Why should we fear losing jobs when we can upskill and elevate our career to the next level

1. Artificial Intelligence –HR Response
HR Conclave 3.0, Jain University
February 24, 2018
Thoughts collated by
Dr. Harry CD

2. Thoughts in this discussion include
• Automation Anxiety
• Should we constantly review our capabilities
• 7 ways How AI will impact the future
• How should HR Respond
• One last question

3. On one plane is the old fear of loss of job, and on
another is the new concern of job skills.
Automation and anxiety
Will smarter machines cause mass unemployment?
In a widely noted study published in 2013, Carl Benedikt Frey and
Michael Osborne examined the probability of computerisation for 702
occupations and found that 47% of workers in America had jobs at
high risk of potential automation.
Subsequent studies put the equivalent figure at 35% of
the workforce for Britain (where more people work in
creative fields less susceptible to automation) and 49%
for Japan.
A US-based research firm is predicting that India's IT
services industry will lose 6.4 lakh “low-skilled” jobs to
automation in the next five years, quantifying the extent
of likely pain for the first time

4. The World Bank has recently released a report which
underscores the threat awaiting India and other
emerging economies from the onslaught of automation.
It says that 69 per cent of jobs in India and 77 per cent
in China are under threat.

5. Fears of job losses in the IT industry are highly
exaggerated, a top TCS executive said
Automation will not take away all the jobs because you will still
need someone to build and monitor robots
to stay relevant at their workplaces, employees will have to upskill
themselves. While the bit about upskilling is true, the panic
about automation replacing human labour might be misplaced
and hyped

6. Chatbots, robots, virtual assistants, and other
devices powered by business algorithms are rapidly
joining the ranks of workers in every industry and
profession.
But instead of fearing artificial intelligence (AI) and
the resulting job losses, it’s up to human resource
(HR) professionals to cultivate these innovations for
the opportunities they bring to the company.

7. Algorithms are fast-becoming a fact
of workplace life, and HR can help
change the conversation from fear-
based to opportunity gains.

8. “Human beings…know how to build friendships and
bridges…so that we can all work together.”
-Chandra.
“We’ll have to inculcate that same kind of empathy for
our machine colleagues when they arrive…we can’t
look at a machine just as a computer, but as an
assistant, as a person who’s actually there to help
guide us through the process.”
-Susan Galer

9. Today’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology movement
is transformational and will require new leadership skills
that are embracing of change.
However, the key driver will not be technology alone,
but the maturing of the right capabilities. Companies
committed to adopting AI will need to develop corporate
strategies and governance policies that will require in-
depth knowledge of the capabilities to assure
expectations are in alignment with the promised value
to their business partners.

10. AI strategies – know thy capabilities
Companies that are successfully embracing AI are
committed to transformation programs.
Top management will need to embrace change and
be able to comprehend the necessary capabilities to
deliver their strategies without directly or indirectly
overpromising to their business partners.

11. The insistence that AI will eliminate jobs
may be true at some future date.
However, for the foreseeable future,
companies will require vast number of
people in both business and data
analytics that can bridge business areas
that are reliant on each other.

12. 7 Ways Artificial Intelligence Will Impact the Future
The majority of survey takers agreed AI will help tackle complex
issues that flummox the human mind.
AI’s key strength lies in its ability to rip through mounds of data and
identify patterns that inform business decision-making.
In Healthcare, for example, AI could analyze vast amounts of DNA
data and offer a highly personalized treatment plan for patients.
Similarly, AI is being used to detect fraud waste and abuse in
Medicaid by cross referencing datasets and spotting outlier
behaviors.

13. 1. AI, which relies on crunching big data, can
only be as good as the quality of data it
receives. Case in point, the recent outcome of
the U.S. presidential election which data
scientists incorrectly predicted.
2. Millennials expect that AI could be instrumental
in stimulating economic growth and democratizing
global education.

14. 3.Though some are wary of AI’s inadvertent
tendency to threaten job-security,
this sentiment is far outweighed by the desire to
embrace AI’s emerging technologies as a positive
force.
4. Yet, despite conveying a generally optimistic
outlook on AI, consumers still crave human
interaction while receiving certain consumer
services. 77% of survey takers would rather see an
actual doctor than take a home assessment test.

15. 5. Not surprisingly, 87% of survey takers
cited privacy concerns as one major
challenge hindering AI's progress. It turns
out that consumers are most gun-shy to
share personal information pertaining to
entertainment and media consumption.

16. 6. Utilitarian digital assistants are
becoming ubiquitous in today’s business world.
72% of business executives use digital
assistants in their daily personal or work life.
Employers of digital assistants touted time-
savings, productivity boosts, and schedule
keepings as top benefits.

17. 7. A fragmented technology platform is another notable
speed bump in the adoption of AI consumer services.
Companies prefer to develop stand-alone systems and
platforms in an effort to stand out from the competition. In
so doing, they limit consumers from freely navigating
across different AI services. One potential solution is to
institute a “central platform for development, data
collection, and analysis.” Such a platform would allow
different AI apps to interact with each other.

18. Viewing machines as assistants
One of AI’s biggest promises is personalized attention,
which depends on how well companies train people for
smooth machine to human interaction.
Practice makes perfect
While some candidates, such as millennials, might view
chatbots and other recruiting tools as proof of company
innovation status, others might be alienated.
Bias prevention in recruiting
AI and machine learning have potential to address
recruiting bias across the job posting, application, and
screening processes, but only if there are diverse teams
of programmers writing the code behind solutions, and HR
continuously audits collected data to ensure diversity.
Figuring out where AI fits best
Instead of the usual gloom-and-doom scenario for
unemployed workers, Andi Britt, European Talent and
Engagement at IBM, framed AI in a much more positive
light:
How HR Needs To Respond

19. Using AI’s strengths
“What if a potential candidate…could just go online and talk to a
virtual recruiting assistant who could automatically read their CV and
provide some indications of where there might be a great fit for them
within the organization.”-Looks exciting!
AI is not that good at empathy, understanding, and social interaction,”
said Britt.
HR can help make sure AI isn’t
the worst thing to happen to
humanity

20. One last question to reflect!
• With the advent of humanizing machines and men
becoming mercenary
• Increasing intellectual potency and dipping natural
health (increasing impotence across the globe)
• Scandalously changing values (going against nature)
• Are we progressing towards our next stage in human
evolution!