Are bots coming for your job? With the right leadership, human-centered innovation will help you thrive – Brian Solis

Does it feel like robots are coming for your job? It doesn't necessarily have to be that way. There is one thing that always separates us: our humanity.

If you're like most people, you probably think there's a good chance that artificial intelligence (AI), or automation, will significantly impact the global job market. Than investigations show that most of us believe that these disruptive technologies will primarily affect someone else—someone with a skill or educational background that lends itself to repeatable work. This is a risky assumption. Automation technology is developing and becoming more advanced every day.

Here's the truth: the robots won't just — they are already here. But that doesn't mean we're all out of work. This means that we must explore opportunities to humanize the work of the futureto complement and even enhance AI, automation and productivity.

So, what is automation technology and how are we empowering our jobs for the future? Can we collaborate with automation so that it affects our jobs in a positive way?

Let's dig deeper into how automation and technology will affect work in the long term.

What is automation technology?

Automation technology, simply put, puts machines to work with the least possible human input. Automation reduces lead times and solves unique needs and goals – without you. Sounds just like a robot taking your job, doesn't it?

That's why we invited the award-winning New York Times technology columnist Kevin Rose to discuss the impact automation is likely to have on our livelihoods. Roose told us that AI and automation are already changing the way we work. So how are these technologies shaping the future of our work?

During the research for his book, “Future-proof: 9 rules for people in the age of automation”, Roose found that for hundreds of years we have been predicting what machines can and cannot do – and that, generally speaking, we are usually wrong.

These quotes really stood out:

• “I can categorically say that heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” — Lord Kelvin1895
• “There is absolutely no prospect that the use of electronic digital computers in the field of translation will lead to any revolutionary changes.” — Yehoshua Bar-Hillel1962
• “You're not going to get the best seats or the best fares … what if you just push the wrong button?” — travel agency owners on automated ticket sales, New York Times1984

The disruptive technologies that would prove each of these predictions wrong went on to reshape economies and workforces forever. Yet each statement reflected widespread beliefs at the time.

In the 1950s, for example, they used tools like Rolodexes to manage their new leads. There was no way to find out more information about the prospect or share it with a team. Today, with the development of powerful, automated CRMs, sales and support agents work together to create a seamless customer experience for each new prospect.

Outside of sales, there are many jobs being shaped by the changing landscape of automation information technology.

How does automation and technology affect work?

You may still think of assembly-line robots as the quintessential labor-displacement agent, but AI has made strides in areas many never thought vulnerable to automation. Here are just a few:

• Healthcare: Machine learning algorithms can diagnose some cancers or perform X-rays more accurately than human radiologists. Other AI applications in the works can detect diseases ranging from cancer to Parkinson's disease from just smelling human breath.
• Creative: AI can compose music, write prose, build video game levels, and write various types of content for the web.
• software: Using automation technology, anyone can learn to code. Low-code or no-code development platforms remove the complexity of writing computer programs.
• Data analysis: AI and machine learning analyze data sets to identify patterns and trends. With the advances in automation intelligence, they can report real-time insights and predict, in some cases, what is likely to happen next.
• Social Influencers: Some of the biggest influencers on social media aren't human—they are AI designed models.
• Application development: Given AI's ability to rapidly process large amounts of data, it can create artificially intelligent applications such as outperform human-created AIs.
• Speech recognition: Whether it's adding items to your shopping list or producing meeting minutes from Zoom calls, AI applications can capture and process what they hear more accurately than many humans.

As Roose wrote about the advances made by AI, he began to worry about his own replaceability as a journalist. He embarked on a path to explore how we can avoid being replaced by robots, and how we can future-proof our careers while using automation.

How to Future-proof Your Career (and Still Embrace Automation)

What can we do to protect our jobs from being replaced by AI and robots?

There is good news and bad news. First the bad news. Pretty much every job that exists today can be automated in some way. In all fairness, there is no technology-proof job or career path for the long term.

The good news? Human creativity and determination are at an all-time high. And it is not limited to any job or role. By simply embracing your humanity (something a robot can never do), you have the power to connect to your career, your team, and scale for the future.

This isn't a time to panic—it's a time to build on the roles and capabilities that can be automated to deliver new value at every level.

As AI drives down the price of goods and automated services, it also increases the value of human goods and human experiences. It rewards those who are good at creating these new things in collaboration with machines.

With this in mind, there's one primary thing you can do to make your job a little more future-proof, no matter what it is: not so ironically, just be human.

The best way to differentiate yourself is through your humanity and creativity, not your productivity. Emphasize the uniqueness of human labor involved in what you do or what you do – whether it's creating a ceramic bowl, providing customer service or selling a technical product. How you show up in any given moment to be present, aware and ready to participate – that is your human difference.

Think beyond using AI and automation to work as quickly, at scale and efficiently as possible. Make the human touch more visible and more valuable. That's what the human economy is all about: experiences and emotions that machines can't replicate.

The human connection is especially crucial in customer service. Our research shows that 76% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs, but only 34% feel that companies actually treat them as individuals.

“Any company that doesn't invest in this area puts their entire business at risk,” Lidiane Jones, vice president and general manager of Salesforce Digital Experiences, told Forbes. Companies can deliver personalized, connected experiences with customers by combining AI with powerful services and marketing innovations, she added.

Experiences are personal on every page. That's what makes them special. They involve people and in reality it is that humanity combined with meaningful experiences that we will seek out and pay for.

To outperform the bots, we encourage you to embrace the automation technology that helps your team grow. If you're interested in hearing how automation can help you scale your career, learn more about how we're building humanity into our workflow.

original post, Salesforce