The AI Time Warp
AI is advancing faster than ever before. It is expected to match median human performance and reach top-quartile human performance this year - much earlier than expected: McKinsey’s estimate for AI’s natural language understanding has been revised from 2027 to 2023.
In the past, industrial automation threatened blue collar jobs, but this advancement in the capability of AI has huge implications for the future of work especially for white collar workers as generative AI can perform high-wage knowledge work activities like report writing, content creation, software design and conducting research that were previously considered immune from automation.
This challenges the role of college degrees as an indicator of skill. AI will make it possible for anyone to access high-quality education and training online which could lead to a more skills-based approach to workforce development; one where employers value competencies and abilities over credentials and diplomas. This has the makings of a financial crisis with many younger people having forked out copious amounts of money for qualifications that are set to become worthless.
Generative AI, however, also has the potential to propel higher productivity growth. Global economic growth was slower from 2012 to 2022 than in the two preceding decades. Generative AI helps accelerate productivity growth and compensates for declining employment growth by automating individual work activities. This could boost GDP growth and create new sources of value.
According to McKinsey, four business functions account for ~75% of the total annual value of AI: customer operations, marketing and sales, software engineering, and research and development. These are the areas where generative AI can have the most impact by enhancing customer experience, personalizing offers, optimizing processes, and innovating products and services.
One of the most common uses of AI in customer service is chatbots. During my time at Builder we used a chatbot, which we named Natasha, to act as an engineer which was helping customers to choose features for their custom software; “she” was responsible for cutting the time to brief in half.
Other businesses already use chatbots of varying complexity to handle routine questions such as delivery dates, balance owed, order status or anything else derived from internal systems. Chatbots can also provide 24/7 self-service, measure customer sentiment, and create automated tickets.
But chatbots are not the only way AI can improve customer service. AI can also use data enrichment to provide more context and insights about customers, such as their location, preferences, behavior, and feedback. This can help customer service agents tailor their responses and offer personalized solutions.
AI can use intelligent routing to assign cases to the best-suited agents based on their skills, availability, and performance and, like it did with Builder, it can reduce wait times, improve resolution rates, and increase customer satisfaction.
AI is reshaping the future of work in unprecedented ways. It is creating new opportunities and challenges for workers, employers, and policymakers. The key to harnessing the benefits of AI is to embrace lifelong learning, adapt to changing demands, and collaborate with humans and machines.
If you’re still not convinced that AI is a big deal for your career, think again. AI is not a fad or a hype. It’s a reality that’s here to stay. And if you don’t keep up with it, you might be left behind.
Have any questions about it? I’d love to chat.
