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Throughout history, technological advancements have often been met with apprehension about their potential impact on employment. From the early days of the industrial revolution to the rise of computers, concerns about job loss and societal upheaval have been prevalent. However, a closer examination reveals that while some jobs may become obsolete, new opportunities emerge, leading to an overall increase in employment.
A thought-provoking podcast by McKinsey highlights how computers, while rendering some jobs obsolete, have created millions of new positions. This includes direct employment in computer-hardware manufacturing and input industries like semiconductors, as well as growth in computer-enabled industries.
Today we find ourselves in a similar situation, with reports concluding that 40% of jobs around the world will be affected by business AI. While some jobs may become obsolete, history has shown that technological advancements create new opportunities and roles.
Rather than viewing AI as a job-replacing force, it should be seen as a tool to enhance human capabilities and improve efficiency. By leveraging business AI, employees can focus on more strategic and creative tasks, while the technology handles repetitive and time-consuming work. I firmly believe that the rise of business AI presents a unique opportunity to harness the power of human-AI collaboration, ultimately leading to increased productivity, innovation, and job satisfaction.
AI – Human Collaboration
AI’s true strength lies in its ability to enhance human capabilities, not replace them. In the Cloud ERP context, business AI can automate a variety of tasks, such as data entry, invoice processing, and inventory management. This opens a world of opportunity for employees to focus on more strategic, high-level work.
Accenture, for example, has leveraged business AI to make matching invoices and payments faster, more efficient, and less error prone. Previously, issues such as mismatches between payment amounts and invoices caused up to 250,000 manual entries. However, by implementing a machine-learning based model on SAP Business Technology Platform, Accenture achieved an 80% increase in automatic cash processing, overcoming these challenges.
AI has also made progress in human welfare, as demonstrated by CleaVision, a social venture in India, as part of the SAP One Billion Lives program. This initiative showcases the powerful collaboration between AI and humans to detect blindness in children.
CleaVision uses intelligent technologies to deliver timely diagnosis for eye diseases, such as Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), to those without access to healthcare in developing countries. By training non-physicians to capture retinal images and utilizing CleaVision technology to review the image files, the screening program can be scaled, saving significant time for technicians and ROP specialists.
These examples highlight the transformative potential of AI in enhancing human capabilities and improving processes across various industries, from business operations to healthcare and social welfare.
Ensuring People Advance Alongside AI
This new era of human-AI collaboration also necessitates a thoughtful approach to manage this transition towards AI technologies.
It’s essential to upskill workforces to adapt to this changing job market. Now is the time to invest in training and education programs that enable individuals to acquire the necessary skills to work alongside AI systems effectively. By prioritizing the development of an AI-literate workforce, we can ensure that humans and AI collaborate productively, leading to increased efficiency and innovation across all industries.
Furthermore, ethical considerations play a critical role in business AI implementation, particularly in the context of human-AI collaboration and upskilling. For example, we must prioritize data privacy and security, ensuring that our business AI solutions respect user autonomy and transparency. Ethically deployed AI also helps avoid biases and foster a more inclusive work environment, further enhancing its collaborative potential.
At the same time, as business AI tools become more standard in the workplace, we must ensure that all have access to the knowledge and tools required to leverage these new technologies and stay relevant in this changing employment landscape.
In this new wave of technology, we have all the means to ensure that people advance alongside AI. Through upskilling and upholding AI ethics, we can harness AI’s full potential to drive innovation and growth while creating new opportunities for the workforce of the future.
Innovation and Lasting Growth on the Horizon
Cloud ERP with AI is a powerful combo for businesses. It can streamline operations, improve decision-making, and boost efficiency.
However, just using AI isn’t enough. The key is to leverage AI to augment human capabilities. This means AI tackles complex tasks and finds hidden insights, freeing up human expertise for higher-level decisions and strategy.
This teamwork between humans and AI in Cloud ERP will continue drive business growth and innovation.