Atal Bansal is the Founder and CEO at Chetu, a global U.S.-based custom software solutions and support services provider.
AI “smart” or “intelligent” automation seems unstoppable because it promises to save money, minimize human error, and produce faster results. The impact on workers and the workplace will be dramatic.
Goldman Sachs reports that “two-thirds of occupations could be partially automated by AI.” McKinsey echoes this sentiment in an article: “Current generative AI and other technologies have the potential to automate work activities that absorb 60 to 70 percent of employees’ time today.”
What we are seeing with smart automation is the digital equivalent of Henry Ford’s assembly line when he added a conveyor belt to bring the “developing car” to the workers, allowing Ford to build a car in 90 minutes instead of 12 hours.
Given the likelihood of cost savings and increased operational efficiency, many companies are turning to smart automation. This technology could upend the job market and revolutionize the workplace by enhancing productivity.
Where Will The Savings And Revenue Come From?
Smart automation technology will impact various aspects of business operations, especially repetitive and time-intensive tasks like entering data, which are susceptible to human error. It can also generate data-driven insights and find patterns from large datasets that human workers might take days, weeks, or even longer to accomplish, if at all.
State-of-the-art technologies are already automating repetitive tasks like payroll processing, data entry, inventory management, patient registration, invoicing, claims processing, and more. AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) have taken on everyday manual tasks that employees previously did, leaving companies with the choice of eliminating jobs or giving workers more time to focus on more productive tasks.
While automation excels at repetitive tasks, it can transform business operations. For instance, rather than having workers manually count inventory, AI can automatically track inventory in real time as consumers buy products. Businesses would be able to anticipate demand for popular products and eliminate disruptions due to shortages. AI also reduces downtime because it can predict maintenance problems, allowing managers to take proactive action to minimize work interruptions. This helps produce faster turnaround times, improve resource allocations, and reduce costs.
AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms also provide companies with data-driven insights. By analyzing vast amounts of data, these technologies can find patterns and trends, which leads to more informed decision-making. Previously, companies often had information overload that they struggled to analyze efficiently.
Real-World Smart Automation Examples
Many companies have already embraced smart automation because of its potential benefits. Here are two companies that are using smart automation to save time and money:
•JPMorgan Chase (JPCM) leverages AI in its COiN (COtract INtelligence) platform, which automates tasks like “interpreting loan applications.” The automated system can “process 12,000 contacts annually and save approximately 360,000 hours of review for the firm's legal teams.”
•Walmart has implemented an AI-ML-driven inventory management system that uses “historical data” and “predictive analytics” to “save time from the moment of purchase to their front door.”
Mitigating Risks And Maximizing Rewards
To successfully implement smart automation and avoid problems with employees, companies need to plan and have a clear vision of their goals. They will need a cross-functional team that includes executives, managers, workers, and your IT team or consultant to minimize risks and to assuage the workforce on their future.
Automation.com lists significant challenges that companies will have to overcome, including:
•Lack of IT readiness: Many companies may not have the IT skills in house to manage smart automation integration. They will either need to upskill their IT staff, perhaps expand it or bring aboard a software solutions provider that understands their industry and the technology required.
•Lack of a clear vision: This problem stems from a lack of a total strategy. To develop a clear vision, Automation.com recommends the active involvement of C-Suite executives and the creation of a centralized “Center of Excellence” that will set “standards and [provide] guidance to business units engaged in specific initiatives.”
Because of the benefits of these real-world examples, many workers fear technology will take their jobs. Undoubtedly, horse-and-buggy drivers suffered tremendous job losses with the advent of cars. But with technology also came new jobs. Instead of a horse and buggy, society needed taxicab drivers.
So, how will AI, a generational technology, change the workplace?
McKinsey research indicates that jobs requiring “physical and manual skills” will continue their downward trend but they will still “continue to be the single largest category of skills (measured by time spent), shrinking from 31 percent of workers’ time in 2016 to 25 percent in 2030 across the United States and Western Europe.”
As a result, businesses will seek workers with “higher cognitive skills,” like “creativity, critical thinking, decision making, and complex information processing.”
To minimize the potential disruption to the workforce, companies, employees and governments can take proactive measures to reduce job loss. Companies can offer retraining programs to workers, and employees can seek training needed for new careers, which already existing federal programs may subsidize. Government can do its part by providing financial incentives to companies that use AI to help workers. One idea floating around Congress is a “displacement tax, levied on employers when a worker’s job is automated but the person is not retrained, which could make businesses more inclined to retrain workers.”
While Congress holds hearings and proposes legislation, smart automation is already a reality in today’s business world. The question is not whether many companies will switch to smart automation but when. This technology is inevitable. It will be up to companies that want to stay competitive and their workforce to adapt to the latest industrial revolution or be left behind.
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