THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN CORPORATE DISTANCE LEARNING ATTITUDES OF THE UPCOMING WORKFORCE GENERATION

Abstract

Every new generation brings changes in the general characteristics of the workforce, reflected in different values, insights, expectations, and technological skills. The upcoming generations of the workforce are growing up in a digital environment, and information technology significantly determines their primary model of interpersonal communication, learning, and work values. They are also growing up in a time of increased application of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is certainly changing the labour market, too, and its application is present in almost all processes of human resources management, including the training and development of employees. The main purpose of this research is to explore the attitudes of the upcoming generation of the workforce regarding distance learning and the use of artificial intelligence in the training and development of employees. A total of 238 respondents from Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the research. Their attitudes were collected using a questionnaire created for this research, and hypotheses were tested by descriptive statistics, T-test, and ANOVA. The research results confirm the positive attitudes of Generation Z members toward contemporary training models. There is no statistically significant difference in the attitudes of the respondents from the observed countries, but there is a statistically significant difference in their expectations regarding the use of artificial intelligence in their future work. This paper contributes to the human resource management literature because it brings new knowledge about the attitudes and expectations of the next generation of the workforce, which employers can use as a guide for designing new and adapting existing employee training and development programs.

Index Terms — Artificial intelligence, distance learning, training and development, workforce generation