Data for empowering people, not replacing them

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) continue to increase across a broad range of applications, we are seeing a surge in concern that technology will eventually displace the role of humans at work. While AI capabilities might at times border on the fantastic, they are really here to empower human decision making - not replace them. 

The term “artificial intelligence” was first coined at Dartmouth University in 1956, more than 60 years ago. Yet we are still a long way from creating a machine capable of learning and thinking the way humans do. Though it is true that machines can crunch numbers and perform tasks faster and tirelessly, there is no indication that they can offer anything close to human intuition - vital to developing new questions and deciding on the correct course of action.

Indeed, we’ve seen that any analytics approach that accepts data and subsequent outputs without proper validation will eventually result in erroneous results from the inevitable bias that might creep into the process. It is for this reason that even the most powerful AI are typically paired with an analyst or operator trained to spot skewed data points and incorrect conclusions at the earliest possible opportunity.

The empowering of people is what we mean when we talk about “augmented intelligence” at Qlik - using AI to enhance human intelligence rather than replace it. Organisations who invest in tools that make data analytics accessible to everyone, in easy-to-consume visual representation and data narratives, are the ones who propel data literacy at all levels to help boost business success.

Rather than pursuing nebulous objectives, an industry-optimised augmented intelligence is focused on solving a particular problem with data. To identify what is really important after analysing large amounts of data, visualisations must be accompanied by intelligent narratives to highlight the crux of the insights for business users. 

These narratives should be easy to read, concise and based on dynamic real-time changes to both the data and the user’s action. By putting business intelligence to work solving real business problems, augmented intelligence helps to break down the communication barriers that exist between humans and the machines that process data.

Beyond driving business success, these new capabilities can also make your organisation an ideal workplace for employees. According to a prediction by Gartner, organisations that use AI augmentation as an essential element in their digital workplace will boost employee Net Promoter Score by 20% by 2022. And we can expect that one in five workers engaged in mostly nonroutine tasks to rely on AI to do their jobs.

But why wait for 2022? Organisations can lay the groundwork to reap the full benefits of augmented intelligence in the near future by combining investments in AI-powered data analytics tools with targeted data-literacy training today.

About the author:

As the Vice President and Regional Director of Qlik Australia and New Zealand, my team and I work with clients and partners across the region to lower the bar to accessing enterprise data and gaining insights. If you would like to discuss how your organisation can start building a data-driven culture to leverage the full value of your data, please feel free to get in touch with me at sharryn.napier@qlik.com.