Automation in the workplace is already well underway. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that up to 50% of workplace tasks could be <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/digital-disruption/harnessing-automation-for-a-future-that-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fully automated by</a><a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/digital-disruption/harnessing-automation-for-a-future-that-works"> 2055</a>. For employees, this can be a daunting concept, as increased automation in professional settings could lead to job loss on a mass scale.
Yet, automation in the workplace might not be all doom and gloom, depending on how we look at it. Rather than viewing automation through the lens of robots replacing humans, it could be more productive and beneficial to see view increased automation as a great potential for collaboration and growth. In fact, automation could conceivably <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2017/05/02/the-impact-of-automation-on-the-independent-workforce/#1f6f901575c5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boost the independent workforce</a>, making the professional landscape more human centric than ever.
Here are some key ways that automation can help us nurture the human side of the workplace, making room for a future that is both efficient and innovative.
More hours in the day
Managing daily tasks can be incredibly consuming, and as many businesses know, ticking boxes and making sure everything is in order can take away from time spent working together. Implementing automation in the workplace can give you more wiggle room, as it can be an effective way to <a href="https://frontapp.com/blog/2017/02/22/how-to-automate-customer-support-without-losing-authenticity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">optimize workflow management </a>by helping teams remain on top of tasks and automatically organizing important information. In addition to making sure things go smoothly internally, automation can also help manage and even improve your customer relations. Not only can a chatbot be available 24/7, it can also learn from the information given to them by your consumers, thus becoming more personalized and able to meet specific customer needs in the future.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/entreprenuers/2018/01/26/meet-young-robotics-entrepreneur-got-dream-deal-apple/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Meet The Young Robotics Entrepreneur Who Got A Dream Deal With Apple</a>
Shift focus to creativity
Having the ability to think outside the box in the workplace is a key part of encouraging growth and innovation in any work environment. In a similar way that artificial intelligence can grant us more room to focus on the people that we work with, it can also grant businesses more time to focus on creative output. This doesn&#8217;t just mean giving more time to creative projects, but learning how to <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/company-policy-improve-creative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">creatively approach </a>work to make your company culture more human centric. By automating certain tasks such as customers relations management and accounting, those hours that would have been spent going over paperwork can now be transformed into team outings and coming up with new ideas for growth.
Better understand how technology can benefit consumers
A combination of data driven research and emerging market trends have taught businesses how to interact with their consumers in a way that will ensure they have their personal needs met. Learning how to implement strategic data analysis is an effective way for your business to get to know their customer. In addition to better understanding consumer needs, understanding how to make the most of data analysis, like how to use it to predict market trends.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/01/25/four-skills-make-robot-recession-proof/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Four Skills To Make Yourself Robot And Recession Proof</a>
While automation in the workplace might still seem a bit like science fiction, advancements in AI have proven that we are not far from having an intelligent workplace in the near future. It’s important that businesses find ways to encourage their employees to work in tandem with artificial intelligence. By understanding how to strategically implement artificial intelligence in the workplace based on your human needs, it’s an ideal way to boost innovation and company morale in the future.

Is Automation All Doom And Gloom?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been at the forefront of innovators minds for decades and as the technology makes breakthroughs, the public is becoming more aware of its implications.
The scientist, innovators, and entrepreneurs who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of high-level artificial intelligence are pushing the boundaries of what can be accomplished every day.
We are seeing the direct result of their breakthroughs in the forms of automation and autopilot. Through this pursuit one thing becomes clear: AI will change our lives dramatically in the coming years. That is why it is not only fascinating, but also imperative that we stay abreast of the current climate in the world of AI. These innovations are doing amazing things in the world of AI that could affect the planet for decades to come.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/01/25/four-skills-make-robot-recession-proof/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Four Skills To Make Yourself Robot And Recession Proof</a>
<ol>
<li> Self-Driving Cars</li>
</ol>
The most popular innovation, as well as the most exciting, is the advent of autonomous vehicles. For the last 50 years people have imagined a world where driving would no longer be necessary to enjoy personal and private transportation.
Driving in the United States has been a leading cause of death among youth for a number of years. One of the primary goals of autonomous vehicles is to reduce the number of casualties, while simultaneously increasing the efficacy of transportation services across the globe. With safety and value in mind, autonomous vehicles ranks as one of the most ambitious and exciting innovations to come.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/07/21/push-self-driving-car-rules-overlooks-lack-federal-expertise-ai-tech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Push For Self-Driving Car Rules Overlooks Lack Of Federal Expertise In AI Tech</a>
<ol start="2">
<li> Natural Language Processing</li>
</ol>
A main goal of AI in the future is to create machines that can reason and write with the lexical skill of a human being. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is the software that will hopefully achieve one such future that’s being developed primarily in <a href="https://www.python.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Python</a>.
Companies, like Attivio and Alphabet, are working constantly to replicate human thought and speech patterns. The goal of this is to ultimately create machines that can communicate with us, and us to them. This would fabricate a new type of machine with unlimited possibilities of growth. This could lead to machines replacing lawyers, doctors, or even therapists. The projected future of this technology is endless. This makes NLP one of the most intriguing innovations to watch.
<ol start="3">
<li> Virtual Agents</li>
</ol>
Virtual Agents (VA) have a simple but profound goal: to create AI that can guide us through customer service effectively and quickly. As of now the AI is mostly used for automated chat resources but with enough progress and innovation, businesses hope to replicate the experience of human customer service. Fused with the efficiency of a machine, this would also eliminate the wait time problem that we all have been through.
Companies like Apple and Amazon have put themselves on the cutting edge of this technology with the view that great customer service would help their brands exponentially. This technology, however, is closer than we imagined due to programs like deep learning in which a program can watch and learn from humans interacting. This innovation will most likely be affecting us, and easing tension, very soon.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/09/13/apple-not-google-facebook-will-define-future-augmented-reality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Apple, Not Google Or Facebook, Will Define The Future Of Augmented Reality</a>
<ol start="4">
<li> Robotic Process Automation</li>
</ol>
One technology that businesses are particularly keen on is the Robotic Processing Automation (RPA) AI software. RPA is simple in its conception and seeks to automate more complex human tasks, like filing reports or reading mail. This, however, has some obvious concerns for workers in the middle classes as they may get replaced, but the impact of such a comprehensive technology could change the nature of work forever.
The company Automation Anywhere is one such business that is seeking to change work for the better. This could alleviate issues that arise from companies with too few employees or too tight a budget to hire who they need. Still in larval stages, this AI platform won’t hit full stride just yet, but it is on its way.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/entreprenuers/2017/09/11/battling-giants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Battling Giants</a>
<ol start="5">
<li> Machine Learning</li>
</ol>
Machine learning is the process whereby a program can analyze a system and replicate its functions automatically. This could consolidate machine usage and create more efficient algorithms. It helps with predictions and forecasting by synthesizing data and outputting a report which streamlines the data gathering process.
Amazon and Fractal Analytics are in full swing on developing this software as it could help businesses operate at lower cost with higher efficiency. For all intents and purposes, machine learning is here and is advancing at an astronomical rate. Keep your eyes peeled because your company may be involved in machine learning before you know it.
Whether we like it or not AI is here. With it comes fears and hopes, but most importantly change. Some of these technologies are right around the corner, some are far off. Keep your eyes on the future.

5 AI Innovations You Need To Be Aware Of

The incessant pace of technology has birthed powerful tools for self-education and enrichment. At the same time, the perilous pace of progress renders some skillsets outmoded. In a recent Oxford study entitled <a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Future of Employment</a>, researchers found that 47% of jobs are at risk of becoming computerized, including formerly secure careers in transportation, administration, and law.
Securing employment will become an exceedingly arduous task as we move into the future. As automation looms before us, so does economic uncertainty. In order to weather both, a wide array of skills must be attained. Luckily, there are some skills you can acquire to steel yourself against the ups and downs of a changing society. There are evergreen skills that once learned, may shield you from robot and recession alike.
Here are four skills that may help you brace yourself for the next wave of automation:
<ol>
<li> Social intelligence</li>
</ol>
Over the past few decades, automation has claimed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/30/were-so-unprepared-for-the-robot-apocalypse/?utm_term=.7b0f5668ae4b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">millions of jobs</a>. Advancements in artificial intelligence could claim many more, as machines gain the ability to perform a broader range of complex tasks. While we have endowed machines with the ability to perform a variety of tasks, we have been unsuccessful in passing down human perceptiveness. What composes human perception and social intuition is somewhat uncertain to us, and therefore, impossible for us to mimic in software.
Smart software is far from being able to replicate human emotion or interact with genuine warmth, caring, or consideration. In other words, <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/02/the-rise-of-ai-makes-emotional-intelligence-more-important" target="_blank" rel="noopener">robots can’t relate</a>. Therefore, to stay relevant in one’s profession in the coming decade, hone your persuasive speaking skills, speaking candidly with civility, empathy, and grace.
<ol start="2">
<li> Creative thinking</li>
</ol>
Creativity is at the core of innovation, and innovation is always in demand. Creative thinking is the process by which we connect seemingly disparate information and synthesize solutions. This sounds simple enough, but it remains a distinctly human activity. Machines are able to produce reports and predictions; these predictions aren’t of much use without humans creating plans and strategies based on them. Collaboration and creativity are intricate tasks that <a href="https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2017/05/24/cios-hold-out-hope-for-humans-as-automation-powers-more-it-processes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">humans will still perform better than robots</a> in the near future.
<ol start="3">
<li> Software development</li>
</ol>
Instead of fighting automation, help usher it in. Machine and <a href="https://www.toptal.com/machine-learning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deep learning software applications</a> are booming and, at the moment, the complex software that powers advanced machines needs to be created, tweaked, and maintained by humans. Assist in building the next application for creating smart machines, utilizing open courseware and learning everything you can about the latest in data analysis and artificial intelligence.
<ol start="4">
<li> Adaptability</li>
</ol>
Recessions, depressions, and waves of automations can all be survived if you are devoted to maximizing your adaptability. There’s no clear trajectory of the global economy or artificial intelligence, therefore the most useful skill to acquire is the ability to use the environment to your advantage, whatever that environment may be.
In order to adapt, you must be willing to be open to any and all things, pivoting when necessary. When a recession hits, you must search for the options available to you and pursue them as vigorously as you possibly can. The same can be said for automation. If your job is in danger of being absorbed by automation, you will do well to respond quickly to the threat.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/06/13/create-jobs-age-robots-low-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How To Create Jobs In The Age Of Robots And Low Growth</a>
Advancing in one’s career requires constant learning. In the digital age, keeping your skills sharp is both incredibly easy and unnervingly difficult. Social intelligence and creative problem solving are still very much in demand, and almost impossible, at the present moment for artificial intelligence to mimic. Skills that complement development in artificial intelligence, such as software engineering and machine learning, should continue to have a healthy job market as these jobs will help usher in the next wave of automation. More valuable than any of these skills is adaptability. Responding to change in a logical manner, using all the tools available to you, will ensure the highest chance of success, regardless of economic conditions.

Lisa Froelings

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Is Automation All Doom And Gloom?

5 AI Innovations You Need To Be Aware Of

Four Skills to Make Yourself Robot and Recession-Proof