According to Predictions for next year from Dell Technologies, which it has called “Entering the Next Era of Human Machine Partnerships”, the work that man and machine will do soon will be closer and thanks to the magnitude of all the data Combined, the processing power with the power of AI will help machines better orchestrate resources.
In addition, faced with the problem of unemployment generated by the rise of Artificial Intelligence, Gartner says that Artificial Intelligence will create more jobs than it eliminates, generating 2.3 million jobs by 2020 and eliminating 1.8 million.
The work between the human and the machine is transforming
According to Dell Technologies and the Institute for the Future (IFTF), although human-machine work has been going on for many years, it is transforming into another stage, culminating in closer work, with greater efficiency, and with the creation of new jobs that do not exist today (85% ), this is forecasting to happen in 2030.
They are talking specifically about emerging technologies that have been born from development in analysis, software, processing and that continue to innovate. Examples include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, made possible by exponential developments in software, analysis and processing power. are increasing and accelerating this direction. Its passage through the daily life of people is already being noticed, Smart Cities, Smart Homes, connected banking transactions…
“In the future, it will not be about people or machines, the magic is the people and the machines. We are entering the next era of human-machine partnership, a more integrated and personal relationship with technology that has the power to exponentially amplify the creativity, inspiration, intelligence and curiosity of the human spirit” Said Michael Dell, President and CEO, Dell Technologies.
Based on this, Dell has made eight predictions for next year, these are:
- Prediction 1: Technology will become an extension of the human being
IoT will gain momentum over the next year, being more present in homes, vehicles, Smart Cities will develop eye-catchingly, and organizations will implement more IoT solutions.
According to Dell, there will soon be 100 billion devices connected, thanks to the reduction in the cost of processing power to later result in a billion devices.
“The magnitude of all the data combined, the processing power with the power of AI will help machines better orchestrate our physical and human resources.” The company says. “We will become ‘digital drivers’ of the technology and environments around us. Technology will function as an extension of ourselves. Each object will become intelligent and allow us to live smarter lives.”
This is reflected for example in cars and autonomous driving. Innovations will enable this emerging technology to develop and become an everyday thing.
“Harnessing the full potential of IoT requires adding intelligence to each stage. Smarter data collection at the edge, smarter computing at the core, and deeper learning in the cloud. All this intelligence will drive a new level of business innovation in all industries” It says Ray O’Farrell, VMware EVP & CTO, and general manager of Dell Technologies IoT divison.
- Prediction 2: The boundary between “real” and “augmented” reality will blur
The commercial potential of Reality Will Increase is very significant. Therefore, Dell predicts that in the short – medium term the boundary between “real” and “augmented” reality will fade, and this is already happening in the construction sector, where architects and engineers use RA to visualize the development of new constructions, coordinating workers and evolving the method and workforce.
For Dell, Augmented Reality will be more important than Virtual Reality, although the latter also has a lot to contribute. However, Dell relates this technology more to entertainment and leisure, especially in video games, at least in the short term.
“It’s happening now. But over the next year, VR and RA will convincingly bring global problems to our personal reality. Time, money and geography will no longer be an inhibitor to experience a different environment, community or perspective.” Says Trisa Thompson, Director of Responsibility.
- Prediction 3: A deeper relationship with customers
Faced with this technological and innovation scenario, Dell surveyed business leaders from both SMEs and large companies and the 45% acknowledged that they feel their organization will be obsolete in five years, being a major business threat to the 78 % respondents.
“Today, more than 60% of companies are unprepared to fully address their customers’ digital expectations, but forward-looking companies are testing these efforts with the intention of operationalizing next year.” Says Marius Haas, president and chief commercial officer.
One of the keys to not falling behind is the customer experience. Companies are forced to establish a stronger link between man and machine, and that will be the basis of the new relationship with the consumer: With predictive analytics, Machine Learning and AI at the forefront, customers will interact with chatbots and agents smart virtual data.
“Stronger alliances between people and machines will result in stronger human relationships, as companies take a first-time approach and lead with ideas. By applying Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to customer data, businesses will be able to predict and understand customer behavior like never before. ” Says Karen Quintos, director of customer service.
- Prediction 4: Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality will control biases
According to Dell, new technologies will help people treat information more objectively, but without losing human judgment when needed. AI will be able to detect bias and along with other technologies a bias control can be performed, which will become so everyday that Dell compares it to the spelling check.
Artificial Intelligence will soon be introduced into Human Resources, forming part of the recruitment and promotion processes. VR also finds its place in this department, increasing its use as a tool to interview and also guarantee promotions and opportunities based on merit, with solutions such as using an avatar to hide the identity of employees.
“AI and VR capabilities will be key to dismantling human predisposition. In the short term, we will apply virtual reality in job interviews to eliminate identification features, machine learning to indicate key points of discrimination or AI to schedule a positive bias in our processes.” Said Brian Reaves, Director of Diversity and Inclusion
- Prediction 5: ESport will become popular
As highlighted in previous predictions, Virtual Reality for Dell will look more closely related to leisure and video games. By 2018, sports-related games will increase, forming a large market around.
The “eSport” will have millions of fans who will televise the matches. Free time in the future will be more closely connected and more immersive.
- Prediction 6: Enterprise “mega cloud” will emerge
Over the next year, companies will start migrating to different types of clouds. But Dell emphasizes as an inconvenience that using so many types of clouds alongside increased workloads could generate silos and cause companies to not exploit other interesting initiatives such as data analytics or AI.
This will result in what Dell calls “mega cloud,” that is, the interlaced fusion of different private and public clouds, so that you can show the IT ecosystem with a more consistent and focused system. However, for this to be generated, these requirements are needed: innovation that allows data to be moved across different clouds, computing, orchestration, as well as automation and knowledge of the IT environment that AI and Machine Learning will bring.
“We now live in a world of distributed data, many of which are underutilized. Organizations know that data is the current currency of innovation and business growth. We’ll see organizations drive demand for a holistic, harmonious view of all their data, and ultimately a ‘smart mega cloud’, says Jeff Clarke, Vice President, Product and Operations.
- Prediction 7: Implementing cybersecurity tools will increase
It has already become clear that the world is becoming more interconnected and this trend will only increase. But this presents great risks, as companies are more dependent on third parties and a small security incident by a company or a third party can have terrible consequences.
“We live in an increasingly interconnected world. The cyber threat will take on new proportions.” Says Zulfikar Ramzan, Chief Technology Officer, RSA.
In addition, the relationship is also more dependent on machines, so cybersecurity is becoming more important every day. The implementation of security tools will therefore grow and more regulations such as the GDPR will emerge.
“There is immense responsibility that comes with technological developments that drive human progress and change the way we do things, in IT, in our workplace and, realistically, in every aspect of our lives. Companies that properly manage and integrate the explosion of smart and personal computing devices will win in 2018. ” Says Liam Quinn, Chief Technology Officer.
- Prediction 8: Artificial Intelligence will reduce “bottle neck”
The way companies and employees relate to data will change thanks to Artificial Intelligence. AI will help reduce the time spent on analysis and innovation, as well as scenario planning, as it will take more and more prominence in the tasks related to data processing. As a result, production will increase as employees will focus more on decision-making.
For many, this technology will eliminate and replace jobs, but for others it will generate more than it eliminates, increasing opportunities. One of the examples given by Dell is the new AI professional, responsible for setting good business results parameters, defining engagement and rewards, etc. Once this is done, the technology will be able to recommend positive business opportunities.
Artificial Intelligence will create 2.1 million jobs by 2020
According to the Gartner company, Artificial Intelligence is going to create more jobs than it eliminates. Specifically, AI will create 2.3 million jobs by 2020 and eliminate 1.8 million. In addition, in three years’ time all AI-related work will be on the rise, and not long after – in 2025 – Gartner estimates that these new positions will reach two million.
“Many significant innovations in the past have been associated with a transition period of temporary job loss, followed by recovery, so the transformation of the business and AI will likely follow this path,” said Svetlana Sicular, vice president of research at Gartner. “Unfortunately, most calamitous job loss warnings confuse Artificial Intelligence with automation, which eclipses the greatest benefit of AI: a combination of human and artificial intelligence, where both are complement each other.”
The most affected positions will be those of low middle level, and will create new positions focused on highly qualified, as well as management-related staff – without necessarily being high-level.
This transformation of the AI work environment will help increase productivity. In fact, Gartner estimates that by 2021, the increase in AI will recover 6.2 billion hours of a worker’s productivity, and thus generate $2.9 trillion in commercial value.
Artificial Intelligence is currently being applied to repetition tasks and data collection to look for patterns, but according to Gartner, this technology will begin to separate itself from such processes to perform more complex and less routine ones. When this happens, it does not mean the elimination of more positions but will support employees on certain issues by increasing the relationship between human and machine.
In fact, by 2022, one in five workers who are primarily dedicated to non-routine tasks will depend on AI to do a job.
“Using AI to automatically generate a weekly status report or choosing the top five emails in your inbox doesn’t have the same wow factor as, for example, curing a disease, so these practical uses in the short term happen unnoticed, ” said Craig Roth, Vice President of Research at Gartner. “Companies are just beginning to seize the opportunity to improve non-routine work through AI by applying them to general-purpose tools. Once knowledge workers incorporate AI into their work processes as a virtual secretary or intern, theft employees will become a competitive necessity.”
It will not affect all industries equally
In the retail sector, AI and robotics have a lot to contribute, but this will depend a lot on the industry. By 2019, health care, the public sector and education will increase demand for employment, while manufacturing will be hardest hit by new technology.
While many industries will experience an increase in the commercial value of AI, manufacturing will especially get a great opportunity. Since, the automation capability of AI will lead to cost savings, increased revenue and optimization of supply chains.
On the other hand, retailers will use the automation provided by this technology to identify, optimize and automate routine activities while reducing labor costs by replacing employees and efficiency from headquarters distribution centers and shops.
There will be certain positions related to operational activities that will be easy to replace through AI, but others, such as sales partners, with many consumers preferring to interact with them, will be complicated – especially in certain places like pharmacies. According to Gartner, this will not occur until 2022.
“Retailers will be able to save labor by eliminating highly repetitive and transactional jobs, but they will have to reinvest some of those savings in forming partners who can improve the customer experience,” said Robert Hetu, director of Gartner’s research. “As such, most retailers will see artificial intelligence as a way to increase customer experiences rather than simply eliminating humans from all processes.”
Some industries, such as outsourcing, are undergoing a fundamental change in their business models, so reducing AI costs along with improving productivity must be reinvested to enable exploration of new opportunities for business models.
“AI can take on repetitive and mundane tasks, freeing workers to engage in other activities, but human symbiosis with AI will have more nuances and require reinvestment rather than simply automating existing practices,” said Mike Rollings, Vice President of Research at Gartner. “Instead of having a machine replicating the steps a human takes to reach a particular judgment, the entire decision process can be refactored to use the relative strengths and weaknesses of machines and humans to maximize value generation and redistribute decision-making to increase agility.”
Deeplearning.ai is helping employees with jobs that will disappear
At MIT Technology Review’s annual EmTech MIT conference in the US, Baidu’s former AI chief and creator of Google’s Brain Deep Learning project, Andrew Ng, warned that many jobs will be eliminated because of Artificial Intelligence.
“Many professions are in the crosshairs of artificial intelligence teams around the world,” Ng said.
He is currently working for the startup Deeplearning.ai. which seeks to develop a more current version of the American economic program “New Deal”, developed in the great depression era, where it was invested, among other things, in reintegrating the unemployed into the workforce. In addition, the startup tries to help people get deep learning-related competencies.
In his proposal, Ng wants to make sure that displaced workers receive income to acquire new job skills. In fact, during his conference he said he visited call centers with the aim of raising workers’ awareness, as he knows that the engineers who work for him will end up developing software programs that would automate some of his work’s tasks and Business program includes more professionals such as radiologists, truck drivers and any profession that can be automated.
“Even if we stopped writing research articles right now, we would have enough to transform the industry. Future waves of innovation will bring even deeper changes in labor markets, and we need a way to continue adapting to them,” Ng concluded at his conference.
