5 Things You Need to Know About AI and the Future of Work

Technology has been changing the way we work for centuries. The Industrial Revolution saw many people leave farms to work in factories, and today many people are leaving offices for remote jobs or freelance assignments. 

There’s no doubt that AI will change the way we work and live; it already has. While some fear the rise of AI and automation will lead to the loss of millions of jobs in the next decade, others are hopeful that AI will create a superhuman revolution with humans at the reins.

As the world’s first AI-powered classification platform, GreenLight has incorporated these developments in machine learning from the start. Our cutting-edge AI technology has enabled us to process and analyze huge volumes of data much faster than traditional methods, which gives GreenLight the ability to provide accurate insight for companies around the world in a fraction of time.

In this article, we will discuss 5 things that you need to know about AI and how it is likely going to change the future of your workforce.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field that has been around for decades.

Artificial Intelligence is an evolving field that’s been around for decades. AI has advanced in many different ways over the years, from robots to self-driving cars and more.

While AI has been used for decades, it is only within the last decade we’ve started grasping the potential. In A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence from Live Science, they state: “The beginnings of modern AI can be traced to classical philosophers’ attempts to describe human thinking as a symbolic system. But the field of AI wasn’t formally founded until 1956, at a conference at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, where the term “artificial intelligence” was coined.”

The true earth-shattering potential of AI couldn’t be seen until computers had become powerful enough to truly be deemed “intelligent”. Such tasks which were once only reserved to humans, such as recognizing speech patterns and learning new concepts without being programmed, have been performed by computers with astonishing excellence.

The capabilities of AI as we see them today were once only a science fiction dream. It’s no wonder why some people fear the worst when it comes to AI. Much of what people commonly know about AI is from movies created to entertain and excite people. 

For most people, Artificial intelligence conjures up images from science fiction movies with robots living among humans in some dystopian future world; however this could not be further from what AI offers us today, like Siri finding out what time the bus leaves.

2. The world’s top companies are already using AI in their businesses.

The world’s top companies have been investing millions of dollars into Artificial Intelligence research as an innovative way to streamline day-to-day processes, and that’s just the beginning. AI is slowly becoming prevalent in many areas of business. 

From Google to Walmart, AI can be found shaping top corporations and how they operate on a daily basis. In order for businesses to stay competitive with each other, they know that it is important to use this technology. A recent survey of top businesses shows that more than nine in ten of them have ongoing investments in AI. 

Many top companies are developing autonomous AI for their businesses with the potential to change every aspect of how we conduct business. A recent Forbes article on how AI will shape the future of work states that “data shows that the use of AI in many sectors of business has grown by 270% over the last four years.”

There is no “one size fits all” approach to using artificial intelligence. Each company should develop its own strategy for implementing it on the job and in their workforce management.

3. AI can reduce employee turnover rates, increase productivity, and provide better customer service.

Artificial intelligence can reduce employee turnover rates, increase productivity, and improve customer service at a scale that will revolutionize how we think about work in the coming years. To add to these benefits, there is also the potential for increased safety at home and in public spaces and more efficient operations with less human error.

By providing goods and services with greater consistency and increased efficiency, AI creates an improved human experience on both ends – creating happier employees who don’t want to leave their jobs because they’re more fulfilled, and happier customers who enjoy a better experience.

Ever since business executives began to adopt AI into the workplace, they have seen a significant increase in productivity. In fact, statistics show that 54 percent of these execs say their adoption of AI has led them to see an improvement when it comes to boosting production rates and efficiency.

Currently, almost one in four customer service organizations use chatbots powered by artificial intelligence. The AI-powered machines can answer common questions and complete tasks such as booking flights or finding the nearest store to buy a certain product.

These benefits are amazing, but before you go off thinking that AI is stealing all the jobs, the next section will cover how that couldn’t be further from the truth.

4. We should expect to see more types of work created as a result of AI’s advancements.

The development in AI brings about an increase in productive output as well as different types of jobs such as algorithm programmers, robotic engineers, and mathematicians specializing in machine learning techniques for predictive analysis. There is even the potential for AI to create new opportunities for employment that are currently unheard of because they’re not possible yet.

This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky optimism we are touting. In 2020, MIT conducted thorough research on Artificial Intelligence and the future of work. They concluded that “recent fears about AI leading to mass unemployment are unlikely to be realized. Instead, we believe that—like all previous labor-saving technologies—AI will enable new industries to emerge, creating more new jobs than are lost to the technology.”

The research brief states, “McKinsey estimates that the United States could boost annual manufacturing-value-added by up to $530 billion over current trends by 2025—and add up to 2.4 million jobs.”

There are many misconceptions about AI and how it will impact jobs in the future. The most common misconception is that AI will replace humans, but this may not be true. In reality, we should expect to see more types of work created as a result of AI’s advancements.

What are some of the jobs currently being done by humans that could be replaced by machines? Are there any jobs that will never be automated because they require humans to do them? There are many questions that the future of work will have to answer.

5. The Future of Work is here, and the possibilities are endless.

There are both risks and opportunities associated with this new technology. The future of work is here; should we be worried or excited about it? Either way, smart companies are preparing for a future with more machine intelligence and automation. 

Many companies are taking proactive measures like increasing education and retraining workers. Jobs requesting AI or machine-learning skills are likely to increase by 71% in five years, meaning that employers need to start preparing themselves for this change now if they hope their business can keep up with the modern technological world.

Whether your company is already using freelancers or just considering freelancers, AI is creating a considerable amount of value around how companies work with and engage contingent workforces. In recent years AI has become more sophisticated and can now do things that were once considered impossible – including helping you hire and pay freelancers. 

Schedule a demo of the first AI-powered classification platform today, and see how a world-class payroll system can be one of the best retention strategies in the Future of Work.

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Jason Posel

Jason Posel

Founder and CEO of GreenLight.ai, Jason Posel is a sought-after expert in issues related to technology innovation in contingent workforce management, the gig economy, and the Future of Work. London > Atlanta > Miami > Palo Alto > Miami

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