AI & the Future Normal for Work

10 essential questions for leaders & managers.

Many readers will be returning to work after the year-end holidays, filled with optimism as they review their shiny strategic plans. Yet the success of these plans will ultimately depend on that most mercurial of factors, people.

Despite the media panic over AI-triggered job losses the reality is that AI will change how people work just as profoundly as it changes how many people work in 2024.

And the best organisations will still be those that give their people what they’ve always wanted – a sense of progress, meaning and identity; the chance to develop; human connection.

With that in mind, here are 10 big, non-obvious questions exploring how AI will change the future of work. If you manage people, then they should open up new thinking about how AI will impact your organisation and, more importantly, how you can use it to attract and retain the best humans.

Note: these are taken from my 2023 year-end wrap, which over half of you haven’t seen yet, so ???? . The full piece contains 52 big questions related to the future normal for health & wellbeing, consumer goods, sustainability, and culture, marketing and entertainment.

1. What jobs-to-be-done will humans play in your organisation?? People on combined AI and human coaching plans lost 74% more weight than those on AI-only plans . As Fitt Insider summarises, “accountability is hard to automate.” Humans + AI will remain the killer model in 2024.
2. What if… AI could create ‘better’ designs than humans can??NASA shared that it was using AI to design space parts that weighed less, could tolerate more stress, and require a fraction of the time parts designed by humans take to develop. AI will design; humans will review, compile, and sign off.
3. What if… virtual colleagues become as normal as ‘real’ ones??The early data around Snap’s My AI – 150 million users sent 10 billion messages in just 10 weeks – showed that for many, they already are. This will move from B2C to B2B as smart employers use virtual companions for learning and engagement.
4. What if… your team (or customers) could build anything??I’m obsessed with AI-accelerated learning: Bodo Hoenen’s experience building his daughter a brain-controlled exoskeleton led him to create his edtech startup, Nolej .?Empowered frontline workers and customers will be increasingly able to create solutions they require; how will you foster this Crowd-Powered Creativity ??
5. What if… you gave away your biggest discoveries??Google DeepMind used AI to discover millions of new stable materials – 10x the number we knew previously; it then continued its strategy of open-sourcing its findings.?I’ve explored why this is a brilliant talent play as much as a product one .
6. What if… you could remember everything you see and hear??Rewind.ai announced its always-recording wearable pendant . Ambient computing will be unthinkable, until it suddenly becomes unthinkable to live without. That’s still some way off, but AI meeting assistants will make note-taking the new map-reading in 2024.
7. What if… AI spells the end of bureaucracy??Okay, it won’t end bureaucracy, but it might make it less painful. Check out UpCodes’ Copilot, which helps real estate professionals navigate complex building regulations. Other industries should take note.Recourse uses virtual humans to train doctors
8. What if… AI could make humans more empathetic??Re:course uses diverse virtual patients to train doctors ; its analytics are able to identify and alert doctors to any implicit biases. Augmented Empathy is just one People-First AI Strategy to explore in 2024.
9. What if… AI could reduce bias and exclusion, rather than create it??Similarly, Activision has rolled out ToxMod, a tool which uses AI to warn players in its Call of Duty voice chat channels if they use hate speech . Companies will undoubtedly be looking for similar solutions that stop their employees saying anything discriminatory.
10. What if… you could trust digital content? Qualcomm partnered with Truepic (profiled in The Future Normal ) to embed content credentials into images at their creation. It won’t stop the flood of deepfake content, but it will show that ‘digital trust’ is possible.?Expect businesses to embrace ‘verified’ content in the coming months.

What’s the future normal for YOUR organisation in 2024?

I have delivered 150+ actionable keynotes and workshops in 30+ countries, bringing audiences fresh perspectives on what’s next.

To discuss your next meeting or event then please reach out directly to Renee Strom or check out my speaking site .??

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Thanks for reading,

Henry