WOW with AI and Robotics: Ways of working will change

In the running of many of my workshops I started to introduce the concept of WOW – Ways of Working. This was related to how each of us needed to be for us all to get the most out of the learning.

I quite liked the playfulness of using the word WOW and encouraged leaders to consider implementing in their settings and meetings. How many meetings have you been involved in when you thought WOW, other than wow what a waste of time that was!

Anyway, I digress! The purpose of this post is to double down on the tech moment we are or will be very soon going through, and particularly the impact of AI and Robotics, and how this is going to impact on ways of working.

I have had conversations with a range of people over the last week or so and have been asking them how many people they interact/work with regularly discuss the use of AI. The answer is universally very few.

Very much the purpose of my book “Becoming HumAIn: The Path to Flourishing Together” (available for free as a pdf and audiobook by clicking on the link), was to encourage as many people as possible to begin to explore what this incredible technology might mean for us personally and professionally, at an individual, organisational and societal level.

There is undoubtedly a lot of hype and an equal amount of pessimism around what this might mean for us individually and collectively, but I have never been more convinced of a technology that will have profound impact on us.

The level and type of impact will be very variable depending on what we do.

For those who work in the ‘knowledge’ sectors (I am deliberately using this vague term as the impact of AI is and will be much more widely spread and in sectors historically that have not seen as much impact during such significant changes) there will be significant impacts where those that thrive will be those that leverage AI in their job, to use Ethan Mollick’s phrase a co-intelligence will thrive.

For those working in the much more hands-on sectors such as trades and caring professions, there will be much less impact, certainly in the short term. However, I am increasingly cautious of being too confident to say little or no impact unless I follow it with the word ‘yet’!

A recent example is that of “AI nurses: Staffing solution for hospitals or a threat to quality care?” And the seemingly very quick leaps forward (pun intended!) in relation to robotics and what that might mean for trade professionals such as plumbers and electricians.

The purpose of this post is not to sound the doomsday bell that AI and robots will take all our jobs, more just to encourage more people to keep in touch with what’s happening in the AI and robotics space and particularly in relation to your work.

There are huge upsides that AI and robots could do the work that very few, if any, humans enjoy doing, enabling us to spend more time on what we enjoy and are good at. BUT, I do believe that for this preferred WOW future to come to fruition we need as many people as possible to have ‘enough’ knowledge and interest in AI and Robotics. So, I encourage you to ‘play’ with AI and Robotics where you can in your work, and for leaders to encourage this ‘testing’ within appropriate constraints to explore