How technology and artificial intelligence (“AI”) is transforming organisations?
There has been much debate about this topic. The impact that robots, AI and technology have had already and the positive transformation they have brought to many businesses is endless. So what is AI and what does the future look like?
Early definitions describe AI as machines imitating human intelligence. The English Oxford Living Dictionary defines it as: “The theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.”
According to a recent PwC analysis AI, robotics and other forms of smart automation have the potential to bring great economic benefits, contributing up to $15 trillion to global GDP by 2030 – a significant number. They report that this extra wealth will also generate the demand for many jobs, but there are also concerns that it could displace many existing jobs with up to 30% of UK jobs potentially at high risk of automation by the early 2030s.
Will there be a future in which robots and technology carry out the tasks that the workforce currently do?
It’s clear that change is happening and this change will most certainly impact businesses in the future. McKinsey estimates that, compared with the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, AI’s disruption of society is happening ten times faster and at 300 times the scale. That means roughly 3000 times the impact – pretty startling figures.
However, for organisations, AI will bring many advantages including
– increased operational efficiencies through automation of processes and tasks
– potential (and possibly significant) reductions in operational costs
The PwC report mentioned above have quoted statistics that show risks and impacts on workforce appearing highest in sectors such as transportation and storage (56%), manufacturing (46%) and wholesale and retail (44%), but lower in sectors like health and social work (17%).
Using complicated algorithms organisations are using AI in very effective ways. Large supermarket chains are operating fully automated distribution warehouses; professional services firms are automating administration tasks and conducting research previously undertaken by humans; car manufacturing plants are using robots on automated lines to build cars, and many of us use virtual personal assistants such as Siri or Cortana to help us manage our diaries and lives. Recently “driverless” (i.e. self-driving) cars using AI have been hitting the headlines … and the list goes on.
AI and the workforce
We will certainly witness some roles and IT jobs becoming less relevant, and potentially obsolete. AI and robots may transform organisations and introduce greater efficiencies and productivity, however, in the main, AI will play a supportive role to the workforce. There will continue to be a requirement for individual workers with varying skillsets, ideas, collaboration and supervision. A global survey of nearly 3,000 employees across eight nations conducted by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated saw four out of five employees surveyed see significant opportunity for AI to create a more engaging and empowering workplace experience, yet admit a lack of transparency from their employers is a primary driver of fear and concern. Therefore as many organisations embed AI across their operation they will also need to understand the impact on their workforces and manage and communicate correctly to make that positive impact and adaption easy for them.
The Workforce Institute survey found employees would welcome AI if it simplified or automated time-consuming internal processes (64%), helped better balance their workload (64%), increased fairness in subjective decisions (62%), or ensured managers made better choices affecting individual employees (57%).
Why spend time analysing reports if AI can draw the conclusions in a more efficient way. This then releases the employee to focus on other tasks that AI cannot (yet) be deployed to carry out.
Jobs of the Future
10 years ago who would have heard of a data scientist, machine learning engineer or a computer vision engineer? In 10 years time, what type of roles will we look back on as new jobs and skills are introduced aligned to developments in AI.?
Skills and education must play a critical part in the future success to provide the right opportunity to develop knowledge and training – currently, skills and experience are required for real-time machine learning, decision automation, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Python and Java. The challenge is, with the likelihood that there will be jobs in a few years that do not even exist yet, there is a need for universities and schools to be early adopters and build formal education and/or long-term training into their curriculums.
AI is everywhere, and it’s making massive impacts on organisations and workforces every day. A future embracing AI and the ways in which it can be deployed are limitless. The world is changing and to keep competitive from an organisational and employee perspective we must change and adapt to it.
Find the right candidates with Alexander Mae
At Alexander Mae, we are focused on recruiting the highest calibre of candidates for our clients and working with our candidates to ensure each person is placed in the right role. If you are considering change and interested in looking for a new role please peruse our current full-time vacancies and part-time vacancies or email [email protected] or call 0117 9055035.
