Artificial intelligence is already in the workplace, and while this may conjure up uncomfortable visions of superhuman robots making humans obsolete, what AI does is make many jobs easier. It can also free up people to do other types of work. For example, chatbots can answer easy questions or gather the necessary information to direct a customer to the right human to help with their more complex queries. This is just one of many ways that AI is making inroads in the modern workplace.
Workplace Surveillance
Workplace surveillance is on the rise at many companies. The key for a company that uses it successfully is to respect worker privacy and figure out ways that it can be used to benefit workers rather than in a punitive fashion. For example, artificial intelligence could monitor certain processes and identify places where they are particularly inefficient from the standpoint of the worker, leading to better practices. Another place where the use of artificial intelligence is on the rise is with dash cams as part of fleet management. AI dash cams can help protect drivers and lower costs with preventative in-cab coaching and real-time incident detection.
Big Data and Analytics
AI can crunch more data than any human has ever been able to do. This can be used in a variety of ways. Virtually everyone who goes online has encountered AI-driven algorithms that predict what kinds of products they might like to purchase, what movies or videos they might enjoy, or what influencers they may want to follow. However, machine learning is capable of much more. For example, it can detect patterns that may indicate that fraud is occurring on an account. It can help insurance companies with more accurate modeling regarding risk.
Engaging With People
There is a growing use of chatbots to help customers with relatively simple issues, but this engagement can happen in several other scenarios as well. For example, these same approaches can be used in-house to help employees with HR questions. Some forms of AI can be quite sophisticated and may be able to help create specialized treatment plans for patients or other custom plans. Robo-advisors are already in wide use among online brokerages, helping new investors figure out what they should do with their money.
The Future
What role will artificial intelligence play in businesses in the years to come? It certainly will continue to perform more mundane tasks, freeing people up to do more jobs that require the human touch. Robots can also increasingly be used to do tasks that are hazardous or impossible for humans. Businesses need to capitalize on emerging technologies and will need to keep an eye on customer preferences and expectations. It's worth remembering that while some customers prefer the no human interaction aspect of automatic checkouts, others welcome the opportunity to exchange a chat with a human cashier. It will be important for companies to continue to be able to adapt without losing sight of the fact that what is most efficient might not always be a draw from the customer point of view.
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