FIGHTING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

There are individuals and groups that don’t want artificial intelligence to affect the work they do.? Their concern is that AI will take away jobs in the short-term.? My concern is if they don’t prepare for change, they will not have the skills for the longer-term.? The projections are that AI will affect most all jobs, either directly or indirectly.

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The dock workers strike on the West Coast is an example of the strategy to delay technology in the workplace.? At a conference in Sacramento workers from the docks, home care workers, teachers, nurses, actors, state office workers and others met to discuss strategies to slow down, fight or even strike against technology.? Their goal?? To negotiate more control over how AI is deployed within their organization.

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The fear of the unknown can be paralyzing.? My experience is when a major event is mysterious, strange, or threatening to our mind, our imaginations take over with the worst-case scenario. There are a number of historical examples:

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·?????? When Walmart entered the marketplace, small shops closed over the next 20 years.? We lost the personal connection between vendor and customer, but we gained price advantage and expanded product selection.

·?????? When computers were originally introduced into the marketplace, some companies and individuals delayed accepting the technology.? When competition began to move quicker, with more accuracy or provide additional services, the recalcitrant business had to play catch-up to survive.

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Such is the case with artificial intelligence.? History has shown us that great change is painful, but only in degrees.? The pain of change is less so if planned for and managed in the most positive way.? The pain of change is greatest to those who resist and defer acceptance until it reaches the point of no return.

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If workers or organizations don’t prepare for and manage the changes, two potential outcomes may impact their future:? They will fall short of future skills, and can’t keep up with their competitors or society’s requirements.? Contracts, jobs, education, business and customers move to the most effective and efficient enterprise to satisfy their needs. It’s called a workaround.? We all tend to “work around” the least efficient, most expensive, less effective person or organization, and hire, do business with, or contract the best, with the greatest results and least amount of effort.

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At this stage of the change process, it’s in all of our best interest to find the balance between the need for change, the cost of change and the impact of change on both the individual and the enterprise.

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Of concern is that countries or organizations that can dictate the time-lines of change rather than negotiate those changes, will take advantage of our inability to change quick enough.

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