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In any 2022 roundup, Elon Musk’s Optimus robot waving its mechanical arms in the air should figure prominently. Musk boldly asserted that we could see a “fundamental transformation of civilization” with such advances in robotics. Although his vision may take years to come to fruition, we are now at a time when we will see rapid deployment and progress in artificial intelligence. The future is bright, and 2023 is going to be exciting when it comes to AI.
A time of flux and generational change in artificial intelligence
Despite record low unemployment rates, companies continue to find it difficult to find employees, especially people with the right skills. Necessity is the mother of invention, and we are in an age of AI necessity. The current labor shortage, inflationary and recessionary pressures combined with rising interest rates will force companies to get creative with labor sourcing.
AI-powered automation will drive much of this change, and winners in specific niches can be determined by the ability and speed with which businesses can take advantage of automation. This is especially true for industries such as accounting, banking, lending, data processing, technology development, or customer service, where automation adoption is already underway.
Faster adoption rates are likely as companies respond to market pressures. We should expect companies aiming for AI adoption completion dates in 2024-2025 to bring them forward.
While it’s not possible to anticipate all of the fallout, it’s more than likely that companies will lay off some employees, especially in roles where automation proves to be a better fit than expected. On the other hand, companies will also be able to approach growth at a faster but more sustainable pace, especially if they are in a growing industry. Performance-driven companies will see better results and higher profitability if they act quickly and stay strategic about adopting AI.
Related: 3 Ways to Drive Business Growth Using AI
1. A host of necessity-driven AI innovations will spawn new unicorns
Think of it like this: We can now fearlessly unlock Pandora’s box of societal and industrial problems and challenges because we also have the technological key to solving them. In the future, we will see a continuous and rapid emergence of new ideas to solve persistent challenges. People may have thought of these solutions for a long time, but it was beyond our technical ability to realize them. Thanks to automation, these ideas can now become reality.
We are also going through an economic transformation and fundamental changes in our approach to work. All of a sudden, customers’ minds are wide open, looking for solutions. This happy alignment of causalities enables unique leaps in idea formulation, especially when supported by the impending sharply accelerated adoption of AI.
For example, a metaverse company in China is currently experimenting with an AI-powered virtual humanoid robot as CEO. As bizarre as it sounds, we’ll see more and more bold innovations happen as the adoption of AI accelerates. The next unicorn blessing will emerge from solving some of our most lingering issues. Not only will automation help businesses stay on budget and achieve growth goals despite tightening market conditions, but it will also impact every facet of life as we know it.
Related: The Complete Guide to AI for Business and How It Makes a Difference
2. AI will spice up the new flavor of a globalized workforce
In the wake of the Great Resignation and Silent Surrender, it is abundantly clear that our relationship with the workplace has fundamentally changed. Flexibility and work-life balance are key to retaining talent. AI-based automation will play a key role in enabling companies to provide increased flexibility to employees while allowing them to work from anywhere.
Our organization has developed an AI-based collaborative work platform called Teletype that allows us to supplement our full-time workforce with part-time workers from anywhere in the world. More and more AI-based work and collaboration platforms like Upwork and Taskrabbit will come to the fore as they connect traditional work to a globalized workforce of the future that can work from anywhere.
Related: Here’s What AI Can Never Do
3. AI and large-scale automation will hit us in waves
We are already seeing a massive adoption of automation for repetitive tasks performed by software robots. We may still be a long way from scaling hardware robots or consistent automation that can allow organizations to manage all aspects of production from hyperscale data centers. But we’re likely to see an upsurge in automation that will expand or improve people’s ability to work. We might even see an increase in the number of robotic personal assistants to take care of repetitive tasks that can be largely automated so people can work smarter and faster. This will be especially true in back-office environments where repetitive tasks consume many costly human hours.
As we become increasingly sophisticated with AI tools, the percentage and nature of automation in all work processes will increase dramatically. Few aspects of life will remain untouched by AI, and the changes will soon hit us in waves. The tricky question for organizations will be deciding which wave to ride.
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