Where Machine and Human Power Meet.
Creating a synergy between Artificial Intelligence and human skills contributes to growth and innovation.
According to Forbes’ Insights report, ⅘ CEOs believe Artificial Intelligence is already impacting their workflows and improving the performance of their knowledge workers.
The real potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unlocked when human power and machine power are brought together. Some companies have already realised the power this approach has and are creating impactful results within their businesses and society.
Businesses like Pipedrive, have developed AI that helps people to do so. At the same time, others have understood the transformative potential of human skills and are prioritizing these over technology.
While AI can transform the long and exhausting sales process into a more optimized one, there are certain aspects that cannot be replaced by machines. Along with this task comes the lack of confidence sales people experience while kicking off their careers. For this reason, Pipedrive has created an AI Confidence Coach that helps humans leverage their sales skills.
On the other hand, we observe companies that have decided to allocate AI where it belongs to and provide their staff with human jobs.
‘The key to success, experts say, is not to use AI to replace employees, but rather use it to enhance their productivity and make them more effective in their roles. Indeed, a 2019 Forbes Insights study commissioned by Microsoft, Everyday AI: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Empower the Knowledge Worker, indicated that if businesses want to get the most from AI, their efforts should focus on three key areas: eliminating repetitive tasks, streamlining decision-making and providing new insights.’
— Rebecca Lambert.
Schneider Electric is using Microsoft’s predictive analytics tool, Azure Machine Learning, to reduce the time spent on certain tasks as the analysis of Internet of Things (IoT) sensor data.
How is this helping their business? Employees have more time to thoroughly select which data models they work on, which makes them able to complete their tasks in a few days instead of months as it used to happen.
‘They get more done faster now’ stated Matthieu Boujonnier, analytics application architect and data scientist at Schneider Electric.
Carlsberg is another example of the use of AI to empower human skills. They have been able to allow their researchers to map out and predict flavours faster than ever before, which in turn optimizes the business’ operations and R&D.
‘We realised that if we had sensors that could tell us at the outset if the yeast is really going to be usable later in large-scale beer production — and that could recognise the chemicals and flavour compounds to predict what a beer will taste like — that would really help our research a lot’
— Jochen Förster.
NatWest is implementing Artificial Intelligence to spot risks and opportunities. However, machines have a limitation: consciousness and reasoning. Luckily, humans excel at this. For this reason, after being provided with detailed and accurate insights, the bank’s staff are able to evaluate them and make reasonable decisions to improve their performance.
Kevin Johnson, Starbucks’ CEO, stated at National Retail Federation’s 2020 annual show emphasized the importance of empowering human connection. Moreover, he added how Starbucks is using AI to free time from administrative tasks that were previously keeping their staff busy and relocating them to spend more time with customers. However, Starbucks is now looking for new ways to keep freeing its staff from machine tasks and so that they can focus on the customers.
Microsoft research, in partnership with the University of St Gallen and the Altimeter Group, shows that those businesses which motivate and invest in their staff are the ones getting the competitive advantage that AI truly provides.
‘They recognise not only the value of AI but the impact that uniquely human qualities have on the success of their company too’
— Rebecca Lambert.
The aforementioned research aimed to explore the impact AI will have on leadership. The results showcased that leaders are aware of the uniqueness of human abilities and how this can positively impact a company’s success.
‘Creative problem-solving, empathy, building trust and personality are just some of the human factors that are invaluable to the success of a business — especially one that is in the process of change and transformation’
— Esat Dedezade.
‘As AI helps leaders tackle operational tasks more effectively, they can better shift their focus on empowering their people. This means trusting people to approach challenges in their own way and ensuring they are equipped to be at their best. In short, leaders can more effectively shift from being managers to mobilizers.’
— President of Microsoft EMEA, Michel van der Bel
Freeing staff from operational, repetitive, or alienating tasks is not enough. The journey continues once this process is optimized by reallocating human talent into other areas in which machines cannot be of help. Heike Bruch, Professor and Director of the Institute for Leadership & Human Resources Management at the University of St. Gallen added that leaders should invest more time in inspiring and engaging people.
‘AI will make good leaders less busy and even more human.’
— Heike Bruch.
Machine power should be placed in the right area and human skills should not only be reallocated and freed from alienating tasks, but also empowered and augmented. If allocated correctly, AI can be a factor of change to grow the business and improve performance by collaborating with humans to set the strategy and developing innovative initiatives.
