It’s the unknown crime that we can’t yet imagine that we should be worried about!
— Jim Carroll
The opportunity
Empower individuals to effectively use digital tools, critically evaluate online information, identify misinformation, and participate safely and responsibly in the digital world.
From “Daily Inspiration: Policing & AI - “It’s the unknown crime that we can’t yet imagine that we should be worried about!”” (November 2024)
We also need to consider genetic data and crime - with genetic data increasingly stored online and used for medical, legal, and employment purposes, the RCMP could find itself managing complex crime cases involving the theft or misuse of this sensitive information. They may need to protect against bio-crimes that manipulate or weaponize genetic data, as well as address crimes where unauthorized access to genetic profiles leads to discrimination or exploitation.
What about AI-driven fraud and deepfake evidence? The RCMP will likely encounter AI-driven fraud where individuals are impersonated using deepfakes or audio manipulation, affecting cases from fraud to defamation. They’ll need tools that can authenticate real versus synthetic media, which will be critical in maintaining trust in digital evidence. The ability to verify the authenticity of video and audio recordings may become a core competency in future investigations. ( This issue is of particular interest to me, as I was an expert witness back in 2003 in a Federal Court case as to the admissibility of the Internet as an evidentiary tool in a trial. Now imagine the impact of AI!)
Here’s the bottom line - as AI develops at a much faster speed with new technologies and ideas coming at us almost daily, criminals will likely find new and creative ways to use it to commit crimes - and that means that police forces must develop the skills, knowledge, and advanced capabilities to keep up. Police will need training on new investigative techniques and technologies involving AI - such the the use of advanced forensic software and tools that can collect and analyze digital evidence, and AI-powered video analytics tools that can detect anomalies and predict emerging threats. I’ve got a chart in my slide deck that walks through the nature of the opportunities.
From “Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #22 Cross-Discinplinary Specialists: “The greatest competitive advantage isn’t knowing everything - it’s knowing how to learn anything.”-” (July 2025)
The highest career value is increasingly found at the intersection of previously distinct careers, knowledge, and skill sets. Hybrid expertise that combines technical, creative, and human skills will continue to command a significant premium in the talent marketplace. No one can know everything there is to know, but knowing how to get that knowledge is a key success factor!
What does it all lead to? For businesses around the world, the gap between the skills their workforce possesses and the skills they need has become a critical strategic risk! If you can’t get the right skills, you don’t move forward - and when all those skills become specialized, you need a new paradigm - the hybrid workforce - to get those skills!
Analytical and Creative Thinking . Consistently ranked as the top two most critical skills by employers, forming the bedrock of value creation in an automated world.
From “Digital Presence: Employer of Choice Issues Post-Covid!” (April 2022)
It accelerates the trend and challenges of becoming an ‘employer of choice.’ As people come to reject traditional working models, they’ll accelerate the skills issue even more at the same time that organizations seek to have them return to the office. And it’s my belief that for a variety of issues, it going to be far more difficult for companies to recruit and retain the people they need - including making sure you present the right ‘digital image’ during the recruitment process. The simple fact is this - if your Zoom image sucks, your potential as an employer of choice will suck.
I’ll tackle that issue and more in a keynote for a Belgium event in just over a week, I’ll address the issue of “digital presence,’ and how your digital image has become a critical factor in the recruitment process.
Simply put, people need the ability to get the right knowledge at the right time for the right purpose - and organizations need to find increasingly specialized skills. They won’t succeed without top-notch ‘digital presence’ - and the fact that the next generation defines themselves not on what they do for a living, but what ‘they like to do.’ Here’s a clip from 2010 in which I tackle that topic.
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Daily Inspiration: Policing & AI - “It’s the unknown crime that we can’t yet imagine that we should be worried about!”
Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #22 Cross-Discinplinary Specialists: “The greatest competitive advantage isn’t knowing everything - it’s knowing how to learn anything.”-
Digital Presence: Employer of Choice Issues Post-Covid!