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CIO Advocates for Digital Twins and AI to Enhance Tech Workforce Efficiency at UC San Diego, (from page 20250621.)

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Summary

Dr. Vince Kellen, the CIO at UC San Diego, discussed plans to enhance the tech team through the use of digital twins and AI agents at the Cisco Live conference. He emphasized that the higher education sector faces challenges such as declining student numbers and funding pressures, akin to operating a small city with substantial tech infrastructure. Kellen noted the necessity for automation in addressing everyday security challenges and combating sophisticated foreign cyberattacks. The automation strategy is aimed at improving productivity and reducing burdens on IT professionals by capturing their knowledge for AI applications, thus allowing for proactive issue detection.

Signals

name description change 10-year driving-force relevancy
Digital Twins for Workforce Automation Employers are exploring digital twins to replicate employee tasks, enhancing productivity. Transitioning from manual labor and repetitive tasks to automated solutions through AI and digital twins. In 10 years, workforce productivity may see a significant increase with widespread use of digital twins alleviating routine tasks. The need for efficiency and to manage declining workforce numbers in high-demand sectors like tech education. 4
Agentic AI in Cybersecurity Growing reliance on AI for proactive cybersecurity measures against sophisticated attacks. Shifting from reactive cybersecurity measures to proactive strategies using AI-driven automation. In a decade, organizations may rely heavily on AI for cyber defense, reducing human intervention in routine security tasks. Increased sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks necessitating advanced, automated security solutions. 5
Knowledge Digitization and AI Training Utilizing human expertise to enhance AI capabilities, aiming to improve their operational efficiency. Moving from traditional training methods to AI systems learning from existing human knowledge bases. AI could autonomously manage and secure network operations, effectively replacing some conventional IT roles. The urgent need for improved AI efficiency and the reduction of repetitive training processes for new technologies. 4
Evolving Nature of IT Roles The role of IT professionals is changing towards strategic oversight with AI handling routine issues. Transition from manual troubleshooting to strategic management of AI systems resolving technical issues. IT roles might evolve primarily to focus on system management and oversight rather than direct issue resolution. The declining efficiency of human labor in handling repetitive tasks compared to automated AI solutions. 4

Concerns

name description
Digital Twin Cloning The ethical implications of cloning staff as digital twins and AI agents raises concerns about privacy, consent, and identity.
Automation of Job Functions Increasing automation could lead to reduced job security for IT professionals as AI takes over more responsibilities.
Cybersecurity Threats With growing digital infrastructure, there is an increased risk of sophisticated cyber attacks from foreign actors.
Data Dependency Risks Relying on AI and digital twins for decision-making may create vulnerability if systems fail or are compromised.
Loss of Human Expertise Automating knowledge extraction from IT staff may lead to a gradual decline in human problem-solving skills and expertise.
Impact on Work-Life Balance The reliance on AI handling issues could change expectations for availability and workload of IT professionals.

Behaviors

name description
Digital Twin Cloning Employers create digital duplicates of staff to automate repetitive tasks, thereby enhancing efficiency and reducing workload.
Proactive AI Management Utilization of AI for early detection and management of network issues to minimize disruptions and optimize resource allocation.
Human-AI Symbiosis Collaboration between human expertise and AI to enhance technical performance and knowledge transfer.
Automation of Cybersecurity Defenses Increasing reliance on automated systems to fend off sophisticated cyber attacks and free human resources for critical tasks.
Knowledge Digitization Extracting and digitizing employee knowledge to improve AI’s efficiency and problem-solving capabilities.

Technologies

name description
Digital Twins Creating virtual replicas of employees to automate tasks and relieve them from repetitive work.
Agentic AI AI with proactive detection capabilities that learns from human expertise to enhance system performance.
Automation of Cyber Defense Utilizing automated systems to manage and secure networks against sophisticated attacks.
Human/Technical Symbiosis Integrating human knowledge into AI systems for improved problem-solving and efficiency.

Issues

name description
Digital Twins and AI Agents Employing digital twins and AI to clone staff jobs to enhance efficiency and reduce repetitive work is emerging in tech sectors.
Automation in Higher Education Growing automation in higher education institutions to counter declining student numbers and funding challenges is an emerging trend.
Cybersecurity Threats from Foreign Actors Increased sophisticated attacks from foreign entities targeting educational institutions pose significant security issues that need addressing.
Agentic AI for Proactive Defense Utilizing agentic AI systems for proactive detection of network issues to enhance cybersecurity measures is gaining attention.
Human/AI Symbiosis in Tech Roles The integration of human knowledge into AI systems for improved efficiency and decision-making capabilities in technology management is on the rise.
Quality of Life for IT Professionals Efforts to improve the work-life balance for IT professionals through automation and AI support is becoming increasingly relevant.