies and practices. On the other hand, governments can create policies and incentive structures to help their labor force upskill. Singapore used innovative thinking and implemented a monetary offer. Governments, investors, and organizational management have a shared goal–to identify risks emerging from these technological changes and provide the right resources to prepare people for the future. These can include monitoring worker and skills retention, capturing the full potential of the workforce already in place, and using metrics to devote energy and resources to areas of need. Here are a few proactive steps organizations can take. 

1. Start educating the workforce, especially those with declining skills.When search engines were first introduced, people had to learn how to create queries that yielded the best results. The same holds true for AI. Think about how your workforce prefers to learn and match that method to begin upskilling within the organization. Does your workforce prefer the traditional classroom approach, or are they more interested in short bursts of snackable content? Additionally, natural skilling can also be a path to help people learn based on the context of their jobs, and they can be rewarded for it. Learning how these AI tools work will be critical to stay competitive. 

2. Look at restructuring your workforce by using AI. AI will help you identify those hidden gems in the workforce and their skill sets. You can also identify adjacent skills to areas of the organization where you need humans to do the job, because automation won’t be able to do everything. With an understanding of existing skills, you can then determine the best way to create paths for reskilling and/or upskilling. 

3. Don’t take shortcuts with reskilling or upskilling. Beware of the danger of speeding up the deep knowledge work that might become the norm when using AI. Skimming AI summaries of documents might be faster, but could have a different effect on memory retention than reading the document itself. It’s important to balance the benefits of consuming condensed information with the potential detriment to your mental health or memory. 

There is an unprecedented opportunity with AI, but it’s important not to disregard humans and their skills in the process. The opportunity to work together to enhance rather than replace human potential is here. The decisions made now will reverberate for generations. 

Leaders and forward-thinking organizations have a unique opportunity to set the stage for future success, and pioneer responsible AI deployment that prioritizes the well-being and growth of their workforce. There is no predetermined path for this technology. How it affects us will depend on the choices we make right now. It’s imperative to approach this phase with empathy and a steadfast commitment to see and use AI as a tool to elevate humanity.