Five Trends of the Digital Workforce

Intelligent Automation

One potent trend is the power of automation with individual workers being able to automate their own workflows. Intelligent automation is, simply, automation with artificial intelligence (AI) added to it.

Intelligent automation allows for the ability to take a process and utilize a tool, often one that is low code or no code, and build an automation that is going to make it more efficient for the human being in the process. This is the basic function. At the next level, AI will be able to enhance this and develop the automation even further based on the AI engine behind it.

It is important to note that these tools are available now, today. For leaders, you must consider skills development for the people in your organization and how you can teach them to develop their own daily AI automation. This is a trend that will grow rapidly in the coming years.

Tools that are already being used widely in this area include Microsoft Power Automate and Microsoft Copilot. For example, Microsoft is implementing AI in its Copilot platform which essentially adds an AI component within all of their tools, such as Word and Excel. These tools can now make recommendations of further automating daily workflows. For leaders, it should be a priority to understand how these tools work and how to train team members to use them.

Simulation

When it comes to AI, data is what I would call “the food for AI.” As the data grows, the language models and systems behind AI improve.

First AI got to the point where it can do recommendations. It learned the ability to look at data and make recommendations on the right action to take.

Now, AI can not only do recommendations, but it can now do simulations. It can take a recommendation and do a simulation around it. For instance, if I want to add more capital in a certain area, or purchase a tool or sell a product, it can simulate what is already known about the company and simulate which outcome would be ideal for the company to work toward. This moves the organization away from the gut feeling of humans into a more fact-based decision-making process. It allows an organization to try different scenarios to understand where they should make the investment.

Consider how this could benefit healthcare workers or first responders to help them understand what kind of triage to do on a critical patient. Or in the financial services space, it could help banks with loan modeling or when to tweak an interest rate or compound.

If you are using an AI tool, you should look to see if it has a simulation feature built into it. This will be a feature that will become more and more common with AI platforms.

It is important to note that leaders must consider the risks that are posed by the use of AI tools. Organizations should have a policy that shows employees the proper use of AI tools within the organization. If you need a place to start, we have created a policy, so reach out to us and we would be happy to share it.

As an organization, you also need to establish processes for evaluating the risks of using AI. AI can sometimes produce incorrect, or biased, information, so it is important for you to ensure you understand and are mitigating the risks of AI. You must understand these risks and the amount of jeopardy the organization could face if AI produces a bad result, based on the use of the platform.

Digital Centaur Development in Automation

A digital centaur is the convergence of humanity and technology, or integration of man and machine. A centaur is a well-developed human being both intellectually and emotionally with very enhanced and strong digital skills.

At FPOV, we have developed programs around teaching centaur development to team members. This is to help with personal development in a workforce that is, in some ways, already here today and, in some ways, is still approaching us, albeit rapidly.

To be a centaur, you must be mature on “Human”, digital well-being side while also developing the skills to be able to collaborate and cowork with AI. A centaur must establish both sides of these skills.

People need to realize that this is happening faster than you probably think. Within the next few years, there will be some expectation that you possess digital centaur skills. This is coming up.

In November, when ChatGPT came out, it changed the world, and people have not seen the full effects of it yet. People are just now beginning to discover the plugins and add-ons that are ChatGPT enabled. You have to stay on top of it, because it is changing underneath our feet.

Coworking with AI

In many ways, ChatGPT is a coworker. Some people keep ChatGPT up on their screen, and then prompt it to do things like write thirty words on a certain subject or compose an email. That, in a way, is a coworker. But this is just the beginning. These tools are going to become more and more embedded in our daily tasks and processes.

The job of digital personal assistants, like human personal assistants, are to get to know you as an individual. Digital personal assistants can now recognize you and your voice and even the tone of your voice. These tools can understand if you are frustrated, happy, etc. They can even give you corresponding answers based on your tone of voice when you ask them a question.

When you think of using coworking AI as part of your workflow, or identify areas where it can help by anticipating these ways, then you can lessen your workload.

As an example, you can use automation to help you build a slide deck for an upcoming presentation. This frees you up to do the more knowledge-based stuff that is required of you. It also opens you up to work on the tasks that you were really hired to do, the flair you offer as a person, and lessen your burden of understanding technical details.

Personal Digital Twin

A digital twin, in this context, is an AI that is a reflection of you. It is a digital version of you, meaning your emotions, what you think, your history, your experiences, everything you have thought, and wrote, and emailed in your lifetime.

As an example, I was in a meeting with an executive and there was a voice-enabled personal assistant nearby. It got me thinking that maybe, if it was my digital twin, the assistant could remind me to mention something I might have forgotten or recall a project I was a part of, which would then allow me to elaborate on an aspect I would not have mentioned without the reminder. If I am not present in the meeting, would it be able to answer a question how I would answer it in my place?

A digital twin at work will be able to act on your behalf, make recommendations, and simulate decisions for you. The digital twin concept is already starting to develop. It is going to play a big role in the future.

People say, “I wish I had a twin” or “I wish I had another one of me.” Well, it is getting close to where you can have one.

In some ways, when used properly, you may be able to double your workforce.

The ways in which we work are changing rapidly. By harnessing the above trends, you can ensure that you are staying relevant in this rapidly changing workforce and helping your organization thrive in a swiftly transforming future.