I think I will just get going right now. Um My name is Nancy Copelands. I am head of marketing for the Act One group in Los Angeles. Um I'm very honored to be able to speak again.I think this is my third year now, speaking for Women Tech Global Conference. So I'm very appreciative to the team to invite me again. Um Today, I'm gonna be talking a little bit uh different uh topics than I have in the past, still integrating technology, but really focusing on the implications of de and I and B within the workforce industry and while using technology. So, um a little bit about kind of the workforce industry and um specifically with diversity and inclusivity um and now belonging, you know, with the last few years coming out of COVID um and really transforming in a digital man um with uh the technology that we're using as well as really shining a light on the the need to be flexible within our workspace has kind of increased our demand and, and really understanding what our daily lifestyle is like as well as the amount of productivity and efficiency that we can create within our home, as well as in the office space and, and being flexible in that manner.

Um So there's a few points I wanted to kind of talk about specifically about how do you really elevate your diversity and inclusivity within the workspace while integrating technology? Because I do see that uh technology is more than just a tool or a resource. It's now turned into a way of life of how we really rely upon really increasing our productivity um and really collaborating with our teammates, which is a really big deal, at least for me and my team. So, you know, what, what do we talk about when we say the future um of the workplace? And, you know, we have gotten a glimpse obviously within the last few years as to what does it mean to be digitally transformed within um being flexible with how, how to become online, digital nomads, how to really become impactful leaders through utilizing technological tools.

And you know, what's interesting is research has shown now that um you know, extensive research has been done to show that uh working from home or a hybrid workplace is definitely a lot more efficient and a lot more productive than just going into an office, day in and day out.

Um The biggest discrepancy that we have also understood and highlighted is that the workplace being there on a day to day basis, ie going back to the office really only worked for a very small segment of the workforce. Um We have found that women and mothers and um people that need that flexibility within their, their schedule within the day, it shows that there's, there's not a lot you can do um to support their needs if we have to all go back to the office. And so, you know, when we're talking about the, the importance of technology, what we're really doing is saying we honor the diversity and inclusivity within our own work environment and with our own employees. Um And so that's been a really big deal uh within this last few months and really focusing on what does the future look like specifically for de and I um some of the tools that you may have already heard like A I SP Spatial Computing Augmented and virtual reality Robotics, all actually are technologies that lend to a more sustainable and innovative environment.

Um What we have found at least within my team is that while integrating things like generative A I into our workflow, what it's really done is it's made my team and I to be able to do something that we haven't been doing in a while, which is be really creative. We haven't been able to have that space to be creative. Uh mainly because the amount of demand of um work product that we're, we're expected to do on a daily basis has astronomically catapulted from PRE COVID. Um And how do you keep up with all this work demand. If you don't use technology, it really is very difficult to either hire more people, you decrease the work demand or you have to be flexible in a way to be able to allow for us to be more creative and to, to produce uh quality work. Um Beyond being sustainable, there really has been a uh an evolution if you will within technology and I want to speak, speak specifically on A I generative A I and the capabilities it has we are now experiencing kind of a new space race if you will. Um And this is where a new technology that is very accessible and approachable by sheer layman's people that are not technologically savvy can actually use on a daily basis to better their lives and to increase their efficiency and productivity within their own lives as well as the workplace.

Um What I really wanna focus on when it comes to A I is that we are still at the very beginning stages. So there's a lot of uh bumps in the road coming up to really kind of iron out things like, you know, responsible coding. Um The artificial intelligence governance is there standardization uh of what is uh deemed a fact or not? Um And as well as how much work can we rely on in generative A I versus um human made work? Um What's interesting to think about is um a, a lot of these new A I companies have been um predicting that by about 2030. So not that far in, in in the future, um about 100% of the content that is made online will be synthetically made by artificial intelligence and no longer will we have human made content. Now, the interesting thing is that we need humans to actually make the content to train the neural networks and to train these A I models to learn from and to create the A I made content. So there, there's a lot that we have to kind of think about beyond just the responsibility part, but of the quality of work that will be coming out of this in the next few years. The other thing about that is um upscaling and retooling your own workforce.

You know, things like A I will definitely augment the workforce in a sense that you were expecting to have about 70% of jobs that we see today out on indeed, or linkedin or wherever um will no longer exist, right? So if they will no longer exist, what are we gonna do with all these people? And the truth of the matter is that they need to upscale and increase their opportunity to do a lot more than what they're doing right now. There are so many task oriented jobs within technology specifically that can be taken over by things like generative A I that will give people the opportunity to learn more and become um a lot more savvy when it comes to management and leadership and really focusing on their soft skills, which A I can't do.

Um The next technology that we are not seeing so much of any more, if you will, it was such a hot topic about 5 to 7 years ago, which is augmented and virtual reality. Um It during COVID exploded in the technology sector for workplace uh workplace alternatives where um A R and VR is a way that we can communicate and collaborate, even though we're far apart in such a natural manner as we are communicating as if in person. And um I wish that this technology was adopted a lot more and ingrained a lot more into our workplace. Um because it is a technology that I absolutely love. But, you know, within the next few years as A I has definitely kind of taken over the lion's share of the trajectory of where technology is going. There will eventually be a marriage between augmented virtual reality and A I combined together to really increase the production value and the experience you get out of A RVR. So I'm very excited about that. The next thing is robotics and automation. We've already seen this specifically in very large manufacturing and retail spaces, specifically places like Amazon where robotics pretty much run the whole warehouse.

Um And this was a very similar argument we have now with A I but this happened about like 10 years ago where Amazon replaced the majority of their, their floor workers to actually become to, to robots. And um there was such a huge argument of your taking jobs away from people. But in reality, it's actually enabled their workforce to again be elevated in learning more soft skills, management skills, being the mechanics to fix these robots if they get broken, to manage a fleet of other uh courier drivers. So there was a lot of greater opportunities that actually came out of it. And I definitely see a a synergy between the, the robotics and coos automation to A I um that we see today. Um The next thing that I really want to focus on is Web three. You hear web three a lot and realistically web three, most people think it's a RVR and a little bit of like NFTS and stuff like that. But what we're really focusing on when we say Web three is Blockchain and decentralized finance and NFT. So we're really talking about the Blockchain technology and how we're um communicating uh packets of data between um different web browsers, different users and that kind of stuff. And um we saw a surgeon specifically in the um in Bitcoin and in some of the technology uh digital currencies.

Um but there's far more greater uses for Web three beyond that. And you know, the biggest thing I would say is that again, I think A I combined with Web three and Blockchain technology will absolutely be game changer within the next few years. Uh Mainly because I think it's gonna create new job opportunities. Um And this is a, a great area that I believe that if there's more diversity in the um companies and the workforce employees that are getting into Web three, that will by far be so much more beneficial, not only for the workplace environment, but for the businesses in their bottom line as it is.

Um you know, and now kind of getting into de and I um time and time again, it has been proven that the dollar that you invest in a company that is far more diverse than a non diverse uh company you actually earn and make more money off of it. And the biggest thing about that is diversity means that you are able to share and learn from different people's experiences and that collaboration that you have between so many different other people is where you're able to create better, better, efficient and more productive workplaces.

Um One of the things that we kind of have experienced within these last few years is that specific code has been kind of biased there, there is a specific bias to some of the uh applications that are out there. Um And the way that things are skewed, especially when you're searching for certain items. Um And now within the last few years, we're definitely at least from my point of view, really focusing on making sure that we have the opportunity to focus on a more diverse workplace.

Um and beyond that and beyond, like removing bias or beyond the fact that you just need to have. And it's great to have different people that don't look like you into, uh, into your teams and into your workplace. It really does come down to the fact that do you actually represent the type of population that's out there that represents your own clients and your own customers? Is that something that you really want to focus on? Um The last thing I wanna talk about is the role of leadership. Um I have had an interesting experience and really kind of like a, a dichotomy of an experience between those that are leaders that believe that we should go back into a workplace versus those that are leaders that believe that we want to honor the area you're gonna be in and we are flexible um with where you can work as long as get the work done and all of that.

And I think it really comes down to a certain ability to connect with your team members and to be able to empathetically provide leadership um guidance, whether it's on a screen in augmented reality or virtual reality using A I whatever. But the, the point is that A, I believe a, a really um present leader should truly be able to connect on with using whatever medium it takes to truly understand and support their team members. And you know, um there are so many technological tools that we can use right beyond just using something like Zoom or using our chat or whatever it is that, you know, we can really connect with our team members, letting them know that we're here for them and we care for them.

Um And that we can use specific tools to be able to do that. So I really, I really believe that um the future of work specifically with including diversity, inclusivity and belonging and creating that safe space for so many different walks of life of people that you on board and, and your team members, it's so critical. Um And, and I think the, the challenges we've had the last few years of really trying to be forced into a digitally transformed uh environment really shows that, you know, not, not one type of workplace or work environment works for everybody. And if we want to sit and understand and truly engage with our team members, you'll learn that there are so many different ways to be able to uh provide a comfortable working environment and provide a workforce um system that honors what works best for them, but also works best for the company.

Um And as you all kind of have seen that we are all demanding a customizable and self serving type of environment, whether it comes from the way we order food to the way that we engage with watching TV, to having things on our phone, with our social media, the way we interact with our team members, there's seven to 10 different ways to communicate now.

Right? So, um I, I really feel like the biggest takeaway is learn and listen to your team members and, and really focus on what are their true needs to effectively produce quality work and, and how do you really connect with them beyond just a zoom meeting? So I hope this information is very helpful. Um I would love to connect with any of you on linkedin if you want to find me, I am uh on linkedin, Nancy Cole and I am so thrilled to be a part of a community like this. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day and I can't wait to meet all of you guys and I will see you guys later.