AI Essentials: Equipping Professionals for the Future of Work

In an era where AI is reshaping industries and redefining job roles, understanding and leveraging AI has become essential for professionals across various sectors. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, AI will displace 85 million jobs but create 97 million new ones, underscoring the urgent need for digital fluency and AI literacy.

Dr. James Stanger, our guest on this episode of 'Bring Out the Talent,' is a recognized authority in security, information technology, and workforce development. As the Chief Technology Evangelist at CompTIA, and an award-winning author, blogger, and educator, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to today’s discussion. Join us as Dr. Stanger shares insights on the importance of understanding AI, the practical applications of AI skills in various job roles, and CompTIA’s new AI Essentials Series, designed to prepare individuals and organizations for the future of work.

Transcript

Maria Melfa:

 Hello, Jocelyn.

Jocelyn Allen:

 Hi, Maria. Just getting in the groove over here, trying to put as much energy as I can into the Zoom since we're not together today.

Maria Melfa:

 I know. I can't believe you left me stranded in our podcast room today. It feels very weird. I'm going to pretend there's other people in here with me. But we don't have to pretend that there are other people on our podcast because we have a few. Well, of course, we have our special guest, Dr. James Stanger, and we do have our one and only John Laverdure, who's our Director of Sales.

John Laverdure:

 Thank you, Maria.

Maria Melfa:

 Yeah, absolutely. So we're excited for a very fascinating episode about a subject that I'm not sure if anybody has heard of—but it's called AI.

Jocelyn Allen:

 No, I don’t think it’s been on the market for too long yet, Maria. So we are happy to be introducing it to the folks here today.

Maria Melfa:

 Exactly.

Jocelyn Allen:

 Just kidding. I think we'll be hearing a lot more about it in the next five to ten years.

Maria Melfa:

 Yeah, right. Non-stop.

Jocelyn Allen:

 We joke. We're joking. But it’s all we hear about.

Maria Melfa:

 So in an era where AI is reshaping industries and redefining job roles, understanding and leveraging AI has become essential for professionals across every sector. In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025—just next year—AI will displace 85 million jobs but create 97 million new ones. So there's still a surplus, emphasizing the urgent need for digital fluency and AI literacy.

In this episode, we welcome Dr. James Stanger. Dr. Stanger is the Chief Technology Evangelist at CompTIA and a recognized authority in security, information technology, and workforce development. As an award-winning author, blogger, and educator, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to today's important topic. Welcome, Dr. Stanger—aka James.

Dr. James Stanger:

 Hey, thanks, man. It's good to be here.

Maria Melfa:

 Yes—good to have you back. We loved our last episode, and it's great to have you back on this exciting podcast.

Dr. James Stanger:

Good to be a repeat offender.

Maria Melfa:

 100%. Absolutely.

Jocelyn Allen:

 We'll clarify the messaging there, but absolutely, James.

Maria Melfa:

 Just teasing.

Dr. James Stanger:

 Everybody deserves multiple chances.

Maria Melfa:

 100%. So a lot certainly has changed in the tech landscape. When will it never change? And it's great to see CompTIA's response to this growing need for digital skills beyond traditional tech roles.

Dr. James Stanger:

 Yeah, it’s been fun.

Maria Melfa:

 Okay, yes. So we all know—just to kind of back up a little bit—we all know the term AI, but can you give us a layman explanation of what it really is and what it means?

Dr. James Stanger:

 I always use—well, you could call it a Venn diagram. Think of a big circle. I think the big circle is automation. Just to simplify things...

Dr. James Stanger (continued):

 We know you can automate lots of things, right? Using tools or scripts to perform tasks—like searching a hard disk or updating files. But artificial intelligence is automation that’s smart.

Let’s talk about the Turing Test from 1950—T-U-R-I-N-G. The keyword is “indistinguishability.” If a machine can behave like a human—hold a conversation, anticipate, predict, improve—that’s AI.

John McCarthy, in 1955, said AI is “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” More recently, the White House defined it as any machine-based system that can make predictions and act on its own.

John Laverdure:

 James, to piggyback off that—I’ve read a variety of articles, and there’s a million opinions on AI and how far along it is. Some say the Turing Test has already been satisfied. What’s your take?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Not quite yet. Advanced approaches have come close. When you use ChatGPT, it sure feels like there’s someone smart on the other end. But we’re still in a gray area.

There are at least two main types of AI:

• Generative AI: Like ChatGPT, using large language models to generate predictions and content.
• Predictive AI: Used to forecast outcomes based on past data.

The 2017 Google white paper “Attention Is All You Need” was a major leap in getting us closer to Turing-level AI.

Jocelyn Allen:

 James, what is CompTIA doing with AI? You released the AI Essentials series, right? What made you develop that?

Dr. James Stanger:

 One of the great things about CompTIA is that we listen to the industry. It’s not just putting a finger to the wind—we try to be predictive.

The industry said, “Our biggest issue isn’t being surprised by AI. We’ve used it for years—spam filters, automation, etc. The issue is: how do we help people interact with AI productively?”

So we created AI Essentials to address the interaction between humans and AI.

Jocelyn Allen:

 Yeah, there are so many resources, but understanding the essentials is the first step. And I heard it’s already released in some form? Can you give us a sneak peek?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Absolutely. We didn’t want something abstract—we wanted it grounded in real use.

For example, people using Microsoft Copilot—how do you interact effectively with that? What’s better than copy and paste?

Dr. James Stanger (continued):

 We created a model I call “CAP”—Copy And Paste. And it’s not good enough. Think about when Wikipedia first came out—people just copied and pasted. Well, we’re doing the same with AI.

One of the first lessons in AI Essentials is how to ask better questions. Some call it prompt engineering, but it’s really about improving human interaction with AI.

Jocelyn Allen:

 I’ve learned that too. At first, people think ChatGPT just gives you what you ask. But when you add more context—more detail—it becomes so much more powerful. That was a big “aha” moment for me.

Dr. James Stanger:

 I love that—you said “entice the conversation.” I’m stealing that.

Jocelyn Allen:

 It’s recorded, James, so we know where it came from.

Dr. James Stanger:

 Exactly. And AI’s probably already tagged that. But seriously—are we being critical thinkers with AI?

I once told a class to ego-surf with ChatGPT—look themselves up. They found factual errors about their own lives. So imagine copying and pasting without knowing it’s wrong.

The tool can hallucinate, fabricate facts. That’s why critical thinking matters.

We also focus on what I call the “horizon of expectations.” Most people don’t even know which AI tools are out there—Copilot, Gemini, Claude, etc. We help them learn which tools to use, when, and why.

John Laverdure:

 And over time, AI teaches users how to use it better. At first you don’t get the right result, but then you learn to add more up front. It’s almost self-taught through trial and error.

Dr. James Stanger:

 Great analogy. That happened with voice tech too.

Back in the ’90s, companies said we’d train voice recognition to understand us. But what really happened? We trained ourselves to speak in a way the tools could understand. Same with AI. It’s a two-way street.

That’s why we need balance—between human input and AI output—so the tail doesn’t wag the dog. It can either go sideways or turn into something creative and powerful.

John Laverdure:

 James, when AI first started making headlines, people assumed it was mostly for tech professionals. But now, it’s clearly affecting a much wider range of roles. Who is the AI Essentials series really for?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Honestly, it’s for everyone. Just like digital fluency is for everyone, AI fluency is part of that.

To be digitally conversant, you need to:

• Know how to work with AI
• Think critically
• Understand where data comes from

If data is the new oil—and it feeds AI—then you need to understand how those two work together. And the results of our industry surveys confirmed this. It surprised some of us.

CompTIA works with a lot of techies. But what we heard is that AI is going to change every job role—not just software, data, or cybersecurity, but also administrative assistants, researchers, and beyond.

Maria Melfa:

 How many classes are in the AI Essentials series?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Right now, we’re starting with the AI Essentials course. But we’re planning a whole pathway, like we’ve done with cybersecurity and infrastructure.

Just like we started with Security+ or A+ back in the day, we now have full pathways for infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data. AI will be the next.

Maria Melfa:

 Do you think we’ll see any government mandates around AI education? Like we’ve seen with 8570 in the cybersecurity world?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Great question. The answer is probably yes—but also more nuanced.

There’s discussion around whether AI will become its own separate pathway, or whether it’ll simply integrate into everything else—software, cybersecurity, data, infrastructure. The truth is: it’ll be both.

It’ll have its own field, but it’ll also reshape the workflows within every other field.

Maria Melfa:

 Right now there’s so much concern about how companies use AI. I wonder if we’ll see mandates come quickly—especially around privacy and security.

Dr. James Stanger:

 Absolutely. I recently spoke at CIO forums in Nashville, Thailand, and the UK. And ethics and privacy came up every time.

It’s not just about companies acting ethically—it’s about individuals understanding the implications, too. AI introduces fear, uncertainty, and doubt. And while some people prey on that, there are also very real concerns.

That’s why GDPR in Europe and California’s privacy laws matter. AI is moving faster than anything we’ve seen. The internet took time to catch on. AI? It’s already everywhere—every marketing platform is adding it.

Maria Melfa:

 It’s just happening so fast. Faster than the internet, even.

Dr. James Stanger:

 Exactly. And let’s talk about cybersecurity. Attackers love new tools—and AI is no exception.

Have you noticed that phishing emails have gotten better recently? That’s no coincidence. With generative AI like ChatGPT, attackers can create more convincing phishing attacks.

Pen testers I’ve spoken with—some in Australia and South Africa—are using AI to help them generate social engineering scripts, scan code, and run simulations more efficiently. It’s a supplement to their existing skills.

Maria Melfa:

 That’s so interesting. My daughter is actually starting college soon—and she’s majoring in cybersecurity.

Dr. James Stanger:

 That’s amazing! Has she been introduced to AI tools yet?

Maria Melfa:

 Not yet, but she’s very interested. She’ll be at Wentworth in Boston. They have some really innovative programs and labs. She’s excited about it.

Dr. James Stanger:

 That’s fantastic. It reminds me of when calculators first came out. Schools resisted them. Then they became essential. We’re seeing the same thing with AI.

Dr. James Stanger (continued):

 Some universities still want to block ChatGPT over concerns like cheating and privacy. But the reality is—AI is part of the workforce now. You can’t keep it out of the education space.

If you're using a public AI tool, and you upload proprietary content to “refine” it, that data can end up in the next search result. You just gave it away. That’s a huge concern.

I once ego-surfed using a generative AI. It took away my PhD—but gave me an MBA I never earned, plus a bunch of certs I don’t have. So yes, it fabricates.

Maria Melfa:

Seems like a fair trade—MBA for PhD!

Dr. James Stanger:

 Exactly. It also said I was a flamenco dancer—or maybe it was flamingo dancer. Not sure which is worse.

John Laverdure:

 So Maria was saying—AI is evolving fast. It’s like when the internet took off. How is CompTIA staying up to date with these rapid changes?

Dr. James Stanger:

 We’re doing a few key things. First, we follow global standards like ISO 17024 for certifications.

Second, we use AI internally for course development—not just in AI Essentials, but across all certs.

Third, we’ve ramped up our research. We now run quarterly AI research updates to track shifts in adoption. For example, we’re seeing software development take the lead right now.

John Laverdure:

 That brings up a great point—what are the practical uses of AI in the workplace?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Great question. We use a supplement model. AI should enhance existing tools.

Take Ansible—an infrastructure-as-code tool that’s been around for decades. Pair it with Watson AI, and now it can make smart suggestions or generate better scripts for managing servers.

That’s the power of AI: not replacing, but supplementing human effort with smart automation.

Dr. James Stanger (continued):

 We’re also seeing a new kind of 80/20 rule in software development. AI can get you 80% of the way—generate the initial code, structure it—and then the developer tightens it up and adds their unique value.

For example, pen testers I worked with in Australia and South Africa told me:

 “We needed a quick script to test a vulnerability. Instead of writing it from scratch, we had ChatGPT generate a starting point. Then we refined it.”

That saved time. That’s the real-world application of AI.

John Laverdure:

 That’s helpful. So how does the AI Essentials series help learners navigate all of this—the tools, the challenges, and the landscape?

Dr. James Stanger:

 It’s built to do exactly that.

It’s not fear-based. We just want people to understand:

• If I use this AI tool, what happens next?
• What are the implications of my actions?
• Which tool is right for the job?

Just like we have browsers, Slack, or Teams—there’s a growing ecosystem of AI tools. AI Essentials helps people match the right tool to the right context.

Maria Melfa:

 So beyond taking the class—what else can organizations do to stay on top of this fast-changing space?

Dr. James Stanger:

 The #1 thing? Digital literacy.

It sounds simple—but it’s essential. I’ve been following the UK Post Office scandal, where faulty software wrongly accused employees of theft. Many went to jail. One big issue? Leaders and workers alike weren’t digitally literate.

They didn’t understand email, spreadsheets, or how to save files. If you’re not digitally literate, AI will use you, instead of you using AI.

Jocelyn Allen:

 There’s so much speculation—and anxiety—around AI adoption. Some people imagine we’re heading toward an iRobot future. But at the same time, it still relies on a human component. So where do you actually see it going? And how is CompTIA preparing?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Great question. One key thing we’re doing is spreading a message around ethical use—both for individuals and organizations.

We’ve already seen some companies use AI cynically. For instance, laying people off and blaming AI, when really it’s about interest rates or business model issues. AI becomes a scapegoat.

That’s not innovation—that’s deflection.

What we’re focused on now is education—helping people understand foundational elements:

• What is a large language model?
• Where does the data come from?
• What is AI policy?
• How do you govern a private AI instance?

Many companies are now exploring “private” versions of ChatGPT or Gemini—essentially paid, secure versions with more control over the knowledge base and usage.

But it has to be policy-driven. If you roll out AI tools without governance, you’ll face the same messes we’ve seen with ad hoc tech rollouts: cybersecurity issues, shadow IT, technical debt.

Maria Melfa:

And the official launch of AI Essentials—is it coming in July?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Yes, that’s the target. Late Q2 or early Q3 2025.

Maria Melfa:

 You heard it here first!

Jocelyn Allen:

 We’re happy to give listeners a first-hand look at AI—and what it’s all about.

Maria Melfa:

 They probably hadn’t even heard of it before today. Just kidding! It’s everywhere. That’s why we’re having fun with it.

Jocelyn Allen:

 Speaking of fun—are you ready for the TTA 10?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Oh yeah. Absolutely.

Jocelyn Allen:

 Well then, here we go!

David (Producer):

 TTA 10 — 10 final questions for our guest.

Jocelyn Allen:

 All right, James. I’m ready if you are, my friend. You’ve done this once before. We’re going to ask you 10 questions. Answer them as quickly as you can, and we will celebrate your efforts at the end, okay? Are you ready?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Yes. I’m ready. You start. Is that one of the 10?

Jocelyn Allen:

 No. David, 90 seconds, please.

David (Producer):

 90 seconds on the TTA 10 clock beginning now.

Jocelyn Allen:

 What is your favorite season of the year?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Spring.

Jocelyn Allen:

 You’ve been gifted the car of your dreams. What is it?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ45.

Jocelyn Allen:

 It’s movie night and it’s your turn to pick. What genre are you in the mood for?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Western.

Jocelyn Allen:

 What snacks are you bringing?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Believe it or not, a cinnamon roll.

Jocelyn Allen:

 You’re leaving on a jet plane. Don’t know when you’ll be back again, because you’re going to…

Dr. James Stanger:

 Scotland.

Jocelyn Allen:

 What’s 10 plus 10?

Dr. James Stanger:

 20.

Jocelyn Allen:

 Who would you cast to play you in a movie about your life?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Back when I was good looking—John Cusack. People used to think I looked like him.

Jocelyn Allen:

 I see it. I totally see it.

If you weren’t in the learning industry, what career path would you have chosen?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Welding.

Jocelyn Allen:

 You can only choose one for the rest of your life—pizza or tacos?

Dr. James Stanger:

 Pizza.

Jocelyn Allen:

 Final question: Spell AI.

Dr. James Stanger:

 A–I.

Jocelyn Allen:

 David—10 questions down. What’s the result?

David (Producer):

 With a time of 1 minute 10 seconds, James is a winner once again. A two-time TTA 10 champion!

David (Producer):

 A two-time champion deserves a special salute. We’ve got just that lined up for you now. Let’s just say—it may be particularly appropriate for an expert on AI. Let’s take a listen…

Singer / Theme Voice (SPEAKER_03):

 🎵 Guess who’s back?

Back to the podcast again…

Say hi to James Stanger, our wicked smart friend.

 Let’s say it together: James. Freaking. Stanger.* 🎵

(Extended musical tribute continues—personalized lyrics celebrating James’s background, journey from factory floors to thought leadership, and his love for knowledge and ethics.)

Maria Melfa:

 You literally have a karaoke video of a song about you now, James. That is the real deal.

Jocelyn Allen:

 You’re officially a legend. You now have a theme song that lives in AI. Celebrity status!

Maria Melfa:

 You can play this on your world tour—when you do keynote speaking.

Jocelyn Allen:

 I’m picturing a wrestling-style walkout: lights, fog, the theme music, and then James walks down the aisle.

Maria Melfa:

 Seriously though—thank you. This was such a pleasure. Always love having you on. And I can only imagine how far things will have evolved by the next time we talk.

Jocelyn Allen:

 For more information on AI training and taking the CompTIA AI Essentials course, visit us at:

thetrainingassociates.com

Both:

 See you later!