2. AI & Automation

Discussions in recent years about the working life of the future have been characterised by concern that many people will lose their jobs as a result of developments in artificial intelligence and automation. Concerns that technology will replace people in the labour market are not new; ever since the dawn of industrialism, people have discussed whether technological change will lead to increased unemployment, known as “technological unemployment”. But at the same time that some jobs disappear as a result of technological developments, many new opportunities will arise.

Mia Kleregård, former CEO, Plantagon Sverige

Discussions about the impact of AI and automation have long been characterised by concerns that robots may eventually control us humans and take over our jobs. For example, Stephen Hawking warned that the development of full artificial intelligence could “spell the end of the human race”, and Kai-Fu Lee, Google China’s former CEO, has warned of an “AI crisis” in which 50 per cent of the world’s jobs are in danger because of AI development.

And of course there are many examples of how AI and robots have already taken over jobs and tasks that were previously carried out by people. In the spring of 2018, for example, Casper von Koskull, the CEO of Nordea, announced that the bank planned to replace almost 1,000 jobs with robots and AI before the end of the year. At the same time, we are seeing more and more predictions and practical examples that development ultimately actually creates many jobs. For example, Amazon, which is known to have integrated the use of robots in its operations at an early stage, recently announced that as a result of the streamlined operations and increased growth due to automation, 300,000 full-time jobs have been created since 2012. In Europe, as a result of technological developments an estimated 23 million jobs were created between 1999 and 2016, representing almost half of all new jobs during the same period. A recently published World Economic Forum report predicted that automation will create 58 million new jobs over the next five years.

A growing number of managers and employees realise that AI and automation will be necessary in the working life of the future. A recent study of HR managers and employees in the US showed that almost eight out of ten HR managers and six out of ten employees responded that companies that fail to incorporate AI into their businesses risk negative consequences, such as lower productivity and job

losses.

Rather than talking about how “robots will take our jobs”, much of the current discussion on automation centres on the opportunities that are being created by allowing technology to supplement and strengthen the human workforce. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum has referred to this approach as an “augmentation strategy”.

Many companies have already realised that employees of the future will include both humans and machines, for which reason they have begun to formulate strategies to combine the human and mechanical workforces to increase productivity and growth. At companies such as Airbus and Nissan, “cobots”, robots that work side by side with people, are already a natural component of production. In the service sector, AI and robotisation are increasingly used to improve human customer service. For example, investment bank Morgan Stanley has equipped 16,000 of its financial advisers with machine learning algorithms to automate routine tasks, which will allow the advisors to focus more on customer service. Another example is the start-up restaurant Creator in San Francisco, where a robot creates perfect hamburgers, thereby freeing up the employees to take care of hospitality and customer service.

AI is also used in healthcare to improve the patient encounter. For example, in China, the health platform Ping A Good Doctor launched an unstaffed medical clinic that uses AI to quickly analyse the patient chart and arrive at a diagnosis. The patient may then speak with a specialist consultant who is able to focus on providing support and showing concern.

Cooperation between humans and machines has also given rise to new occupation titles, such as “bot-trainers”, and “bot-curators”, which entail human monitoring and supplementation of AI tools. Both Twitter and Facebook currently employ thousands of people who control their algorithms. In China the fintech platform JD Finance created 3,000 risk management and data analysis jobs to optimise algorithms for digital loans.

A study that explored the impact of AI on 12 countries predicted that AI and collaboration between human and machine will double annual economic growth and increase productivity by 40% by 2035

Viktor Qvarfordt, AI developer Sana Labs

Developments in robotisation are proceeding rapidly. A primary goal of this development is to create robots that are more human. Both Apple and Amazon are currently working on integrating emotional intelligence into their chatbots, and Honda has recently formulated its “3 E” vision, which stands for “Empower, Experience, Empathy” and includes teaching robots to become more empathetic when interacting with people. Robots are now also able to create both music and paintings.

Part of such development involves humanising robots by making them into colleagues. For example, in Switzerland, UBS Global Wealth Management Innovation Lab and AI-expert FaceMe developed the avatar “UBS Companion”, a digital clone of the company’s CFO that can conduct conversations with customers and advisers. Meanwhile, in Peking, the Chinese news bureau Xinhua and search engine Sougo.com have developed two avatars of their leading news anchors to improve efficiency and reduce production costs.

At the forefront of robot development is the Swedish start-up company Furhat Robotics. Their mission is to create “life-like” robots that can maintain eye contact and meet customers. The company develops robots of different genders and personalities depending on context, and today their robots can be found, for

example, directing traffic at the airport in Frankfurt. We met Gabriel Skantze, chief scientist at Furhat, to discuss the development of social robots.

A robot that is conversant on any subject is still some way off in the future. But we are definitely moving in that direction.

Most social robots are fairly expressionless; many developers ignore how important the face actually is. Facial expressions convey subtle signals and create eye contact, which is extremely important when we interact – whether with humans or robots.

Social robots will be used where their uniqueness is strongest. They primarily have two strengths: access to specific information and their lack of genuine emotions or interests. Because of their access to specific information, they are able to quickly answer specific questions, as in an airport or a store. Their second strength, their lack of genuine emotions or interests, as well as their indefatigability, is perhaps even more important. For example, they can chat with a person with dementia for twelve hours on end, or perform menial tasks around the clock without getting bored or tired. There are even times when it may be easier to deal with a robot than a human. For example when the TV stops working in the middle of a football game, the viewer may have little patience to deal politely with human technical support. In such cases, it may be easier to deal with a robot who simply solves the problem without any expectations of politeness or small talk. It has even been shown that many people find it easier to tell secrets to a robot than to a person. It might seem less difficult to discuss alcoholism or other sensitive matters where the individual might fear being judged.

The robots must be adapted to the employees and the workplace, not vice versa. People should control them, not the other way around. That’s why we adapt the personality depending on purpose, role, company and culture. In part so that the robot fits in with the employees, but also to communicate the brand value and culture to customers.