The future of work in a world relying more and more on artificial intelligence can seem daunting. McKinsey estimates that almost half of all US jobs may be automated in the next ten years.
Closer to home, an OECD report ‘Preparing for the Future of Work Across Australia’ released in September found that even before the pandemic, 11% of jobs in Australia faced a high probability of being automated, while 25% faced significant change.
A drop in revenue during lockdowns over the past two years, combined with high wages and staff shortages, has only accelerated this change as employers scrambled to replace humans with machines. We’ve seen more automated check-ins at hotels and airports, and more self-serve checkouts at retailers. Even Australia’s beloved coffee culture is under threat, thanks to Café X’s robot barista.
But don’t think this is bad news. The same OECD report says that automation is likely to change tasks within jobs, not entire roles. This means there is plenty of scope for people to develop new skills to prepare for an automated future. Workers will need a broad mix of skills, including strong cognitive and socio-emotional skills that are not easily replicated by artificial intelligence.
H. James Wilson and Paul R. Daugherty from Accenture shared in Harvard Business Review this month their IDEAS framework covering five elements of the emerging technology landscape: intelligence, data, expertise, architecture, and strategy.
They believe human intelligence and artificial intelligence are complementary, and in fact AI has enabled humans and machines to work together more efficiently, even creating an array of new, high-value jobs.
By harnessing the power of data, leveraging employee expertise, breaking down boundaries found in legacy architecture and making technology integral to future strategy, companies will continue to grow and thrive this century.
“The future has arrived far sooner than expected, and it requires wise and rapid mastery of new approaches to innovation that are only just beginning to emerge,” write Wilson and Daugherty.
“AI is helping businesses operate in ways most of us could never have imagined, and it will continue to do so, but only if people are leading the way.”
