Blue Oyster Cult Had It Right.

LinkedIn has over 560m registered users. I’m not sure how many are potentially involved in industrial espionage (see my last blog), but for the sake of this article, let’s assume that there are more than half a billion legitimate users here to potentially read my musings. The fundamental question I want to ask is how many of us on the site will still have the same job in 5 years? Or 10 years? How will the modern economy develop in the near future and what impact will it have on the work place? Should we be concerned about the rise of the robots? Or should we be more worried about the software?

When my son moved to senior school a couple of years ago, the school he was leaving did a mini careers fair for them, giving a basic introduction to what professions and jobs were out there in the real world. Parents gave brief insights into their career paths – ranging from insurance, property development and e-commerce to cosmetic surgery (yes, really) – to varying degrees of interest of the assembled 11 year olds. And the Headmaster quoted that when they would be entering the workplace in another 10 years, 56% of the jobs they will be taking up have not been created as yet.

Admittedly, 73% of all statistics are made up on the spot, but whatever the actual number, the world of work is changing rapidly and it will impact those of us in the middle of our careers, as well as our children who are yet to begin theirs. This has motivated me to re-read Alec Ross’ 2016 book, “Industries of the Future” which focuses on the big picture implications of developments in finance, big data, genetics/genomics, cyber security and robotics. As well as advisory, it is also well written and I would recommend it to many, especially parents of pre-teens.

But what of us. What of me. Will the rise of the robots eliminate the need for a “Vice President, Business Development”? More critically, what of artificial intelligence (AI)?

Some like to write about a dystopian future where clever computer programmes eliminate millions of jobs, condemning people to menial work and minimum wage drudgery. But has the last 20/50/100 years really borne this out? Less so than we think. A recent report by Tata Communications in partnership with University of California, Berkley, highlighted that technological advances have not removed humans from the work force, but rather re-purposed them to increase service or “add value”. The bar code scanner in shops has not removed staff from every outlet: rather, humans can focus on service and a better customer experience. Cash machines (ATMs) have not entirely displaced bank staff: rather, humans can focus on service and selling stuff to bank customers. OK, possibly a bad example.

But an Autopilot on a trans-Atlantic passenger jet does not remove the human pilot. They are still needed to take-off and land (the tricky bits) and provide re-assurance to passengers. Could similar AI work well for long-distance lorry drivers? The clever software could take over on the motorways, allowing the drivers to get some rest before taking over again in towns/city centres. Again, the tricky bits. Could AI reduce accidents on the roads caused by tired drivers?

At Protiviti, we are developing the use of AI to support our client engagements, ensuring that we have the right staff/associates on engagements based on the depth of experience and specific work they have conducted already. This also helps with cognitive diversity – preventing any unconscious bias on who is selected to deliver against a specific consulting project. This will enhance our capability and support our resource planning and client delivery team. Not replace them.

In my opinion, we need to focus on three aspects when working with robots and/or AI: managing risk, increasing productivity and focusing on customer experience. If we can successfully address these three vectors and how they intersect, then why shouldn’t the human race prosper from our mastery of advanced technology, just as we have prospered from our mastery of communication, agriculture and engineering.

There are economic arenas and careers that will never be replaced by robots or AI, but we all need to embrace the change that is coming and upskill to be part of the future. Only then will we have confidence in our future successes.

And what of Blue Oyster Cult? For those who aren’t 1980’s music fans, this is a reference to NOT fearing “the reaper”. Rather, embrace change.