How Critical Industries Can Bridge The AI-Talent Gap

InnovationHow Critical Industries Can Bridge The AI-Talent GapBySteve Smith,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 18, 2026, 07:00am EDTSteve Smith, President of National Grid Partners and Chief Strategy and Regulation Officer at National Grid. getty​Artificial intelligence is swiftly moving beyond the realm of startups to serve governments and large enterprises. And despite some early skepticism and stumbling blocks, the long-promised results are starting to land. Senior leaders now report positive ROI from artificial intelligence across their businesses, from operations to innovation. Even highly regulated industries like finance, healthcare and utilities are deploying AI. In fact, our survey of utility innovation leaders revealed a sea change: Nearly two-thirds of respondents had seen their innovation budgets increase versus the previous year, and almost all (96%) called AI a strategic focus.I've seen firsthand how artificial intelligence delivers hundreds of millions of dollars in value to our company and its customers—from warding off equipment failures to reducing outages caused by falling trees. AI even helps us solve the challenges it creates: While many fret about AI’s massive electricity demands, our portfolio company uses it to find excess grid capacity that can power data centers. And Emerald AI recently proved that artificial intelligence can help data centers automatically reduce power usage by up to 40% in times of high demand. Together, these new technologies can help reduce costs for existing utility customers as we drive more AI connections to boost the economy.The opportunity is enormous. But seizing it requires something utilities and other industries are now scrambling to secure: AI talent. Narrowing The DivideMake no mistake: Skilled AI experts are in high demand. Meta, Google and...