Just a few weeks ago there was an international conference in Spain called, ‘The future of management in an artificial intelligence-based world’. An alternate title for that conference could have been: ‘The Robots are coming, what are we going to do?’ Many people are frightened by the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and these so-called intelligent robots which will one day do many jobs now reserved for skilled professionals. We keep hearing that all sorts of jobs are going to disappear and the workplace will be revolutionized, but I read an article written by two leading management specialists, Professor Thomas Kochan from MIT and Professor Lee Dyer from Cornell University, who pointed out that robots won’t steal people’s jobs if people are at the centre of this AI revolution.
Before I report more on these two professors I want to look at where AI already is operating. Do you ever talk to Siri on your mobile phone? I guess you could call her a digital personal assistant, but she is Artificial Intelligence. In the future you will probably encounter many more digitised AI assistants when you try to call large companies. You can also expect cars, trucks and maybe even trains and buses to be driven by AI computer software in the future. These self-driving cars will be clever enough to experience the road just as people do. AI will also be used to detect fraud in people’s financial transactions, and there will be AI to carry out legal searches, sort your finances, even write basic news stories for news websites!
Do not be afraid!
Professors Kochan and Dyer say there is no need to fear these revolutionary changes and the conversation we are having is all wrong. Instead of focussing on AI replacing workers we should instead be asking how AI will complement or benefit what we do at work. Profs Kochan and Dyer said we also need to look at the past to learn lessons about this new technology. In the 1890s half our workforce was involved in farming. Today, thanks to modern-day farming equipment, it is less than two percent of the population. However remember that new technology also creates new jobs. It is still too early to tell what those new jobs might be. An expert report by The McKinsey Quarterly said that only five percent of existing jobs will disappear. On the whole, it’s more likely going to be a case that robots will help us with our work, not replace us. AI has been described as the new IT!
Embrace the future
Instead of being afraid, we need to be ready for the future and embrace change that is inevitably coming. Profs Kochan and Dyer said look at it this way – think of your job as a collection of tasks, and some of those tasks can be aided by new technologies. That McKinsey study on AI found that about a third of tasks performed in 60 percent of today’s jobs will be affected by this new AI technology in the next decade. In other words, most of our ‘job’ will still be there, but what we do at work and the way we do it will change. That is going to be the case whether you’re a real estate agent or a consultant.
The good news is that the experts are acknowledging that workers must play a role in guiding and designing how these technologies are used. Toyota did a brilliant job in introducing robotics to its Japanese plants. It asked its workers for ideas on how to use new technologies. The result was higher productivity than other car manufacturers. Australian bosses should take note of this!
AI shouldn’t eliminate workers but help them
Managers all around the world need to stop thinking about how AI can eliminate jobs and start thinking about how AI can help its workers. Companies also need to train their workers so they can assist at re-designing these new computer systems. You might soon hear references to ‘hybrid skills’ when it comes to AI. ‘Hybrid skills’ means you have technical knowledge but you also know how to communicate with co-workers and problem-solve.
Companies are going to need to build up communities of clever people who want to work with AI. I’m sorry to say that I’ve heard too many horror stories about poor management at workplaces, so I know this is going to be a tall order for many companied. Bernard Yeung, dean of the National University of Singapore, said the future of management is “smart people working with smart machines, mutually learning to improve the world”. It will not be enough for companies to just get in a few new IT experts. Nico Rose, vice president of the Bertelsmann Group, said when his managers found out their businesses would be disrupted by Amazon, they poached clever IT experts from Amazon, but nothing happened and the new IT people left again in a couple of years. “It wasn’t their fault,” Mr Rose said. “In an ecosystem that isn’t AI-data ready, data people can’t have a large impact.”
We all need to be part of the AI Revolution
Companies aren’t going to get the best out of their investment in new AI technology, if their workers aren’t on board. Japanese professor Tomo Noda from Shizenkan University said something profound about AI. He said the rise of AI will keep people more time to focus on the attributes that make us truly human. “Planning, budgeting, and organising can be done by AI,” he said. “But establishing vision, aligning people, and motivating people requires people.” That’s a really clever way to think about AI. Rather than being afraid of change, we need to explore ways this technology will allow us to be more human!
IBM’s Vice President Dario Gil said AI should not be left in the hands of technologists: “It is a tool at our service to build a better society.” Business leaders must consider the impact their use of AI has on society, not just the impact on profits.
It’s up to community leaders, business managers and us (the thinkers) to build societies that function. Eliminating thousands of jobs because we now have the technology would create social turmoil. Instead we need to use AI to ensure that everyone has meaningful work.
ABOUT PAT MESITI
Pat Mesiti is a best-selling author, coach and educator in the area of personal development. Having built some of Australia’s largest people-driven organisations, Pat understands the power of harnessing human potential. He has shared the stage with some of the world’s great business minds and has sold over millions of copies of his books and materials.