Let's face it; it feels like absolutely everyone is talking about AI right now.
Everything from machine learning, to Robotics Process Automation (RPA), ensures that machines are transforming the world of work for good, and some professionals are concerned that this robotic revolution could leave them without a job.
Fortunately, the Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director of ActiveOps, Neil Bentley, thinks differently. ActiveOps is a leader in the digital operations management sector for service industries. They believe that more work is being done by robots, and it's time for society as a whole to embrace the concept of working alongside computer intelligence.
The Benefits of Working Together
The ActiveOps company creates solutions to reduce costs, optimise operations, and enhance service delivery for companies in a range of service verticals, including healthcare and government. In a discussion about AI and RPA, Neil Bentley said that today's companies shouldn't be spending all their energy worrying about the end of jobs as we know them. Instead, ActiveOps believe that introducing the right RPA into operations could help to make the workplace, and the employees within it, more satisfied and efficient.
As a community, we're beginning to accept that humans and machines often work alongside each other - particularly in the manufacturing world. Now, we're starting to see more machines in back-office operations too. Bentley suggests that by imagining a future of "Cobotics," where staff and robotics work together in an enhanced environment, companies can better embrace the possibilities of the future. Neil also noted that optimising back-office behaviours with Cobotics will mean thinking about how the relationships between people and robots can exist, rather than simply replacing people with robots.
Though there is some controversy in the workspace about the potential of RPA to wipe out certain jobs, it's important to note that this technology focuses more on heavily repetitive work. By removing menial drudgery from the day-to-day routine, RPA could make work more satisfying for the average employee. All companies need to do to improve their AI strategy, is consider the changes that new innovations will make to the workforce. For instance, average educational requirements are likely to go up when menial jobs are removed, and businesses may end up with a higher-paid workforce.