Narayan AmmachchiArtificial intelligence (AI) is all about augmenting human capabilities rather than replacing humans with machines, says global IT consultancy firm Accenture in a new book.
Titled “Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI“, the book is co-authored by Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s Chief Technology and Innovation officer, and Jim Wilson, Managing Director of Information Technology and Business Research.
The authors, who claim to have surveyed more than 1,500 organisations, strongly dismiss what they call a ‘misconception’ that AI systems will replace humans, stating that they should be viewed as a resource to help companies reshape their operations, whether that be in customer service or productivity.
While AI is resulting in some jobs being lost, the technology’s true power is in augmenting human capabilities, they argue.
“In other words, AI isn’t about making ‘artificial’ super-humans – but about using technology to give humans ‘superpowers,’ equipping them with new skills and capabilities so that they can achieve more and learn faster,” said Daugherty.
To exploit the full power of AI, the authors suggest that companies consider new employee roles, establishing novel types of working relationships between humans and machines, and changing the traditional concept of management.
This collaboration is going to unlock what the authors call the “third wave” of business transformation, in which humans develop, train, and manage various AI applications, while machines provide humans with significantly enhanced capabilities, such as the ability to process and analyze copious amounts of data from myriad sources in real time.
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