The Business Case for AI and Robotics

Today Sky News talks about how technology can transform the NHS in the next 70 years. A top NHS surgeon who is using robotics in surgical operations comments.?“There is no industry where robots have come in where they've left again. It's the way forward."?

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/how-technology-will-transform-the-nhs-in-the-next-70-years-11426598

AI and Robotics have been described as ‘the fourth industrial revolution’ by the World Economic Forum. Software robots have been introduced by many UK service sector businesses as diverse as retailers, housing associations and law firms, to take on repetitive tasks. Chatbots, robot communicators, are appearing on apps and web sites, not as a toy, but to enhance customer and employee communication. Yet the UK is still way behind other European nations and the US in its use of AI and robotics technologies which could result in lower UK productivity than other nations.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes across manufacturing and service sectors need to consider their use of AI and robotics technologies to keep pace with competitors and address the productivity gap. Any business that has ‘back office’ staff who process data and perform high volume, simple and repetitive tasks, can consider RPA (Robotic Process Automation) technologies. Where a robot can take on administrative activities instead of a person it works typically more than three times as fast, is 100% accurate and can work 24 hours a day. Robots can take ‘boring’ tasks away from people. They can facilitate compliance, moving, extracting and manipulating data, interfacing as if human not machine.

Customers and employees will come to expect a robot as an interaction mechanism in addition to traditional methods. Natural language processing technologies, including chatbots, can answer frequently asked questions rather than call centre staff. Chatbots are ‘automated yet personalised conversation between software and a human user’ (Source: forbes.com). People are getting used to interacting with machines. Research shows that chatbots are preferred by people when answering market research questions and can enhance recruitment and HR processes. People sometimes feel more comfortable interacting with a machine on sensitive issues than conversing with a human.

Examples of the Use of AI and Robotics Technologies in UK Organisations

Retailers, In the UK some retailers already have chat bots:

• Lidl’s Margot is a sommelier that recommends wines to accompany different food choices.
• M&S has Tuesday, a chatbot that is used as part of its personal shopping service. It gathers customer information and preferences prior to a named human being recommending a wardrobe selection.

Law Firms, UK firms are becoming early adopters of new technologies:

• Berwin Leighton Paisner created the UK’s first contract robot to work within its real estate disputes practice. This uses machine learning technology to read, interpret and extract specific information from documents. It converts data faster and more accurately than humans.

Local Councils, Sefton Council became the first UK Local Authority to use Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology:

• The robot takes on tasks including signing up people to pay via Direct Debit, indexing documents and assigning them to workflows.
• The technology freed up two staff for other activities and in removing repetitive tasks improved employee satisfaction.

?Technologies are now affordable for SMEs as well as large companies and relevant across manufacturing, logistics and service industries.