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May 7, 20197 min read

Where is the place for humans in an AI workforce?

Updated: May 10, 2019



Artificial Intelligence changing the world as we know it.

And, the world of work is no different.

McKinsey & Company, American world-wide management consultancy has predicted that by 2030 robots will eliminate 30% of the world's labor.

This is a startling statistic but McKinsey then goes on present that statistic that 400 to 800 million jobs will be displaced. (Manyika, J., et. al, 2017)



A very important word here is the word displaced.

Displaced eludes to the fact that these advancements in technology will not only eliminate a huge percentage of the world's jobs but will also create many more jobs in its place.

In fact, between 200-280 million jobs are predicted to be created in the consumer good industry alone by 2030. (Manyika, J., et. al, 2017)


Although the prospect of Artificial Intelligence integrating into our work and our society can appear daunting and frightening, with the correct preparation and strategic application this technological revolution could be the greatest revolution of all time.


We are already seeing positives occurring in businesses who engage with artificial intelligence.

By integrating these technological developments companies have been able to reduce the amount of menial, administrative duties that can easily be carried out by bots.

The margin of error in the works of automated bots is far less than that of a human being and workers can redirect their time and effort into more elaborate duties in the workplace. This creates a more productive work environment, more engaged workers and results in a higher company profit.




"The entrepreneurial activity unleashed by these developments drew three times as much investment in 2016—between $26 billion and $39 billion—as it did three years earlier." (Bughin, J., et. al, 2017)


'Less than 5% of jobs activities can actually be fully automated' and so instead of seeing an elimination of humans in the workforce we are about to see a relocation of humans. (Manyika, J., et. al, 2017)


But, we need to be ready for this.

During the Industrial revolution the advancements in technology saw a massive shift from 90% of the population being employed in agriculture to 2% of the population.

But, the US did not collapse.

In fact, the technology developments meant that it began to thrive.

Why? They introduced mass education and schooling.

Children were taught Math and English so that they were literate and could operate the machinery that were taking the jobs of physical labor.

Workers were equipped with the expertise to upskill and step into the jobs that were being created by these developments in technology.




Now, we must do the same.

No job is safe.


This replacement is happening now, and it’s happening in a true, complete decimation,” [Kai-Fu-Lee, former head of Google research in China] told a conference at MIT. “In my opinion, the white-collar workforce gets challenged first—blue-collar work later.”

(Knight, W., 2017)




It is no longer a case of learning stats and data to be able to carry out a job.

AI is able to do this far faster and far more efficiently than humans can.

In order to use the potential of AI to compliment the work of humans we need to know our place in the workforce.

The criteria for our education has changed.

We need to become more creative, emotionally charge and imaginative.

We need to creatively educate the up and coming workforce of the future.


A CREATIVE EDUCATION

"Automation will have a lesser effect on jobs that involve managing people, applying expertise, and social interactions, where machines are unable to match human performance for now....a challenge [for employers] will be ensuring that workers have the skills and support needed to transition to new jobs. Countries that fail to manage this transition could see rising unemployment and depressed wages." (Manyika, J., et. al, 2017)





It is important to understand that the skills that workers need to survive the technological revolution are creativity and humanity.

Employers need to make a moves towards igniting creativity in the workplace to rival the capabilities of AI and maintain positions for humans.


Lapierre & Giroux propose a formula for enhancing creativity in the workplace which is two tiered in its approach:


1. Climate

2. Individual. (Lapierre & Giroux, 2003)


In order to fully optimize creative output both the worker and the environment that the worker is operating in needs to be creativity nurtured. By doing this, we can define our place in the workforce and work with AI to improve working condition, increase profit and develop a better quality of life.


So how do we develop an environment for creative expression?


CLIMATE

The process of igniting creativity in the workplace is a concept that has been developed by men called Bill Gordon and George Prince in the 1950's.

They named the methodology Synectics .

The main emphasis of enhancing creativity in the synectic methodology is on the importance of idea generation.

All creative attempts are celebrated.

This rewards the creative process as opposed to the final solution.




Another aspect of synectics is the importance of developing a new idea by focusing on the ‘direction of improvement’(Nolan, V., 2003)

This means that if a new idea is proposed and is not an ideal solution that teams can discuss how to improve the idea as opposed to dismissing it straight away.

This understanding of the process of creativity allows new concepts to be born.

Mistakes and failures are integral to the human condition and beautiful things can be born out of them and so when working with AI, it is the human's responsibility to make these courageous non-normative ideas like only humans can do.

But only can do, if it is encouraged in the workplace.


Lapierre & Giroux propose that you can achieve this climate for ease of expression of creativity by lateral and vertical collaboration. (Lapierre & Giroux, 2003)


Lateral Collaboration means that individuals from all different disciplines in the work environment come together for the idea development and creation phase. Different disciplines have different perspectives and experience and can inform on an enhance creative decisions. This includes working creatively with AI who can provide excellent insights into data and up evaluations that human may not have the capacity to do.

Vertical Collaboration means that different workers from varying levels of superiority also work together on creative decision making. This climate allows for un-stifled freedom of expression and worker validation.


Working with all your colleagues including bosses and AI in making creative decisions will add to the confidence of the individual and allow the beauty of human imagination and creativity to become a discipline in itself.



INDIVIDUAL

Educating the individual on their personal creative strengths and abilities is integral to secure human positions in an AI infiltrated work force. Workers must be confident in their abilities as humans to add their personal expression and insight into the work carried out by bots.


AI learns from collected data and follows algorithms and processes to create an output. This means that work done by AI is accurate and timely. But, some of the most interesting and successful outputs occur when process is broken and the essence of a project remains but something extremely innovative and new comes from the break in process.


Clive Barker is a theatre practitioner who discusses how, the release of physical energy can allow the individual to transcend the ‘intellectual reflective, or pre-conceiving mind mechanisms’ to access the uninhibited creative mind. (Barker, C., 2010,)




Barker presents an alternative way of doing and seeing things through the medium of play and a physical creative process.

Play and the physical creative process is something that AI bots will be incapable to understanding or engaging with as their intelligence is purely computational.

Humans can feel a movement and be creatively inspired.

By physically engaging with creative developments workers can "bypass the conscious mind mechanisms by removing any idea that there is a problem to be tackled" (Barker, C., 2010). This removes stress and inhibitions allowing for an uninterrupted creative flow. A creative flow inherent in humans an not AI.


OUR WORKING FUTURE



There is no doubt that there is a huge shift in the workforce as we know it and a massive move towards automation and artificial intelligence.

But before we panic about job loses we need to remember that "automating a particular task, so that it can be done more quickly or cheaply, increases the demand for human workers to do the other tasks around it that have not been automated" (Automation and Anxiety, 2016)


"By eliminating the tedium, AI and automation can free us to pursue careers that give us a greater sense of meaning and well-being.

Careers that challenge us, instill a sense of progress, provide us with autonomy, and make us feel like we belong" (McClelland, Calum, 2018)


Instead of fearing that we have developed a technology that will take over our jobs, realise that we have developed a technology that will take over our menial jobs and allow us to do and be the workers that we were born to be; humans.


AI will be better at most jobs than humans will be. But what happens when AI do everything better than us? What is left for us?


Well, to be integrally human. And how exciting is that?


There is no doubt that there is a massive need for up-skilling and relocation of humans in the workforce but if done correctly, human workers can position themselves as managers of creativity, human engagement and innovation.

Work that excites, engages and gives purpose to those who carry it out.


So let's get ready, let's get prepared and let's get creative.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY




  • Nolan, V., 2003, Whatever Happened to Synectics? Creativity and Innovation Management, Volume 12, Issue 1, Blackwell Publishing LTD.


  • Lapierre, J., & Giroux V., P.,2003,Creativity and Innovation Management, Creativity and Work Environment in a High-Tech Context, Blackwell Publishing Volume 12, Issue 1


  • Barker, C., 2010, Theatre Games; A new approach to drama training, Methuen Drama




  • Govan, E.,Nicholson, H., & Normington., K., Making a Performance; Devising Histories and Contemporary Practises, 2007, Routledge


  • Sheng‐Tao Fan, Applied Theatre in Corporate Training, Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 2003, Vol. 27 Issue: 4, pp.15-18


  • Kent., M., L., The Power of storytelling in Public Relations; Introducing the 20 master plots, Public Relations Review, 11/2015, Volume 41, Issue 4 pg. 480-489


  • Kaufman, M. & McAdams B.,P.,Moment Work: Tectonic Theater Project’s Process of Devising Theater, 2017, Vintage Books.









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