4 approaches to automate work using cognitive technologies

approachesto automating work

usingcognitive technologies

2 Deloitte University Press | 4 approaches to automating work using cognitive technologies | @DU_Press #DeloitteReview Copyright © 2015 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

Over the next three to five years cognitive technologies (the technologies underlying artificial intelligence) are likely to have a profound impact on work, workers, and organizations

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Some predict massive unemployment as cognitive technologies begin to automate tasks and take on work formerly done by people




Others believe that this move towards automation may increase productivity, drive economic growth, and create demand for workers with new skills




Leaders will face choices about how to apply

cognitive technologies




A cost strategy uses technology to reduce costs, especially by reducing labor headcount

A value strategy aims to increase value by complementing labor with technology or reassigning labor to higher-value work

To properly evaluate their options, organizations need to choose between a cost strategy and a value strategy




We propose using a framework of four automation choices to help business leaders understand the business and talent implications of adopting cognitive technologies

ReplaceAtomize/Automate

RelieveEmpower




ReplaceAUTOMATION APPROACH:

Technology is used to perform jobs previously done by a person

1




Organizations may produce greater valueby reassigning workers to new roles, or by expanding their existing roles

With the cost strategy, organizations may choose to replace workers with cognitive computing systems that perform the same work

Replace




Atomize/AutomateAUTOMATION APPROACH:

Break up a job into pieces; automate as much as possible

2




A value strategy might use this approach to create new lower-cost offerings that serve the needs of a new market segment

Atomizing and automating work can reduce labor costs, but it can also alienate creative people, the highly skilled, or artisans

Atomize/Automate




RelieveAUTOMATION APPROACH:

Technology takes on tasks that are dull, dirty or dangerous

3




A value strategy might expand or shift the focus of newly relieved workers to higher-value tasks

A cost strategy might use technologies to alleviate routine tasks by reducing headcount

Relieve




EmpowerAUTOMATION APPROACH:

Technology makes workers more effective by complementing skills

4




A value strategy might employ a system to train those lower-skilled workers and build their skills, or even enhance the performance of highly skilled workers

A cognitive system may empower lower-skilled workers to perform tasks that were formerly performed by higher-skilled workers, thereby reducing labor costs

Empower




When weighing these four automation choices, leaders should consider:

Will workers be marginalized or empowered?

Is this choice creating value or merely cutting costs?




As leaders prepare to bring cognitive technologies into their organizations they should consider which set of automation choices will fit best with both their talent and competitive strategies




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DAVID SCHATSKY

Meet the authors

senior manager, Deloitte LLP. David tracks and analyzes emerging technology and business trends, including the growing impact of cognitive technologies, for Deloitte’s leaders and its clients. David is the author of Signals for Strategists: Sensing Emerging Trends in Business and Technology (RosettaBooks, 2015).

JEFF SCHWARTZ

principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and global Human Capital Leader for talent strategies and marketing, eminence, and brand. Jeff is the co-author of Global Human Capital Trends 2015: Leading in a New World of Work (Deloitte University Press, 2015).



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