Source – entrepreneur.com
Coming-of-age technology, known as artificial intelligence, is blowing a heavy wind across the world, raising dust in various spheres and generating intellectual discourse among scholars about the fate of humanity. The assertion that “robots are taking over” is a bitter pill to swallow as it creates panic among employees. The 2017McKinsey Global Institute Report reiterates this assertion, revealing that, by 2030, a good number of people will be forced to acquire new skills because their jobs will be performed by machines.
Findings from WorkMarket’s 2020 In(Sight) Report: What AI and Automation Really Mean for Work reveal that employers may not be bothered, on the contrary, if they are open to the prospects of artificial intelligence in the workplace. Seventy-eight percent of business leaders believe that 360 hours can be saved annually by the input of automation through artificial intelligence. The report also reveals that while only 29 percent of employees are interested in automation at the workplace, 52 percent of employers are keen on it. These numbers are based on the perceived effects of artificial intelligence on both parties.
Here are five reasons more than half of employers are interested in artificial intelligence.
1. AI will result in fewer employee expenses.
Organizations spend a lot of resources on staff welfare. In 2016, companies in the U.S. spent more than $70 billion on employee learning and development. They also strive to offer a competitive employee benefits package such as health insurance, dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, paid vacation and additional paid time off, among other things. These commitments are made in order to empower employees for better performance and productivity, but often times, results are below the investments.
Having robots execute some tasks performed by employees means a reduction in the number of employees. That ultimately cuts down employee expenditure budget, saving up company resources for other productive pursuits.
2. AI erases wasted time.
According to the 2017 Productivity in the Workplace Report by Red Letter Days for Business, employees in the U.K. spend more than 400 million days a year on time-wasting tasks. Similarly, a workplace study by AtTask and Harris Interactive shows that employees in the U.S. spend only 45 percent of their time executing their primary duties. What happens to the other half of their work hours? They are spent on “other things” that aren’t beneficial to the organization. This means employers are paying their staff for not working as much as they should.
With such realizations of negligence by employees, any means to resolve this waste of company resources is a welcome development to bosses. Enter artificial intelligence. Routine tasks can be automated. This way, employers don’t have to worry about their workers not doing what they are supposed to do. Once programmed, machines execute tasks by following the stipulated standards and guidelines.
3. AI makes good decisions.
Successful businesses thrive on good decisions. Accurate business data informs good judgment. Tony M Fountain, founder of NOW Entertainment, explains that “an organization’s decisions are based on available operations data. When data is inaccurate due to errors, it’s only a matter of time before things come crashing down.”
Organizations with huge data sets are at a higher risk when data collection is in the hands of employees. There’s always the possibility, no matter how little, for inaccuracies. Employers can avert this problem by using artificial intelligence for business insights and data collection.
4. AI helps minimize errors.
Human errors are inevitable. That’s more reason why they should be prevented. Human errors in the workplace can ruin an organization’s finances and reputation. Employees can easily be distracted by physical and emotional situations, causing damages that are sometimes irreparable.
Fewer employees in the work process mean fewer errors. Using artificial intelligence for work creates an enabling environment for quality management, executing tasks by strictly following specified guidelines and closing gaps of inaccuracies caused by inevitable human errors. It synchronizes the process chain, smooths handoffs and prevents clogs often experienced in manual processes.
5. AI gives good customer service delivery.
Customer relations is an integral part of a business, and providing excellent customer service is an absolute must.
Rising to the occasion promptly can be overwhelming for the customer support unit especially when dealing with a large customer base. For better customer service delivery, employers can make use of artificial intelligence to enhance customer experience. With the use of high-tech applications, customers can register their problems and receive a response in real time.
Conclusion.
At the end of the day, everyone wants better results. Despite negative claims about artificial intelligence, it’s only logical to be receptive to it if it favors you. By the looks of it, bosses will have fewer things to worry about as their business will function better with artificial intelligence.