The future is going to be right out of the fantasy sci-fi
that you grew up reading. Why? Because with the integration of Artificial
Intelligence (AI) at workplace the basic manual jobs will most likely become
redundant.
Not just that, even traditional trades are going to be taken
over if they rely too much on data and analytics. In time perhaps creative ones
that need twisted thinking could also go.
Age of Computers
Imagine your child reporting to a robot CEO 20 or 30 years
down the line. Sounds like Doomsday Prophecy? It’s actually as real as the bitter
cup of coffee that wakes you up every morning.
Remember the scare when computers invaded offices in the 90s
and mountains of files started gathering dust in the corners? Those who were
unable to pick up ‘computer’ were shown the door or had to go through the
indignation of learning ‘how to type’ at computer training schools. Only it was
much more than typing.
The youngsters who came straight out of college took over
and the old school, straight-backed wooden chairs were thrown out for
recycling. Most people thought job markets will take a plunge but, it turned
out differently. With the help of computers and human intelligence innovations
were churned out every day. New jobs happened because new businesses came up.
Jobs that were difficult to explain to traditionalists came and people quickly
adapted to the new demands and grabbed them with both hands.
Birth of eLearning
With the new age jobs came the need for training. The
elearning market took off like a kite that refused to come down as companies
shifted every task on computer.
Soon, words like simulations, decision tree and enterprise
learning became jargons that we threw at each other at the speed of light. At
first reluctant of taking elearning as a serious training tool, most
organizations soon changed stance when faced with the daunting task of retraining
their existing staff that held so much collective knowledge plus brand loyalty.
But, putting everyone into a training room to upgrade would brought production on
its knees for days. Elearning turned out to be the only way to close the skill
gap and not lose production time.
So, Subject Matter Experts who had all the knowledge in
their heads were searched within the company, found and aligned with learning
development organizations to help create a single platform of learning for both
the new and the existing staff. Everyone was happy and productivity shot
through the roof.
Rise and Rise of AI
But, for the last few years as we were getting cozy with
Siri in our phones and starting to rely more and more on her for
decision-making, AI crept into our computerized, file-free offices. It was
faster than people had anticipated but, not altogether a surprise because
everyone was already using various apps on their smart and savvy phones.
In the age of start-ups, many smart and young men and women
realizing the potential of the new unicorn, started experimenting with AI and
getting results. They found godfathers in technological giants who had ridden
the computer wave successfully.
Microsoft announced publicly that it will be nurturing AI
startups and Apple was a pioneer always thanks to its progressive thinking and
future-predictive founder, Steve Jobs.
Keeping Jobs in the Times of AI
As learning development experts we need to up our game.
There is no time to sit and wait. Why? Because there is no clear indication how
organizations would integrate AI into their systems.
Like no one had predicted that a traditional job like law
would go to an App. It was recently reported that JP Morgan had invested in an
AI-based software that can read and correct legal documents thus saving them
400,000 lawyer hours! Imagine what happened to the army of lawyers on
retainership with the company.
They mostly became redundant because a much
cheaper system that has analyzed and stored knowledge of all old contracts that
JP Morgan had made for clients over several years. Lawyers would now be needed
to come down once the draft is complete to give it a once over. All small tasks
like tweaking language and changing names on the contracts that used to be
billed by these individuals would not be required to be done by them anymore.
What Next?
So, if the corporate lawyers have no job what will they do?
Good question. How about learn a new skill that doesn’t so
much need data analysis as creative or mental skill for example, a surgeon or a
medical professional.
Sounds bizarre? That’s because it is. But, breathe easy
because that was just a guess.
There is no knowing what would hit us in the future and we
as learning professionals have to keep that in mind. Innovation and forward
thinking are the only two skills that will set us apart.
Reinvent and Reengage
There is a popular adage, to beat the enemy, infiltrate the enemy’s
camp. It’s time to do just that.
Learning professionals should start unlearning and re-engage
with the new technology. If you want to experiment then, this is the time.
Learn all you can about AI. Get familiar. Read, ask questions and understand how
it works.
The knowledge you gather now, will help you become
tomorrow’s leader. Because when AI invades office space and all the
organizations will again be thinking of how to retrain their loyal staff, you
would be able to guide them smoothly through the transition.
Clue: This
transition will not be much different from the initial days of elearning and
mobile learning when the machine that was supposed to eat up jobs became the
host for retraining.
So, don’t wait. Get cracking!
