The Augmented Workforce – What Does It Mean to Organizations?

Article by guest author: Mark Atwin

The author is not real. At best he is an anagram, a play on words for one of my favorite writer’s name. This begs the question: if the author isn’t real, in a human sense, is the article he wrote below real?

This article was created by an Artificial Intelligence writer with minimal tinkering on my part (for instance, running grammatical, lexical, and plagiarism checks). Why? As I experiment with the topic of AI, Machine Learning, augmented workforce, why not experiment with AI for writing as well?

The results with this particular tool weren’t disappointing, albeit perhaps generic as you can see below. However, the future is promising for artificial intelligence in support of content creators who want to create more content, more efficiently, more rapidly. Instructional Designers and knowledge experts may be able employ AI solutions to eliminate a lot of the painstaking processes for content creation in creating documentation and training materials in the near future.

There is still a lot to be done in order for artificial intelligence to accurately write content that needs little intervention, however, the future is quite promising, or perhaps scary.

It’s safe to say the human touch can’t be completely eliminated from the art of writing, we would, at a minimum, still need humans to validate the output of such tools.

Tool: http://www.ai-writer.com

To the article we go:

Currently only 17 percent of the world’s executives report that they are ready to manage a workforce comprised of both people, robots and AI – the lowest level of readiness for the 5-year trend in the Global survey on Human Capital Trends. ¹ Approximately half of the executives surveyed believe that their company is not able to align their competency framework (if they have one) with new robotics, Machine Learning and AI requirements.

For example, organizations that automate work and do not explicitly give people the opportunity to take control of their own brand and take on new positions may suffer, and to some extent they may also be under pressure from the social and political sphere.

Gabe Batstone, the CEO of contextere, shares a vision of the future that empowers employees through automation: “by putting AI in the hands of people, we are not only giving men and women in the industrial labour force to acquire skills and work more safely and productively – we are also fuelling a sustainable economy”. ²⁷ Technological solutions focused on man can provide employees with the new skills needed for the fourth Industrial Revolution. ²⁷

Nathan Stantiall of Callaghan Innovation, the New Zealand government’s innovation agency, predicts that we will soon see a number of augmented workforce solutions such as the exosuits, produced by Kazerooni SuitX, in the spirit of Henry Ford’s modern assembly line, refined industrial car production, allowing unqualified workers to produce complex goods using specialized tools and repetitive tasks, but in this case with a higher focus on augmenting the human worker in a mindful way.¹⁰

While companies strive to diversify its economy and make its way through the rapid changes in the 21st century, technologies that augment the workforce’s capabilities are offering a new focus on innovation. ¹⁰ If we continue to use New Zealand as an example, we can predict that up to 140, 000 jobs in that country are likely to be automated, resulting in job losses for some and dramatically different jobs for others. ¹⁰

Organizations that offer diverse and attractive jobs, with the right technological solutions and innovations, as well as the environment for employees to develop their skills and thrive, are more likely to attract and retain a skilled workforce. ¹⁰

Amazon’s use of advanced storage technologies, for instance, illustrates how robotics, cognitive computing and flexible strategies of human labor can combine to maximize efficiency and productivity while creating new jobs. ²⁴

Operational tasks such as code implementation and correction have traditionally attracted the attention of most CIOs, but today many CIOs are shifting the focus to work that brings greater value to the organization, employees, and customers. ²⁴

As organizations plan their workforce, they need to consider separating the strategic workflow, workforce and multi-year workplace planning – combining new talent and technology to create specific future scenarios for the workforce – from annual work plan. ²⁴

As companies continue to explore automation processes through hardware and software approaches, whether artificial intelligence or robotics, human workers can feel that their work is being eliminated or replaced. ¹⁵ However, organizations need to shift the discussion to a meaningful one of an “augmented workforce” where automation can help connect people and technology to transform a company’s operations and efficiency. ¹⁵

Automation is not about replacing people with machines, but about augmenting their workforce with technology, which makes it easier for their teams to work on scale and quality. ¹⁵

Cited Sources

• https://www.insightsforprofessionals.com/blog/what-is-an-augmented-workforce ⁰
• https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/human-capital-trends/2017/future-workforce-changing-nature-of-work.html ¹
• https://beebole.com/blog/what-is-augmented-workforce-how-to-manage/ ²
• https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2018/06/augmented-workforce-fs.html ³
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/guide-ai-augmented-workforce-ai-augmented-workforce- ⁴
• http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/technology/engaging-an-augmented-workforce-in-a-gig-economy/ ⁵
• https://christiankromme.com/moving-towards-an-augmented-workforce/ ⁶
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• https://home.kpmg/lv/en/home/insights/2018/09/augmented-workforce-fs.html ⁹
• https://idealog.co.nz/casestudies/augmented-workforce-coming-new-zealand ¹⁰
• http://www.cityam.com/260927/augmented-workforce-isnt-coming-its-already-you-ready ¹¹
• https://www.hrone.lu/actualites/deloitte-human-capital-trends-2017-future-work-augmented-workforce ¹²
• https://powerhousehub.com/the-augmented-workforce/ ¹³
• https://resources.feathercap.net/ai-the-augmented-workforce ¹⁴
• https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/ai/why-humans-will-remain-at-center-of-automated-workforce/ ¹⁵
• https://www.capgemini.com/service/invent/people-and-organization/workforce-transition/ ¹⁶
• https://www.welcome.ai/apprentice-io/post/the-augmented-workforce ¹⁷
• https://tangelo.co/insights/blog/how-investment-in-ai-is-building-the-augmented-workforce-of-the-future ¹⁸
• https://www.comparethecloud.net/articles/what-does-an-augmented-workforce-really-look-like/ ¹⁹
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• https://www.genesys.com/blog/post/navigating-digital-marketplace-with-an-augmented-workforce ²¹
• http://www.clarkrandp.com/wearable-augmented-workforce/ ²²
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• https://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/2017/05/10/get-ready-for-the-augmented-workforce/ ²⁴
• https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/managing-the-augmented-workforce/ ²⁵
• https://www.urban-x.com/article/augmentedworkforce/ ²⁶
• https://www.adecco.ca/en-ca/employers/resources/lead-magazine/lead22/augmented-workforce-connection-ai-human/ ²⁷
• https://thebossmagazine.com/human-machine-workforce/ ²⁸