Christian P. Illek, Deutsche Telekom Board Member for Human Resources, discusses how intelligent machines are transforming work and outlines the changes taking place in corporate culture.
It is the nature of humankind to constantly strive toward innovation and bring forth new inventions. Creativity, imagination and conscious reflection are distinguishing features of the human brain which cannot be copied by machines. However, the use of neuronal networks in machines such as AlphaGO is a prime example that demonstrates the extraordinary speed of development in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). The research and development relevant to AI represents a truly remarkable achievement in human culture. In the years ahead intelligent computers will improve the quality of life: They will diagnose illnesses, recommend therapies, protect the environment, support education and transform the way we work. Today there are more than 10 million robots on earth. According to forecasts, the number will skyrocket to billions by the year 2020. In other words, intelligent robots will outnumber the inhabitants of our planet at that time.
But what will work be like in a future with robots so intelligent that they can compete with humans in any number of fields – and even do some jobs much better than we can?
Machines will certainly not replace all of the people working in most branches of industry. It's much more likely that there will be a side-by-side arrangement. We will see large numbers of smart machines in manufacturing facilities and business offices, where they will serve as partners and colleagues alongside their human counterparts. In addition to taking over strenuous, repetitious and boring tasks, machines will also play a social role within teams of workers. Interaction between humans and machines, or even the symbiosis of both – as seen in current medical technology – will be an integral part of our daily work routines due to the extremely dynamic development of artificial intelligence. Business enterprises that recognize these challenges early and successfully cope with them will develop new business models to ensure their survival in the markets of the future.
Right now we are at a critical junction in the ongoing transformation of our corporate culture: More and more teams comprised of people and machines will be part of the value chain. Thus business enterprises must embrace the idea that humans and intelligent machines will collaborate with each other on the job in the future. Analogous to Work 4.0, one could call this new concept Diversity 5.0 and Collaboration 5.0.
In addition to gender, age, cultural heritage and nationality, we will have to focus our attention on the machine dimension when it comes to future labor resources. The first diverse teams that include humanoid robots have already been introduced in Japan. Nestle has deployed "hybrid teams" comprised of humans and robots throughout Japan to sell coffee machines. The robots were developed by Softbank, an innovative Japanese technology concern, and have been given the name "Pepper." These robots address customers, draw their attention and give them product information. The human colleagues explain how the coffee machines function in detail and respond to specific or unusual customer questions.
Intelligent machines are also finding their way into management. Deep Knowledge Ventures, an investment company in Hong Kong, named an algorithm to become the sixth member of the board of directors in 2014. The algorithm has a voice in all managerial matters – with authority equal to that of its human counterparts. Who knows – perhaps in 20 years we will see the first robot serving on the board of a DAX enterprise.
Until then, however, a number of hurdles must be overcome if there is ever to be genuine collaboration between mankind and machines. Experiments conducted at MIT in Boston have been quite revealing: Humans typically rely on their gut feeling rather than trusting an algorithm – experts call this phenomenon "algorithm avoidance." Drivers have often experienced this: How many of us have ignored the instructions given by an automobile navigation system because we were sure that we knew a better route? Or consider an intriguing phenomenon encountered in psychology known as "confirmation bias." From a human standpoint, mistakes made by machines are always viewed as more serious or severe than human errors. You've probably experienced this in situations where something has gone wrong: "I just knew that I shouldn't trust a machine!"
Scientists have also discovered that human beings tend to accept and embrace robots if they have a human appearance. This has consequences for the machines: If smart devices have a name and are equipped with a voice and a body, people will usually be quite happy to work with them. But please note: Research also shows that the ideal "machine mensch" should have some human qualities, but it must also be immediately recognizable as a robot by human colleagues. If that is the case, there is no problem with collaboration.
Intelligent systems – like Watson from IBM or AlphaGo from Google – can change the way that businesses think, act and work in the future. Humans must learn to get along with smart humanoid robots at work. We can discuss when and to what extent robots will participate in the world of work, but there is definitely no way – and no good reason – to keep this development from happening. Robots will be our colleagues in the future. Thus we should shape this development in our best interests. Because one thing is clear: The intelligent robot will be working for us, and not the other way around. The intelligent sharing of work between humans and machines means that people will lead strategically, while the machines provide tactical ingenuity. It's up to us to define and realize this kind of advanced collaboration.