Robots ‘coming to take our jobs’ has been a hot topic for many years. Automation is becoming more common in the workplace and bots are completing tasks that, previously, humans were doing manually. However, this does not mean that robots will take over and humans will be replaced. It means the ‘future of work’ is evolving to an environment where humans and robots will work together, supporting and complementing one another.
Robots could not exist without humans. Humans build, program and teach their robot companions. If a robot does not understand something, it sometimes seeks guidance from a human to help it solve the problem – e.g. if Amazon’s Alexa does not understand a command, it might repeat its interpretation of the task back for approval.
AI assistants are among the best examples of bot technology available today. Siri, Google Home, Alexa etc. have all had a variety of people with diverse skillsets work on them extensively; they would not be as intuitive or valuable if their human creators did not continue to develop them. According to this Harvard Business Review article, Cortana, Microsoft’s assistant, had a team of people which included a novelist, poet and playwright to develop its personality – this further emphasizes the need for humans in a robot’s world.
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Increasing automation in the professional community will have many benefits for business owners and employees as the strengths that a robot brings are different to the areas where humans excel.
Bots provide speed, accuracy, scalability and data analysis to levels unattainable by humans.
If bots manage the mundane, but business-critical admin, people can focus on soft skills that cannot be achieved by bots. Creativity, problem solving, relationship building and leadership are all vital skills for business success, personal development and job satisfaction.
The value of businesses investing in these abilities should not be overlooked. A 2017 study from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan (with help from Professors at Harvard and Boston College) highlights positive results from an experiment of those who completed soft skills training versus those who did not. Productivity of workers who completed the training increased by 12%, which translated to 256% ROI for the business.
If these skills are used effectively together moving forward, businesses could reach new heights. In fact, Forbes cites the World Economic Forum’s prediction that automation will generate 133 million job opportunities. Many of these roles may not exist yet but they will be vital in aiding humans and robots achieve their potential.
At Roots Automation, we train Digital Coworkers to support common business tasks. We provide a ‘cockpit’ for our customers to interact with their digital teammates, check on their work and answer any questions the bot may have - harnessing a positive working relationship between humans and bots.
Find out how your business could benefit from introducing Digital Coworkers: www.rootsautomation.com info@rootsautomation.com
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