Robots that clean houses, cars that drive themselves, and mobile phones that communicate with us – it all sounds a bit eerie, but when you think about it, it’s already a reality today. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly widespread. It’s designed to help us with everyday tasks and even take over tedious chores entirely. A robot vacuum cleans our house, our car detects pedestrians in good time and stops if we happen to be inattentive, and Siri, Alexa and the like answer our questions, do our online shopping or wake us up in the morning with our favourite songs. But it’s not just within our own four walls that devices – supposedly already as intelligent as we humans – are slowly but surely making their way in.
Artificial intelligence in the workplace is no longer just a far-fetched vision of the future either. Although it is still in its infancy, horror scenarios are already being conjured up. Economic researchers such as Tyler Cowen and Kenneth Brant believe that vocational training will soon become obsolete and that our jobs will be lost faster than new ones can be created (source: WirtschaftsWoche, ‘My boss is a computer’). According to a study by McKinsey, almost 10 million jobs could potentially be replaced in just 15 years (source of the study: McKinsey&Company, McKinsey Global Institute). Most of these would be in the hospitality sector and in transport and warehousing. But would that really be such a bad thing? Aren’t there also advantages to artificial intelligence in the workplace?
What is artificial intelligence?
Defining intelligence itself is difficult, as it affects every person personally and is interpreted individually. Artificial intelligence is generally understood as the attempt to replicate intelligence similar to that of humans. This can take place within the context of a computer that is programmed to recognise its own errors and learn to correct them. This is the major difference from conventional programming. In the past, computers were only ever as smart as their developers. This has now changed, meaning that computers can develop their own intelligence. A distinction is made here between strong and weak artificial intelligence.
Strong artificial intelligence aims to perfectly replicate human intelligence, meaning that computers could also attain ‘consciousness’. For the time being, however, this remains the stuff of science fiction. Weak artificial intelligence aims to simulate human thinking. It can do this with the help of mathematics and computer science. A machine is considered ‘intelligent’ precisely when it is capable of learning, weighing up probabilities and devising a solution to a problem based on available information.
How can artificial intelligence help in the workplace?
There are many ways in which artificial intelligence can already make our day-to-day work easier. And not just in office jobs, but in other areas too. Chatbots, for example, can answer frequently asked questions from customers in customer service. This means that staff do not have to spend all their time answering the same questions over and over again, and can instead focus on more complex matters. Receptionists, too, can streamline their workflows and, for example, avoid having to work gruelling night shifts. For office staff, there are ways to save time through certain automated processes:
- Automatic data synchronisation, ensuring that data is available to all staff on all devices.
- Coordination of load balancing, so that non-essential processes are shut down in the background, thereby freeing up more resources.
- Reliable data protection and network security through automatic and regular system checks, ensuring that vulnerabilities are identified in good time.
- Prioritisation of tasks using algorithms which, for example, scan the inbox and automatically separate the important from the unimportant.
- Responding to customer enquiries using pre-written text templates that are automatically tailored to the customer’s problem and sent out.
Advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence in the workplace
On the one hand, artificial intelligence can relieve us of many tedious tasks, thereby giving us more time for essential matters. If, for example, care workers for the elderly are eventually relieved of some of their workload by artificial intelligence, they will have more time to focus on the interpersonal aspect of their work. As the field continues to develop, we may eventually see computers carrying out full diagnoses and assisting doctors during operations. Intelligent computers and robots could thus also become sources of advice. Many intelligent systems can therefore certainly make our lives easier.
On the other hand, they are still just machines that cannot (and should not) form bonds with other living beings. In areas such as customer service, this could be a negative aspect, as most people still prefer to be served and advised by real people. Furthermore, such systems are still rather prone to errors. After all, computers need to make these mistakes so that they can learn from them. This inevitably leads to a fair amount of mistrust, particularly in the early stages. It will be a long time yet before we can rely entirely on machines.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence need not be the spectre of doom portrayed by futurologists. Even as artificial intelligence continues to develop in the workplace, there will still be a sufficient number of job opportunities – most likely in more technical sectors. First and foremost, artificial intelligence simplifies certain work processes for us, thereby ensuring that we have more time for important matters. Working from home is becoming an increasingly common way of working and could become even more widespread as artificial intelligence continues to develop. However, many companies still rely on a fixed office address – simply because they cannot, or do not wish to, receive clients within their own four walls. A virtual office offers a good alternative here. You can work comfortably from home whilst also having a fixed office address where clients can contact you by post or telephone. And, if necessary, you can meet them in person in a fully equipped office. This way, even with all the advancements in artificial intelligence, the human touch is not lost.
Cover image: © Shutterstock/Willyam Bradberry
