{"id":116692,"date":"2023-10-20T10:37:38","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T10:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com"},"modified":"2023-10-20T10:37:38","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T10:37:38","slug":"ai-vs-human-in-the-workplace-a-collaborator-not-a-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/ai-vs-human-in-the-workplace","title":{"rendered":"AI vs. Human in the Workplace: “A Collaborator, Not a Threat”"},"content":{"rendered":"
The pressure for AI<\/a> adoption is on. With 55% of organizations in pilot or production mode with generative AI<\/a>, more and more business leaders are looking to automate and streamline their operational efficiency.<\/p>\n However, as enterprises commit to investing in AI, it\u2019s easy to overlook the emotional impact on employees.<\/p>\n At the top of the list of these concerns is the idea that AI will eliminate employees\u2019 jobs<\/a> or make them \u201cuseless.\u201d This is a reasonable concern, particularly when considering that Goldman Sachs is estimating that 300 million jobs will be lost to <\/a>AI.<\/p>\n At the same time, even in scenarios where AI is embedded into the workplace, organizations need to be cautious not to automate work that employees find meaningful.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s natural for organizations to leverage technology as a force multiplier, it’s crucial not to neglect employee well-being in the process.<\/p>\n Being productive and completing small tasks is something that many people find rewarding. At home, day-to-day activities like cleaning, cooking, reading a book, or even checking tasks off of a to-do list can give one a small sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n In this sense, it\u2019s worth considering whether automating every task is advisable. For instance, employees may feel productive completing simple tasks like creating documents, filling out invoices, or other forms of data entry, which might be considered mundane or \u201ctrivial\u201d and prime for automation.<\/p>\n Megan Smith Branch, AI Ethics Operations Research Analyst, Lead Associate from Booz Allen, told Techopedia:<\/p>\n \u201cThe mundane tasks that are performed daily can sometimes provide a degree of psychological solace to employees. For example, a simple task like addressing emails may act as a segue into the core workday \u2013 meaning such repetitive tasks are serving as a conventional benchmark for productivity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Branch explained: \u201cRemoving these tasks might actually lead employees to question their value or doubt their contribution capabilities. The introduction of AI to lessen some repetitive tasks was originally aimed at diminished employee burnout \u2013 but possible without proper change management that expectations for output and performance of intricate tasks will increase, potentially leading to burnout.\u201d<\/p>\n The analyst’s comments indicate that employees shouldn\u2019t be expected to work on high-performance, intensive tasks all the time, and there have to be some less-intensive tasks in the workplace to give employees some cognitive downtime.<\/p>\n One approach that organizations can take to ease concerns over automation is to use upskilling and reskilling<\/a> to teach employees how to use AI-driven systems more effectively.<\/p>\n Alex Kotran, CEO at aiEDU, told Techopedia: \u201cIt\u2019s understandable that some people feel anxious about AI and what it means for their jobs. Everything is changing fast, and when your livelihood could be impacted, that causes real worry.<\/p>\n “But with the right training and preparation, AI can actually empower people to do more fulfilling work \u2013 it\u2019s a tool that will help professionalize various professions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe key is ensuring employees have basic proficiency to effectively collaborate with AI systems rather than be impacted by them. We want to give people the confidence, skills, and agency to see AI as a force multiplier, not a robot coming for their job.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Workers themselves seem to be open to adopting new skills to thrive in AI environments, with a study from Salesforce finding that 54% of workers believe generative AI will advance their career<\/a>, with 62% reporting that generative AI will require a new set of skills at work.<\/p>\n Another approach to helping manage employee\u2019s concerns is to give them a greater say in what processes and workflows are automated. This gives an opportunity for employees to continue to work on the tasks they find rewarding while finding ways to eliminate tasks that they find draining.<\/p>\nAutomating the Mundane<\/span><\/h2>\n
Using AI to Complete More Creative Work<\/span><\/h2>\n
Giving Employees a Voice<\/span><\/h2>\n