Throw Away the Books and Listen: It’s Time To Get Real about the Digital Era

AI has left the silver screen and is now everywhere. It is in your pocket and on your washing machine. It is in your car and writing the news you read online. AI is constantly displacing old technology and ways of doing things, but will it stop there? No, it will not. I know what you are thinking; Will AI displace me? How do I get ahead in this automated era?  WHAT DO I DO ROSS?!?
I’ll tell you what to do read What to Do When Machines Do Everything by Frank, Roehrig, and Pring. (Throw Away Book) NAH. While I wholeheartedly recommend reading this book, I realize not everyone has the time to read it, so I will do my best in the next few minutes to share some key points and ideas that I believe can help you get ahead in this age of bots and machines.

As I hinted at earlier, WTDWMDE is about how to best position yourself and/or your organization in the 4th industrial revolution. Basically, it is a survival guide for our ever-changing digital world. The book starts by first addressing the reason for its own existence, we are at the beginning of a brand new digital age that will change the way we live in this world and then proceeds to take the reader through a series of chapters on things like incorporating the new machine into your organization, how to utilize data to best meet your needs, and most importantly adapting your mindset from fixed to growth to innovate yourself a place in the new era.

Now, I know what you are thinking, he promised us some key points to help us get ahead. Don’t worry I didn’t forget about you.

Key Point number 1: There will be blood. Unfortunately, with any industrial revolution, there is a cost. It is predicted that 19 million jobs will be displaced by AI alone in the next ten years. And this doesn’t even include jobs replaced by regular machines or unforeseen innovations. Jobs at risk will be those that consist of repetitive tasks and manual labor but the displacement does not stop there. Notable industries to be hit will be the financial sector due to automation of accounting, transportation due to driverless vehicles, and healthcare due to AI based information collection systems. But, there is a silver lining, over 21 million jobs are predicted to be created by 2025 solely thanks to the same automation. Not only that but this same technology can increase productivity and reduce costs so that goods and services can be available to more of the population

Key Point number 2: Data is the key to success. When we here the word data, we think of companies like Amazon and Facebook advertisements that seem to follow you everywhere, and our cell phone plans. But Data isn’t just some obscure thing that only big companies or tech wizards can take advantage of, it is a resource that can put you a step ahead. A great thing about data is that it is cheap to mine or collect. Crowdsourcing is a good way to collect data that relies on user feedback and ratings to help companies see trends and monitor product reception. Data can also be collected through built-in software or third party applications. Another great thing about data is that Data’s value grows over time and exponentially as more is collected. There is an old rule in statistics that doing a hundred more trials gives you ten times the accuracy in results and this is true for data as well. The more data you have, the more you know and the better calculated your next decisions can be. Data also helps you understand the behaviors of people in a way that a business can take advantage of. Examples include getting rid of automatable tasks and being able to react quickly to changes in the market that a human being may take months to notice. It also makes interactions with these technologies more human as user experience can be continuously improved through data collection.

Key Point number 3: Automation Encourages innovation. Automation of much of the menial or manual tasks in someone’s day gives them more time to devote to other work that requires more thinking. This will be extremely beneficial to Technicians, engineers, physicians, design thinkers, and financial advisors to spend more time focusing on human interaction with clients, patients, customers, etc. And as a bonus, his extra time could be used for more collaboration and ideation. If productivity is higher, then more time can be left to developing new ideas or concepts without fear of holding oneself or a company back.

So, how do I prepare myself for this new digital frontier? That depends on the person, but I can tell you what I plan to do.

To be successful in this new age I need to be driven. To avoid displacement I must work hard and constantly strive to innovate and improve myself. I must never let my thought process become fixed and be open to the changes brought about by the exponential pervasiveness of new technology. I must study hard and work to understand how to utilizes resources like AI and the data it collects to best benefit my work and works towards my goals. This means constant learning both in and out of the classroom is necessary to gain the knowledge and experience necessary. Also, I must learn to communicate my ideas effectively to make the most of the age of thought and ideation that will spring from the time given by automation.