Clarissa Windham-Bradstock is CEO/Chief People Officer of Any Lab Test Now, a leading national retail healthcare and lab testing franchise.
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Once upon a time, customer service people came out to your car when you pulled up to something called a full-service gas pump and you never got out of your car. Instead, you rolled down the window, told them to "fill 'er up," and they pumped the gas and washed your car windows while you waited. Then they took your cash and ran inside the gas station office to get your change.
Depending on which generation you’re from, this story is either reminiscent of days gone by or it’s a history lesson. Point is, the gas station attendant job was eventually replaced by automated serve-yourself gas pumps (everywhere except Oregon and New Jersey). Even that concept has evolved, so now you pay at the pump, self-serve and watch a show on the built-in TV screen while you fill your tank. An example of how automation replaced jobs.
These days there’s concern that many current jobs could go away if artificial intelligence, or AI, takes the world by storm. A recent study by Goldman Sachs reports that 300 million jobs could be replaced by automation throughout the United States and the European Union. Presently, the study says about two-thirds of current occupations could be automated in some way. Within those occupations, the study estimates that somewhere between a quarter and half of the workload could be completed by AI.
What Is AI?
To properly define AI, let's go to the experts at IBM: "Artificial intelligence leverages computers and machines to mimic the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of the human mind." If you’ve used Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant, you’ve been utilizing AI. But like all technology, the adaptations are continually updating, and new innovations appear at lightning speed.
When global software giant SAS describes AI, it’s very similar to the IBM definition, but they add this caveat: "Instead of automating manual tasks, AI performs frequent, high-volume, computerized tasks. And it does so reliably and without fatigue. Of course, humans are still essential to set up the system and ask the right questions."
Very true about the fatigue. Bots don’t have bad days, sick days or car trouble preventing them from getting to work. Bots don't require health insurance, vacations, casual Fridays or hybrid working environments. That is why so many companies are utilizing this technology to streamline operations.
AI already has some surprising capabilities. In an experiment at the University of Minnesota and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, the AI chatbot tool, ChatGPT, successfully passed law exams and business exams.
Let’s Be Smarter Than AI
That Goldman Sachs study that estimates millions of jobs could be affected by automation does not necessarily mean layoffs; it could just mean job shifts. While some may find their job replaced by AI, there is a strong possibility that the new technology could also create new jobs. The financial experts quoted in the piece believe AI jobs could actually increase annual global GDP by 7%—the equivalent of $7 trillion—and increase productivity.
Three Steps To Using AI In The Workplace
Now that the concept of AI is literally everywhere and clearly only becoming more sophisticated, we as business leaders need to step up and determine how to properly use it so that it does not crush the workforce, but instead makes it more effective.
So how should we use AI on an everyday basis in business? From a leadership perspective, I see three key protocols to develop.
1. Set up policies about how you will use AI at your company.
Now is the time to create the infrastructure. This is a non-threatening method to introduce AI. For example, will you allow your team to utilize ChatGPT to compose reports and emails or to generate ideas? Will AI be used for coding or data generation? Study the platform. What are your needs, and how might those needs grow? It’s important that you recognize what the technology can truly do to enhance your business.
2. Set goals around the use of AI.
Put the research in to determine how innovation and automation could maximize efficiency at your company. How economically effective will AI be in your workplace? Establish how you can effectively upskill and retrain your staff rather than letting them be replaced by technology.
3. Train your workforce on how to use this technology.
AI becomes a much less threatening instrument when you know its capabilities and limitations.
Final Thoughts
There is a way to balance artificial and human intelligence. AI is a tool that has limitless possibilities—but remember, we humans control its use. After all, AI should be viewed as something that can remove some of our mundane everyday tasks, freeing us up to get back to the significance of human interaction and customer service. But we’ve got to be careful what we wish for—what I wouldn’t give for someone to pump my gas for me again.
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