The Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12 noon ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!

This Digital Transformers edition of the Buzz fell on Martin Luther King, Jr, Day here in the states, and hosts Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson kicked off the show with a tribute to the late civil rights leader on what is his actual birthday! Scott and Kevin then shifted over to the normal business of the day, discussing some of the top news stories and trends in supply chain and digital transformation today. Listen in and learn more about:

• How to overcome challenges by implementing technology in supply chain management
• The top global risks for supply chains in 2024
• How digital transformation increases the value of your supply chain workforce
• How a rise in recent layoffs may be correlated with the continued rise of AI
• And more!

Intro/Outro (00:03):

Welcome to Supply Chain. Now the voice of global supply chain supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues, the challenges and opportunities. Stay tuned to hear from Those Making Global Business happen right here on supply chain now.

Scott Luton (00:32):

Hey. Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are, Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson with you here on Supply Chain. Now welcome to today’s live stream. Kevin, how you doing today?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:42):

Yes, sir, I’m doing fine. But woke up this morning, the snow on the ground. You know what that is, right?

Scott Luton (00:51):

I had to relearn what it is. It’s been a little while since we had some down in Georgia that hung out for more than an hour.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58):

I woke up with about two inches. It wasn’t a lot, but I still was just relishing when I got up and I looked out the window to white and I inhaled my Colombian, and I said, I don’t need to go out there. Good.

Scott Luton (01:21):

That means you don’t have to shovel it because I’ll tell you an inch, much less two inches of snow or precipitation that wipes out my ability to drive. Kevin, I don’t know about you, but I lose it much like many of other Georgians down here, maybe folks across the Southeast. But hey, we got big things to talk about here today, Kevin, big Things. It is a special edition of The Buzz, which comes at you every Monday at 12 on Eastern Time folks, but today it’s a digital Transformer’s edition, which takes place every second Monday of each month. So today Kevin and I are going to be discussing a variety of news and developments today across global business with a big extra helping of all things technology. And hey folks, if you’re listening to the podcast replay, we usually drop the buzz replays on Fridays. Come join us live. We’d love to hear from you live on LinkedIn or YouTube or some other social media channel of your choosing. We’d love to hear from you. And one last request, Kevin, one last request we want to bake into this is if y’all like the show folks, if you’d like the show, hey, share it with a friend. We’d love to have them join us and give us their take on some of the biggest news stories of the day. Kevin, how’s all that sound in your ears?

Kevin L. Jackson (02:32):

Everyone is friend, and today is really special because it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Scott Luton (02:40):

Well, you’re absolutely right, Kevin, and that’s exactly where we’re going to start. As I was saying in the pre-show, we’ve almost made this Kevin a bit of a tradition to have a live stream on MLK day and dive into his incredible, his powerful legacy, his family’s powerful legacy own Martin Luther King, Jr Day. And that’s where I want to start. And I love this shot. And folks, if you’re listening to us and you don’t see the visual, let me paint a picture for you. So in Washington DC in front of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. Had his iconic, I Have a Dream speech, they’ve got it imprinted, carved into the marble exactly where he was, and there’s this beautiful sunrise shot with the Washington Monument out front and the mall and everything. So what a gorgeous, gorgeous picture. But Kevin, when we think about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day each year here in January, what are a couple thoughts that come to your mind each year?

Kevin L. Jackson (03:35):

Well, MLK Day is really the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service. So we all should honor Dr. King’s legacy by working towards a more just and equitable society, especially in this election year where everyone, we need to value everyone and respect everyone regardless of their race, ability, religion, or background. So by using this time to participate in service projects, we can really bridge divides, heal wounds, and create the lasting change that will benefit our communities for years to come. I think that’s what we all should be thinking about on this wonderful day.

Scott Luton (04:23):

Kevin, what a great way. Thank you for sharing. Very eloquent and intriguing comments there. And I would just add to that, I was over on the website for the King Center. I think they had a live stream earlier today, about 10:00 AM Eastern time. I’m sure folks, y’all can find that on demand, but I was struck with what was emblazoned across the top of the website. It starts with me and sounds simple, but Kevin, I think that simple phrase goes back to what you were sharing because all of us have a daily, if not an hourly conscious decision to make. Am I going to be part of the problem or am I going to be part of the solution and bring everybody, everybody, regardless of their walk of life, provide opportunities for all, create a better society, a better not to be too cheesy, but a better world for all. And all of us have that decision to make at least every single day. So what decision you be making here in the new year, Kevin, your quick response, and we’re going to keep on moving.

Kevin L. Jackson (05:22):

Yeah. One thing, I mean, MLK is a US national holiday, but it really is a global society, and I just want to highlight that our global audience, it’s not just for us in the United States to have these thoughts and to focus on building our society, our global society. And this is even more important in today’s technology field world where we are connected 24 7 365. And with that, I want to thank our audience for being with us on this special day.

Scott Luton (05:54):

Yeah, agreed. Agreed. And as I like what Amanda says here, Amanda says that she read today, the MLK day is not a day off, but a day on. And that’s kind of what Kevin and I both are suggesting. Okay. I want to bring this graphic because one of the things that all of our audience will certainly, hopefully know about us is we want to be a constant source for practical resources that are going to help you navigate the tough days and months ahead. And with that said, is our almost weekly newsletter, and we dropped that over the weekend. I think it was edition number 63, Kevin. And as y’all might imagine, of course, we spoke about a neat backstory to the I have a Dream speech. I’m not going to spoil it, but it might just involve someone suggesting to Dr. King. Tell him about the dream. Martin. Such a great, neat little backstory there. We also offered up news and resources from our friends at Winward. So y’all check that out, Kevin, you’re laughing. Hey, let me in the inside joke. What’s the inside joke, Kevin?

Kevin L. Jackson (06:54):

No, I was just thinking about down on the International mall at Monument, I mean, when it was first released, there was a lot of real, I guess, dislike on the monument when it first came out. What sort of struck me is how it has grown. And now put that picture you show, it just looks so majestic, right? So I love that monument. So if you ever come to Washington DC definitely go downtown and check it out.

Scott Luton (07:27):

Oh, Kevin, what a great tip. It might sound like an obvious tip, but there’s so much to see in Washington dc. You got to make MLK Monument at the top of your list. When we went last spring, Kevin, they got all the cherry blossom trees kind of around where the monument is, and it was a gorgeous 65 or 70 degree day. And it really, when you have a setting like that and such a majestic imposing, I guess I’ll call it big monument, it really helps you really think about what it really challenges all the assumptions and all the stories we’ve heard timelessly about Dr. King and really makes you think about it in a new mindset, which I think is so important with historical figures like Dr. King. Your final thoughts, and then we’re going to jump into the first story here today, Kevin.

Kevin L. Jackson (08:16):

The one thing that really stuck me about Dr. King is he is a real person in my life. All of the people that you revere, they’re either long gone or they’re myths, right? But I was alive when Dr. King was alive. I was alive when I remember the day that he was assassinated. I remember watching the I Have a Dream speech on television, right? Wow. So it’s something that I’ve felt in my life, something that’s real. And it’s important to realize that society is changed and improved by the acts of real people like you. That’s right. Like everyone.

Scott Luton (09:04):

Wow. All right. So folks, remember, it starts with each and every one of us making that conscious decision. So thank y’all everyone for being here today on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day. Alright, so Kevin, we’ve got a lot to get into here today. A lot to get into. And by the way, folks, we did drop the, with that said link, make it easy for you. We dropped it in the comments, your one click away from checking out that almost weekly newsletter. Kevin, I want to start with this first story here. Alright, this is going to give us plenty of stuff to talk about, plenty of stuff to talk about. So almost 1500 business leaders were asked by the World Economic Forum about what risks they thought would cause a crisis on a global scale in 2024. Okay? Surprising to many of us. Maybe I’ll just say surprising to me, cyber attacks barely, I mean, barely made the top five responses.

(09:57):

So Kevin, I’m going to share the top eight and we’re going to drop the link so folks can check out the rest of the stuff. And then Kevin, I’m going to get your take here. Okay? Yeah. And this is from our friends over at the visual capitalist. That’s a great resource, folks to add to your Rolodex. Alright, so number one, extreme weather. That was what? 66% of the business leaders, that was their number one, right? Extreme weather was going to wreck havoc across the world. Number two, AI generated misinformation or disinformation. Number three, societal and or political polarization. That’s a good one. Number four, cost of living crisis. I know we’ve all, our dollars don’t go quite as far as they used to. And then number five, Kevin cyber attacks snuck in number five, and I would just add, I think we should move that up, but I think it’s a good discussion point. Forbes says that $9.5 trillion will be done in damage to the world in 2024 by cyber bad actors, 9.5 trillion. Wow. Alright, back to the list. Number six is an economic downturn. We’ve spoken about that endlessly. Number seven, disrupted supply chains for critical goods and resources. And number eight is certainly a fear of mine, an ongoing fear of mine that is an escalation or outbreak of armed conflict. Okay, Kevin, that’s a big, just a top eight things on that list. Yeah, your thoughts.

Kevin L. Jackson (11:20):

Well, first of all of these things have been with us for a while. None of it is new. The question is what do we do about it? And one thing that I think that people don’t realize, number three there societal and political polarization. Did you realize that 2024 is the biggest year in history for national elections? The countries, major countries in the world that are voting for their leaders, like the Russian elections in March, they just had a Taiwanese election yesterday. The US election of course, and the interactions of all these countries, they’re at war in many cases, right? And this list probably could have been made any year, but this year particularly, they’re also linked together. And unfortunately, there’s a large swath of the population that doesn’t believe in extreme weather, in climate change. Don’t believe that’s a thing. And I think this AI generated misinformation is really contributing to the fact that we don’t believe science. Many people don’t believe science anymore. So I mean, it is scary, but it is also a call to arms to be sensible and to contribute.

Scott Luton (12:54):

Well said. And it all starts with me. That’s going to be a common theme, just like the common themes you were talking about, that weave in amongst all of these big threats. That’s going to be another common theme for today’s conversation. So I appreciate your thoughts here, Kevin, and I’ll tell you what I am praying, hoping, wishing that 2024 can bring peace and prosperity and cooler heads and success around the globe to our audience members everywhere. Okay, Kevin, this second story is going to be a lot more positive.

Kevin L. Jackson (13:25):

We’re going to the lighter side.

Scott Luton (13:29):

So moving from disastrous predictions to more practical optimism. This article here from app Inventive, I’m going to share this graphic here, Kevin. So this is good news. Supply chain teams, as we know and as we do really in many cases around the world, are leveraging technology in old and new, exciting ways to solve problems and overcome obstacles. So Kevin, tell us more.

Kevin L. Jackson (13:54):

Well, we was talking about the daily news and it really elevates the need for companies to really embrace technology and technology led supply chain management. And these solutions are really needed in order to handle all these challenges. As we, there’s a probability of new shocks to the global systems and wars and conflict really can’t be overlooked. The fact that every crucial commodity, in fact, the human commodity and material commodity is scarce and expensive. This leads to complexities and shortages. Air and sea freight prices have really gone through the roof. This makes it challenging for companies to move freight at high capacity. The bottlenecks both in shipping and in receiving has led to additional time required for importing and exporting operations. And we are globally connected commerce. Okay? This disrupts not only international supply chains, but domestic supply chains. And also, this is a weird one.

(15:09):

You look back at the shutdown in 2020, that affected the supplier’s network data and how businesses changed so dramatically in 2021 in order to adopt digitalization efforts as people were shut in and the whole process changed of how to order and deliver products and services worldwide. That actually resulted in basically the elimination of all benchmarks for supply chain leaders because nothing is the same anymore. And historically, supply chain leaders have looked at the past as a way of predicting what they needed to do today and for the future. So that’s not there anymore. So it’s like they’re groping around because they don’t have that in the dark, groping around in the dark. But all of these things, the answer is in adopting new technology, you got to adopt new technology in the supply chain and don’t be afraid. And this article really lists the technologies that you should consider.

Scott Luton (16:33):

Yeah, excellent. I love that. And I love the sound effects there, Kevin, that made it very majestic and dramatic. So y’all check that out. Amanda has dropped the link to this log article via our friends at app, inventive there in the chat. I want to just add a couple of comments of Kevin’s. Lots of opportunities. Lots of opportunities, especially leveraging technology, leveraging circularity, more circularity thinking.

Kevin L. Jackson (16:56):

Yes, sustainability is critical.

Scott Luton (16:58):

That’s right. I read over the weekend, we all have heard, probably Kevin, I bet our audience, which is the smartest audience in all of the land has probably heard this and know this. China has a huge leg up when it comes to domestically producing rare earth minerals, which of course modern technology leans heavily on. Well, I read over the weekend, recent research suggests that here in the us, which the US and the EU are the biggest, and China are the biggest users of rare earths that the US could ramp up its domestic ability to meet as much as 40% more of our rare earth mineral needs. If we just embraced more circular thinking, Kevin, right? So that’s a massive opportunity.

Kevin L. Jackson (17:38):

Yeah. The one thing along with that though, have you heard that there was a huge mean, huge massive lithium deposit found along the Nevada Oregon border, really? And that’s one of the biggest raw materials for batteries, okay? And China has very large lithium reserves. This deposit is estimated to contain between 20 and 40 million metric tons of lithium with unsurpassed and unprecedented quality that surpasses any other previous fine. So new discoveries like this could really change the paradigm when it comes to rare earths

Scott Luton (18:26):

Agreed. That really changes the Oregon Trail. Maybe we got a new edition of the Oregon Trail video game coming out and maybe old Tyler ward’s up there surveying little pickax, looking for big deposits

Kevin L. Jackson (18:38):

About mining. Look at some lithium man.

Scott Luton (18:41):

We’re talking about overcoming challenges, leveraging technology, leveraging new ideas. But really circularity is an old idea that folks who just generally speaking have been slower to embrace automation. We’ve talked about automation for years, right? I’m excited about how automation doesn’t replace your current talent. It augments, it helps make them their job easier. It allows, we’ve talked time and time again. You automate the blocking and tackling and free up the human factor to do bigger and better things, right?

Kevin L. Jackson (19:13):

It’s the difference between creating robots and creating cobots.

Scott Luton (19:18):

Yes, Kevin? Yes, Kevin. And in order to realize that opportunity, I’m going to go back to something you shared at the end of your initial response, and that is adoption. I think oftentimes we see it time and time again with all the technology projects and initiatives and you name it, that companies are implementing adoption and what practically is going to move the needle there and allow the workforce to truly adopt the technology project of the day, what have you. That is so important because if the workforce doesn’t adopt it and doesn’t see what’s in it for me, which we talk about a lot, we’re going to basically write a big old check and get very limited or no return. Kevin, your last thought, we’re going to move to the next story.

Kevin L. Jackson (20:00):

Well keep thinking. I think that’s the most important part of anyone. You have to keep thinking and always be open to change because change is constant and continuous, and we all are going to the future together. So that’s right. We have to keep the minds open.

Scott Luton (20:20):

That’s a great tip. And here’s another one. Buy some land up in the Pacific Northwest. Be a part of the big old lithium deposits.

Kevin L. Jackson (20:29):

Lithium. Yep. All

Scott Luton (20:30):

Right. So we’ve dropped the link to the first two articles there. Let’s see here. Mary Kate, love, great to see you, Mary. Kate says The circular economy is so exciting to think about. That’s right. And Kevin, of course, Mary Kate loved the founder of National Supply Chain Day here in the us, right? So we’re in the of celebrities here. Kevin, do you know that?

Kevin L. Jackson (20:49):

Oh, I’m odd actually.

Scott Luton (20:54):

Me and you both. Me and you both. And we got a couple comments about the first article where we listed some of these risks. I’ll cover those here before we move forward. T squared says, with all those risks coming that we were talking about earlier in the first story, overarching risk hedging, supply chain management may become the norm for all products. I absolutely think, I think risk management, as we’ve talked about, it feels like Millennium, Kevin, risk management has always been inherent in successful supply chain management. It is the job some would say, right? However, it’s really interesting to see bigger investments and more attention and priority that business leaders are giving to the holistic approach to risk management. Your thoughts there, Kevin?

Kevin L. Jackson (21:37):

It’s about the pendulum. We have to avoid the reactive pendulum decisions. That’s right. Everything in moderation. You don’t go all offshore and all onshore and go back all offshore again. You have to have a little offshore, you got to have a little nearshore, you got to have onshore, and you have to have that moderation in all things that you do.

Scott Luton (22:05):

Yes. Resist the knee jerk. Resist the knee jerk reaction. We got to mitigate that. And then Andre makes a great point here. Kevin, I love this point. Andre says that back on that list of top eight that we covered of risks to global damage, number one, Andre says, should be a lack of holistic and critical thinking. I think that’s a great comment there. Kevin, did

Kevin L. Jackson (22:26):

We say something about that earlier? Absolutely. Thank you.

Scott Luton (22:31):

You got to be

Kevin L. Jackson (22:32):

Thinking. That’s right. Got to be thinking.

Scott Luton (22:34):

And Mary Kay is reminding us National Supply Chain Day is indeed April 29th here, 2024. I’m looking forward to celebrating that with Mary Kate and Kevin and the whole team. Big

Kevin L. Jackson (22:45):

Party.

Scott Luton (22:46):

Woo-hoo. Big party. That’s right. Open bar for that party, Kevin is what I hear. Open bar. I’m

Kevin L. Jackson (22:52):

There. I’m there.

Scott Luton (22:55):

Alright folks, let’s cover a neat resource that’s coming up, talking about innovative ways Tech is helping supply chain leaders do big things and do big things differently. Hey, come check out a neat live event on January 24th where Kevin and I are going to be hosting Ami Daniel with Winward. Now Winward doing some really cool things. We’re going to be talking about how we can better leverage AI to conquer all sorts of ocean shipping challenges. And as you might expect, Kevin and all of y’all out there, we’re going to be diving into the Red Sea situation in particular, Kevin, I think we’ve got, we’re approaching 700 folks that are set to join us thus far for this live event. Should be a good conversation, huh?

Kevin L. Jackson (23:33):

Oh yeah. I’m absolutely looking forward to it. And the Red Sea is a critical waterway. I’ve spent some time there. Yes. Right. So I think it’s important. During the tanker war, I did a lot of work there, so it’s really important for us to understand the importance of these vital waterways.

Scott Luton (23:51):

I love that, Kevin. And we’re going to dive into deep, I mean, and the team are doing some big things there to change the game a bit. And also on a personal note, lemme pull this graphic back up. You see me there, Kevin? Yeah. You’ll have something in common. I me served in the Navy, I think the Israeli Navy, and of course you spent time as a naval aviator. So I think we’re going to share all kinds of experiences across the seas, the seven seas. Kevin, I’m looking forward to this one.

Kevin L. Jackson (24:17):

Yeah, I spent some time in Israel as well. I was as guests of the Israeli Navy and one of highlights of your life floating in the Dead Sea. Yeah, going to Masada, that was a great trip.

Scott Luton (24:33):

Wow. I love your stories and we’ve talked a lot of them, especially where that one stint part of your time in the Navy, you were kind of a military diplomat, I’ll call it. You’re meeting all kinds of movers and shakers across the world. So stay tuned folks, some of those stories and a lot more about ocean shipping and how to better manage ocean shipping, leveraging modern and cutting edge technology. Join us on January 24th and Amanda has already dropped the link. Your one click away, y’all. Check that out. Okay, Kevin, back to our third story here today. Yes, I love this headline here. So this comes to us from our friends over at vo Get this digital transformation increases the value of supply chain workforce. I agree with that. So Kevin, tell us a whole bunch more here.

Kevin L. Jackson (25:20):

This statement is true no matter what industry you are discussing, but this article actually focuses on healthcare, which is kind of a shift where data as a service has emerged as a solution that brings a pipeline of enriched, normalized data to supply chain analysts and others. And this quality enriched data is also essential to building engagement between clinicians and the supply chain workforce supply. See, you never didn’t know I was going there where it didn’t. So digital transformation changes the dynamics between supply chain physicians and device companies giving more power than ever before to the data driven supply chain workforce. So bid and contract management are ripe for digitization and in many hospital enterprises that’s already underway, thoughtful and purpose built solutions for the medical supply chain, shorten contract cycles, it reclaims staff hours, it spreads efficiencies, and it makes us all healthy. So be healthy, have a great supply chain, love technology.

Scott Luton (26:51):

That’s right. Well, it’s so interesting, Kevin and I love the intersection of supply chain and healthcare. It’s a critical one. We have been, I think we kicked it off in 2023, are healthcare supply chain leadership series. And we’ve met with some C SEOs really across the country and learned more about what they face as they bring more supply chain management thinking and best practices and proven best practices and new practices into a really longstanding, and I hate to call it traditional, but the healthcare industry, right?

Kevin L. Jackson (27:22):

They’re slow to adopt technology very slow. Yes,

Scott Luton (27:25):

Kevin, of course, one of the big reasons why they are slow to adopt is because literally lives are at stake and they’ve got to make sure the decisions and the change they embrace given those risks are the right ones. That’s a great comment, Kevin.

Kevin L. Jackson (27:39):

Notice how fast during the pandemic they were able to embrace technology and what was holding them back was really a lot of the outdated laws and regulations that could be eliminated with a stroke of a pen, right? So I don’t think it’s that healthcare as an industry abhors technology or change. It’s just that once again, it’s risk management. How do you manage that risk? And the legal industry is trying to protect all while managing the risk. So everyone’s trying to do the right thing. It’s just difficult. Sometimes

Scott Luton (28:22):

I don’t disagree. And I also want to make sure sometimes I use the wrong words, Kevin, and it messes up what I’m trying to communicate. I think healthcare in many ways are a great shining example of how to embrace technology and because they have to do out of necessity. If you look at the states, if you look at other parts of the world and popul relationships here in the states, of course we’ve got a bigger demand being placed on healthcare because of generational transfer and stuff, right? In places like across the African continent, Kevin, you and I have had some conversations here, just access to healthcare in some of the more rural and isolated places. That’s a big part of the challenge. And there’s aspects of both of those challenges globally, right? Yeah.

Kevin L. Jackson (29:04):

Telehealth has really gone a long way to support that access to healthcare in rural areas, especially across the continent.

Scott Luton (29:13):

That is right. So going back to this article, which started the discussion for as much as successful digital transformation increases the value of the organization or the product, or certainly supply chain performance. I love this central premise because it brings more value to the workforce and the human factor. And it’s a wonderful force multiplier of the impact that the human factor can have in supply chains and everywhere else within the organization. Kevin, I’ll give you the last word here.

Kevin L. Jackson (29:41):

More technology and supply chains make you healthy.

Scott Luton (29:46):

I love it. Like a tagline.

Kevin L. Jackson (29:50):

Alright,

Scott Luton (29:51):

This last article we’re going to tackle here today, Kevin, this is an interesting one, and this comes out from our friends over at CNN. So I’m going to unpack this a little bit, trying to stick to the facts. And then Kevin, I’m going to get you to respond to some of the ways that maybe AI and technology is being positioned in terms of their impact and whatnot. So, alright, again, folks, we’re going to keep it real. This last story kind of runs a little bit counter to our third story. So CNN ran this report over the weekend and it focuses here on tons, unfortunately, of layoff announcements that have come in the first couple of weeks of the new year. To put it fair, maybe it has a lot of folks wondering about any correlation between the layoffs and employment in general as it might be correlated to the continued rise of ai.

(30:34):

So here’s some of the facts. Google, Amazon, discord, unity software and other tech companies have announced at least 5,500 layoffs in the last week or two. Going back to 2023, it’s been reported that over 260,000 technology professionals were laid off last year. But the job cuts aren’t only impacting the tech world. Financial dynamo, Citigroup man, cutting some 20,000 jobs recently announced. Now to be fair, it’s really important to look at things in the right context. There’s a number of factors, including the rapid hiring practices during the pandemic. So many of these same companies can meet demand, lots of different factors that roll up to these really difficult decisions. However, in 2023, at least some companies like IBM and Dropbox, well frankly, they pointed to the powerful evolution of AI and they stated, Kevin, business leaders got to think much different and they got to revisit their approach to staffing.

(31:29):

Now this is, I want to finish on a high note here. This is really important. So folks, y’all listen up because sometimes negative mindsets and the negativities that some in out in the news and the media can apply to modern technology. Y’all listen to this. So technology revolutions over the course of human history, they have displaced workers, but they’ve also created all sorts of jobs and opportunities. The World Economic Forum, Kevin, the WEF predicts that AI may replace 85 million jobs by the year 2025, but that AI will create an estimated 97 million new jobs by the same year. So by my count, and I grew up in South Carolina, so I’ll double check my math, but that means that’s a net gain of about 12 million new jobs. Kevin, your thoughts?

Kevin L. Jackson (32:17):

Yeah. Yeah. So to step back and open the aperture a bit, okay, this year we were just talking about risk management, and earlier we talked about the fact that many major countries are going through political elections, major political elections this year. So if you are a company trying to operate a global environment, you want to minimize your risk because not only are you going to have this political change, but there’s going to be this huge economic change. People are still talking about maybe a recession in this year. So no company is going to jump out in 2024 and higher up and technology, there’s always a transition where people doing old jobs are going to fade away, get laid off, they’re going to get re-skilled, and then they’re going to come back in and these new positions, one of the fastest growing positions is a AI prompt engineering figure out how to create and fashion prompts so that you can get the answers you need from AI transitions. Take time. So 2024 is a transition year. You’re going to see these things, expect these things, but know we’re going to get through this and on the other end we’re going to be better for

Scott Luton (33:44):

It. I love that. I love that. And Andre makes a great point. We need to talk more about causation out there because as Andre says, just because two elements occur at the same time does not mean one calls the other. Excellent point. Excellent point. Alright, so Kevin, couple last thoughts here before we wrap here today. Yes sir. I like messing around with chat, GPT, me and probably tens of means of people around the globe. So I posed the question to chat GPT, how many jobs will AI create in the next couple of years? And I posed it to chat GPT about seven times and I could never get a straight numerical answer, but one of the tidbits I did get, one of the tidbits I did get, Kevin, check this out.

Kevin L. Jackson (34:31):

This is not artificial intelligence, it’s human intelligence.

Scott Luton (34:35):

That’s right. I think I’m hopefully illustrating that. But

(34:39):

PWC came out with some research. Here’s another data point I think is interesting. PWC estimates that AI could contribute up to 15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. So between that number and research is research folks. There’s no guarantees. But between that number and the 97 million new job by 2025, Kevin, I think that is part of the story that we don’t hear enough about in this age and this day of change. Folks, if you volunteer, if you lean into your role, if you learn new things like those prompts that Kevin was talking about, if you’re of that I and of that mindset, this technology revolutionary period that we’re in, it’s going to create lots of opportunities. On the flip side, unfortunately, we’re going to keep it real. If you don’t like learning new things and you like doing the same thing hour after hour after hour, folks, you are going to be at risk. That’s how technology evolves. Kevin, your last thought here about AI jobs and what lies ahead,

Kevin L. Jackson (35:43):

Like I said, change is constant. Okay? And it’s continuous and we have to roll with it. So look forward to the future because bright for us all

Scott Luton (35:53):

That’s right. And it’s coming whether you like it or not. Alright, so Kevin really have enjoyed walking through these four stories here today. Really enjoyed your perspective on Martin Luther King Jr Day to how, hey, it all starts with each of us,

Kevin L. Jackson (36:08):

Right? This has been fun.

Scott Luton (36:09):

It has been a lot of fun folks. Again, digital Transformers version of the Buzz, which Kevin joins me sometimes, me and Greg and other friends every second Monday of the month. So join us and catch Kevin’s appearances. Also, you can catch Kevin, a lot of different places across the world of technology, including Digital Transformers, which is a wonderful podcast that we’ve been producing for a couple years now. So Kevin, speaking of the future, sorry, that was a long segue. Speaking of the future, what can we expect when it comes to your popular series, digital Transformers?

Kevin L. Jackson (36:41):

Well, we’re back in the lab doing a lot of work right now. I’ll be in San Antonio, Texas in the next couple of weeks working on a project, the National Digit Foundry, which is focused on the digitization of assets, including the digital dollar that will be coming soon. And we could probably expect a story on that coming pretty soon. And our latest edition was about focusing on satellites and space and how the space economy is changing the supply chain, that information supply chain. So stay tuned for news in those areas.

Scott Luton (37:25):

I love that. Going back to your first one, the digital dollar, we’re talking about something that the US government is creating and backing, right Kevin,

Kevin L. Jackson (37:32):

Right? Absolutely. So I mean the United States is strong from an economic point of view. Most of the economy, global economy is based on the use of US dollars. I know you’ve heard of the petro dollar. That’s because oil is pegged to the dollar. Well, as our global society transitions to the use of cryptocurrency and crypto securities, and in fact the SEC Securities and Exchange Committee actually approved ETFs or exchange of Bitcoin just last week. So in order to maintain the strength and the effectiveness of the US dollar, the Congress and the US government’s considering deploying a digital dollar, that it also would be linked to the US dollar. So lots of change, lots of change to deal with.

Scott Luton (38:29):

That is fascinating. I’ll tell you reason 1,297, why I wish I paid more attention to math as a grade school student so I could crack those Bitcoin algorithms faster than anyone else out there. But hey, we’ll save that to another time. Alright folks, thanks for being here. Kevin. Folks can probably track you down on LinkedIn, other social, and of course they can find digital transformers.

Kevin L. Jackson (38:52):

Yep, everywhere. I’m on X LinkedIn, I’m on Facebook and I’m on the TikTok too. So

Scott Luton (39:01):

Kevin L. Jackson is everywhere, folks. It’s everywhere. I always enjoy our conversations and our episodes together. Alright folks, so Kevin, first off, again, thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your perspective and expertise and look forward to the next show.

Kevin L. Jackson (39:14):

Thank you for having me.

Scott Luton (39:16):

Alright folks, as we start to sign off here today, I want to revisit the front end of our conversation because as you saw, even whether it’s research that we’ve tackled in the first story to what even our day-to-Day experiences will tell us is that we live in a very friction filled time, right? Our communities, our countries, the globe filled with friction and many times can be dangerous friction. So in honor, of course, what Dr. King would suggest, not only, but also hey, it starts with me. It starts with you. We make the decisions whether to be parts again, of the problem or the solution. So with that in mind, on behalf of our entire team here at Supply Chain now, Scott Luton challenging you. Hey, put it into action deeds, not words do good. Get forward and be the change is needed. And we’ll see you next time. Right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (40:06):

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