Céline Corno (Microsoft): “HR managers are key players in the AI revolution”

LEADERS LEAGUE: How far along is the general population in France in terms of adopting and mastering AI at work?
Céline Corno: We frequently conduct studies on this topic, including the Work Trend Index and the AI Diffusion Report. According to these two studies, 67% of executives see new professions emerging, with AI at their core. France ranks fifth in this regard, with 41% of the working population reporting that they use AI in a professional setting. However, 60% of French people say they are not sufficiently trained in the use of artificial intelligence.

So, accelerating efforts to train individuals and organizations on AI is crucial. At Microsoft, we see it as our social responsibility. Microsoft is committed to training one million French people in artificial intelligence skills by 2027.

How is this project progressing?
We have indeed made this commitment as part of a broader effort to contribute to the national response to this technological revolution. To this end, the AI Skills Navigator platform, accessible to anyone, offers more than 200 resources tailored to all levels and all professions.

We have also developed an “AI Calendar” in partnership with France Travail and Kokoroé, a French startup specializing in microlearning. This is a generative AI training program designed for job seekers, delivered in the form of very short modules. Through this program, job seekers can train daily in the fundamentals of AI: learning how to prompt, optimizing their job search, CV and cover letter using AI, and more.

Microsoft firmly believes that AI solutions should be used to achieve sustainable development goals

Practical use cases are also made available to allow them to test the knowledge they have acquired. Since May 2024, 700,000 people have discovered our content, and 250,000 people have completed a full training program. We are well on track to reach our objective by 2027.

What about the role of women in the artificial intelligence sector?
Women working in AI are still very few in number. Yet the issue of women’s representation is fundamental: AI developed by teams that are not representative of diversity is likely to reinforce biases embedded in algorithms, which are then reflected in the outputs produced by AI systems.

This is why, together with the social and solidarity based enterprise Simplon, we have developed an awareness-raising program called GenIAles, aimed at supporting women in understanding and using generative AI. We have already reached more than 7,000 women through our webinars, online modules and bootcamps.

And now you want to replicate this model in the non-profit sector.
We firmly believe that AI solutions should be used to achieve sustainable development goals. In the medical sector, for example, the challenges are those of inclusion, accessibility and welcoming people who do not speak French.

There are many very virtuous use cases for this “AI for good,” and we felt it was essential that the non-profit sector, which sometimes lacks resources, have access to it. Last November, we launched the IAGenGo training program, which replicates the GenIAles model by providing non-profit organizations with free training content in the form of webinars and online modules.

What role does HR play in these AI-based transformations?
HR professionals must be key allies in driving change. That is why we make sure to work closely with HR teams so that they are able to champion these topics within organizations, whether in terms of overall strategy or employee training.

As Amy Coleman, the chief people officer of Microsoft, has stressed, “we are moving from a world structured by positions and roles to a world centered on skills, tasks and results.” She calls on HR departments to adopt a stance of experimentation and innovation, stating that “HR leaders must also engage in R&D.”