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Generative AI: A Transformative Technology
Generative AI is a transformative technology that has the potential to redefine the nature of work. Understanding its role in the workplace, and what makes it different from past automation, requires a shift from what AI can do to what it should do.
Beyond Technical Capability: Understanding the Impact of GenAI
Typical analyses of GenAI’s impact on workers focus on whether the technology can perform specific jobs. Such studies often break down a job and assess the share of the constituent tasks that the technology can execute. For instance, common tasks for a customer service representative in a call centre include interacting with customers, recording interactions and resolving or escalating concerns. GenAI can handle these tasks, implying it could displace such workers.
The Four Questions to Consider
We believe organisations should consider four pivotal questions when contemplating automation.
How Complex is the Task?
Complexity is a key driver of both human labour and AI costs. Emergency service dispatchers solve a wide variety of problems, involving a level of complexity that outpaces the repetitive interactions of a customer service representative. In general, the more complex the task, the less likely it is to be automated, since humans are — for now — better than machines at handling increased complexity.
How Frequent is the Task?
The higher the frequency, the more likely it is to be automated. Machines have a clear advantage in maintaining speed over prolonged periods. Frequently repeated interactions with clients strengthen the economic case for AI replacement of customer service representatives.
How Interconnected are the Tasks?
In providing a service or creating a product, many jobs are involved in a chain of interconnected tasks often completed by different workers and machines. What happens during the handoff between tasks is often overlooked. Fragmentation costs arise from inefficiencies and errors in the handoff process.
What is the Cost of Failure?
Mistakes by emergency dispatchers pose significant risks, particularly in life-or-death situations. And GenAI can be less precise than some past forms of automation.
Conclusion
These questions should guide companies considering automation and help explain why GenAI affects certain occupations more than others. Consider computer programmers, for example. Extensive, well-documented coding examples enable GenAI to provide effective solutions even for complex tasks. The high frequency and repetitiveness of many coding tasks is a good fit with GenAI.
FAQs
Q: What is generative AI?
A: Generative AI is a transformative technology that has the potential to redefine the nature of work.
Q: How does GenAI differ from past automation?
A: GenAI is capable of managing complex tasks at high speed, making it more versatile than traditional automation.
Q: What are the four questions to consider when contemplating automation?
A: The four questions are: how complex is the task, how frequent is the task, how interconnected are the tasks, and what is the cost of failure?
Q: Why does GenAI affect certain occupations more than others?
A: The structure of tasks within a particular occupation, including complexity, frequency, fragmentation costs, and the cost of failure, influence the balance between overt cost savings and hidden costs.
