Staying one step ahead of the machines

This year’s World Government Summit in Dubai provided business leaders with more than enough material to keep them thinking for the rest of the year. Taking in a host of hot-button issues — from stock market wobbles and Bitcoin concerns, to climate change and the future of health care — the Forum certainly didn’t stint on the big topics.

Something that really caught my eye were the discussions that centred around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it will mean for the future of businesses and workplaces. The UAE is, of course, embracing AI like almost nowhere else, positioning itself as a leader in the field with a dedicated government department, and a real focus on the issues AI raises.

A great deal has already been written about how AI, and sister technologies such as robotics, are potentially set to alter the future nature of employment. Much has been said about how jobs will change as computers become not only smarter, but capable of learning. The potential that jobs disappear because robots and computers can perform workers’ functions more productively, faster, and cheaper, presents a potentially frightening future for employees.

Much of this discussion arguably still descends into the realm of science fiction, rather than reality, yet it is easy to feel encircled by increasingly intelligent machines.

Many people, for example, marvelled at the recent viral videos of Boston Dynamics’ robot precisely (if slowly) opening a door. The sight of a doglike robot manoeuvring itself through a human space could be seen as a worrying portent for a world where the machines can do everything we can, but better.

I think we are arguably still some way away from any such thing and, in any case, the nature of the job market has always shifted as technologies are introduced. Interloping technology has always prompted fears about incoming machines, then employees re-train and skill-up in other areas, and the economy continues to flourish and grow.

Businesses benefit from productivity gains, and employees move into higher-skilled roles to manage the machines. It’s still a highly recognisable market dynamic, even if the machines are especially shiny and impressive now.

But the rise of AI does raise some interesting questions about the role of leaders in an increasingly technical workplace. AI might not have immediately obvious business applications in every sector, yet the potential is certainly there. In the realms, for example, of using data to make intelligent predictive forecasts of market movements or customer demand, nearly every business stands to gain a great deal from AI applications.

This is true whether your business is social media, steel, or sandwiches.

For leaders, then, there is the prospect of both incredible business advantages to be gained, as well as the challenge of suddenly needing to lead a considerably more technological workplace. You will need to hire technical specialists to operate these systems — programmers, data scientists, people who can analyse the market intelligence the AI produces. You will also need new systems and infrastructure in place to leverage the advantages it will bring.

Most of all, you may well find yourself in a position where you must be increasingly comfortable leading a company filled with technical specialists who understand the technicalities far more than you will do. For sure, you will need to dive headlong into understanding at least something of AI and machine learning, but you must also increasingly trust employees with far greater specialist knowledge of these matters.

This doesn’t leave a leader helpless, of course. Leadership will still be very much needed, whether it’s in setting standards that an industry’s new direction will require, or in targeting the right innovation and intelligence at the right time, for maximum business advantage.

Technology can be a great advantage for every organisation, but there still needs to be a competent, intelligent, human leader at its head, applying experience, skills and instinct to direct the business’ direction.

The writer is CEO of Knowledge Group.