How AI and Tech will Revolutionize Work and the Workplace

How will we work a decade from now?

The gist: We are on the cusp of an #AI revolution. The meta-trend is the convergence of distributed work, IoT, AR/VR, AI/ML, and more. Technology will allow us to work anywhere anytime. When we come together in person, offices with “AI brains” will engineer peak experiences. All of this will unleash human creativity and unlock limitless possibility.

The big questions: How will we optimize work to fuel innovation? How will we create human connection in a distributed world? How will we shape magnetic workplace experiences? These questions have no one right answer.

Within the next decade: #artificialintelligence and #technology will revolutionize work and the #workplace.

To find success: Leaders must think “future back” and make bold choices.

In this article: We'll explore a future "day in your life”, near-term technologies, and how these will evolve to revolutionize work and the workplace.

Let’s dive in!

What will work look like in a decade?

Technology will be seamlessly integrated into our lives.

“Ambient intelligence” will merge all data in your environment to assist at every moment. The line between physical and virtual will blur. Technology will improve your efficiency, productivity, and well-being.

AI, VR, AR, MR, and holograms will transform the way you work. Your commute could be spent in virtual reality (VR). Your workdays will include collaboration in mixed reality (MR). AI co-pilots will be incorporated to simplify your work. And, privacy considerations will be built into the development process of AI systems from the beginning.

Here's what a day in YOUR life will look like within the next decade:

So, how close are we to realizing this vision?

Closer than you think. Here are a few examples:

AI-powered personalized learning and knowledge management. AI algorithms can analyze an employee's performance data and provide customized training and development recommendations. Example Pepsi Co Lucy AI

AR gym instructors. On-demand classes and customizable workouts are led by digital instructors that coach users. Examples include Lululemon gym mirror and Tonal.

Biometric sensing. Bio-and neuro-feedback devices can improve body and brain function providing users with useful insights. Examples include wearable devices such as the WHOOP, Oura Ring, and EmWave2.

Faraday cafés. Wire mesh walls within these sites block wireless signals. They allow people to unplug from the grid. You can work or connect with others or relax without the distraction of wireless technology. Not a new concept, here’s one from 2014! ?

Generative AI in customer service: Many companies are already using chatbots to handle customer inquiries and provide support. GPT-based chatbots can provide quick and efficient responses to customer questions, freeing up human customer service representatives to handle more complex issues.

Holographic meetings. With holographic screens, you can see people in full 3D “realness.” Today, this technology is costly and equipment-heavy. In the future, it will become more accessible. Examples: Portl Epic Pod, ARHT Media HoloPod

Live language translation. Microsoft introduced AI-powered real-time translations in 40 spoken languages. Google recently announced improved contextual translation and seamless AR translation through Google Lens.

Meeting notes and intelligent recap. Generative AI in meetings is already ensuring people can focus on the discussion instead of note-taking. For example, Microsoft also announced automated GPT-powered notes, AI-generated tasks, and action items.

Metaverse employee onboarding and training. Transform onboarding and training experience for new hires with VR. For example, Accenture onboarded 150,000 people virtually during the pandemic

Predictive maintenance using IoT: Many companies are using IoT sensors and AI algorithms to monitor their equipment and predict when maintenance is needed. This can help prevent equipment failures and improve overall efficiency.

Smart buildings and workplaces. Digital assistants that check your schedule, buildings that recognize your car when you arrive, apps that book your spaces, and rooms that know your preferences for light and temperature. Examples of this already exist Deloitte Edge 2015, Microsoft HQ 2020, Cisco HQ 2023

Think “future back”: Taking today's technologies into the future.

How we work will be fundamentally transformed.

Here’s a look at how workplace tech, AI, and physical infrastructure will combine to shape the future over the next 5-10 years.

Affective computing. Also known as emotion AI will understand human emotion in response to situations and provides recommendations. These systems will allow leaders to test early-stage thinking, test pitch narratives, receive feedback on communication styles, and more.

Ambient intelligence will engineer serendipity. Think beyond “hallway collisions”. AI-based prescriptive systems will “engineer serendipity”. Ambient intelligence will combine data and insights from a host of data sources. Dynamic zones shaped by usage data will increase connection and collaboration.

AR/VR technology will accelerate. Low latency high bandwidth internet, advanced cloud solutions, and virtual collaboration will mean we can access any data, on any device, anytime, anywhere. The only reason to go into a physical space will be to meet other people face-to-face.

Automated everything. Think of everything that can be automated - it will be. Travel reservations, calendar management, conference room booking, space management, and visitor check-ins.

Every surface becomes a screen. The personal computer disappears. Ambient computing, shy tech, and nano paints will allow every surface to transform “on demand”.

Next-generation metaverse. Metaverse-AI environments will take today's metaverse to a whole different level. Ultra-immersive digital shared spaces will allow us to work in a borderless economy.

Office buildings will be self-healing. Think beyond smart buildings and smart workspaces. Building materials tech will include self-healing concrete and bio-cement, allowing for sustainable long-lasting assets.

Offices will look more like hotels. Think high-quality experience, food markets, pop-up storefronts, and more to create compelling destination spaces. Offices will take a hospitality and retail-inspired approach.

Offices with an AI Brain. Think beyond automatically adjusted room temperatures. The office experience will combine trillions of data points on usage – how and where people congregate, predict what services are needed when, and what infra is needed in which meeting space.

Privacy-enhancing technologies. These include technologies like homomorphic encryption (data can be analyzed securely without being decrypted first), secure multi-party computation, and trusted execution environments, which can be used to secure data and protect privacy in AI systems.

Spaces become hyper-personalized. Think mobile app experience applied to physical space. Seamless flowing experiences through your workday fueled by predictive algorithms. Smart infrastructure and services will anticipate your needs.

Wireless power. Think beyond power cords. Contactless methods of power transfer are already a reality, and we will see an expansion to other types of devices and tech.

The sky is not the limit, it is just the beginning.

Go forward a decade and look back. Material costs will go down, inter-operability will go up (i.e., easy transitions between platforms), and inter-connectively will become seamless. AI and tech would be FAR more mature than what we see today.

As we move forward the opportunities before us are limitless. Let us leverage the power of collective human ingenuity. And, let us harness the power of AI and technology to solve the challenges before us.

Those who think “future back” and make bold choices will succeed.

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About the author: Ram Srinivasan is a Future of Work Thought Leader, Future of Work Practice Leader for JLL Americas, and former Deloitte Management Consultant

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