Walmart chief warns US risks falling behind China in AI training

US firms are in a rush to prepare their workforce with AI skills, as experts predict that the white-collar sector could be in for a massive disruption in the next 18 months. 

However, it has been noticed that many employees are not familiar with the practical application of AI technology, which has forced Walmart, Deloitte, and Verizon to roll out massive training programmes.

Walmart's Chief People Officer Donna Morris highlighted the stakes beyond individual companies. “Let’s look at China,” she told Fortune. “Five-year-olds are learning DeepSeek, and that says a lot about how they believe in capability building. What would it do to our US economy if we all leaned into that opportunity?”

In China, AI education is introduced from a young age. Elementary and secondary school students are exposed to a minimum of eight hours of education per year, covering everything from chatbot usage to AI ethics. 

This initiative is paying off in a big way, with nearly a third of the world’s best AI talent born in China, many of whom have been poached by US tech companies, according to a 2020 study by the Paulson Institute.

US business leaders warn that without similar efforts, the nation risks falling behind. Last year, more than 400 CEOs, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, signed a letter urging lawmakers to include AI and computer science in every student’s curriculum. “In the age of AI, we must prepare our children to be AI creators, not just consumers,” the letter read.

For Morris, closing the AI skills gap starts with employers. “We as big employers should be actively engaged in equipping our employees to be prepared for a world that is AI-enabled,” she said. AI training is largely job agnostic, she added: workers in any role can benefit by learning how to leverage the technology in ways unique to their work.