Making the Most of Emerging Technologies

It’s time for the ultimate showdown: humans versus artificial intelligence (AI). Both sides are geared and ready to prove, once and for all, who will be declared the victor.

Or – is there another way? Humans, AI, robots… We’ve all got our strengths. So, why don’t we work together?

Can Humans and AI Work Together?

Science fiction has popularized the idea that AI is humanity’s existential worst enemy – but that’s fiction. In truth, there’s a lot AI can do, and there’s a lot people can do – and together, they can do even more, better, faster and more efficiently. That’s the intent of technology evolving over the ages: to make people’s lives better.

Let’s take a moment, set aside the self-destruct button, and explore how you can leverage AI and develop human-machine collaboration. But first, what do we mean by AI-human collaboration?

What is AI-human collaboration?

It’s simply about using AI systems to augment human decision-making, content creation and so on. Intelligent automation (IA) is a business example of combining AI technology with robotic process automation (RPA) to automate repetitive tasks, freeing people to focus on more complex work.

Further technologies within IA can include optical character recognition (OCR) to read documents; natural language processing (NLP) to understand human language; machine learning (ML) for identifying patterns to help with decision-making; and predictive AI to forecast future events.

Intelligent automation empowers organizations to analyze vast amounts of data quickly and accurately; optimize and streamline their processes; gain data-driven insights into how their processes run for improved decision-making; and transform how people work and how the business at large interacts with customers.

What is an example of AI-human collaboration?

You hop into your car, and what’s the first thing you do? Okay, the tank is full. Now, where are you going? Google Maps is a great example of humans using AI. These days, it’s hard to think of a time when we used paper maps instead of our phones.

Then, there’s generative AI. Gen AI is a breakthrough technology in AI known for its ability to create and produce new content based on its training data. It can generate text, code, images, sounds and even processes, and it’s capable of improving productivity across various markets, from customer service to marketing and more.

Ready to supercharge your intelligent automation with generative AI ? Read our e-book to find out how your human and digital workforce can collaborate with AI.

Why Is Human-AI Collaboration Important?

This technology team-up should be focused on the thing we value most: time. With record levels of burnout in the workforce, you can reduce the burden on your employees and foster a better work/life balance so they can produce higher quality work overall. AI technologies like generative AI reduce the number of boring, tedious tasks people work on so they can turn to higher-value, strategic initiatives. That helps people feel more engaged in their jobs and also helps organizations reduce errors, increase efficiency and adaptability, and get more employee productivity. It’s a win all around.

AI isn’t focused on taking jobs, but rather, amplifying what’s there to make room for even more. Your intelligent automation digital workers, for example, are digital coworkers for your people, helping them do their jobs, connect disparate systems and keep track of important data.

How Do I Get Started With Human-AI Collaboration?

There’s a lot to consider when introducing technologies like generative AI into your organization. Do you know where you want to use the technology? What pain points do you want to solve? What resources are available to you?

Getting started with gen AI checklist

Here’s our checklist for what you might consider, using gen AI as your example:

1. Determine where your slowdowns or bottlenecks exist and how gen AI can solve these problems.
2. Train and educate your people on how gen AI works and how it can collaborate with your human and digital workforce.
3. Establish good practices for your systems with AI compliance guidelines.
4. Explore generative AI use cases of how other organizations have utilized the technology to expand their automation program.
5. Set up good AI governance practices across your organization.
6. Find the technology that works for you.

Our recommendation? We’ve been working with AWS to develop solutions for our customers that combine gen AI and IA to transform how work gets done. Use cases include analyst and financial reporting, healthcare applications, contact center support and more. Learn more about enterprise-grade generative AI for intelligent automation from AWS and SS&C Blue Prism.

Still not sure? Check out our survival guide on how to prepare for generative AI.

Getting The Best Results

Humans and AI together have the potential to produce outstanding results. Here are some of the myriads of benefits from human-AI collaboration:

• Simplify and streamline business processes.
• Empower employees to use new technologies and brainstorm ideas.
• Collect data more accurately, securely and with full transparency for better reporting.
• Save employees from boring work so they can cultivate their skillsets.
• Reimagine how work is done across different levels and systems.

Think of it like this: The idea of a self-driving car is that you can sit back and relax while the car takes you where you need to go. If a deer jumps onto the road, it touches the brake instantly, whereas you would’ve taken long seconds that could result in an accident. Your self-driving car isn’t replacing you – it’s augmenting your experience to make them better (and safer).

Remember, AI is a tool. So is generative AI. As much as we anthropomorphize it, this technology really is just a way for people to do work better and faster. And it’s not going anywhere – so why not embrace it?