You can hardly blame people for having the wrong idea about intelligent automation. But we’re here to tell you that it isn’t some evil thing to be feared and shunned – but instead, something to embrace. It’s just the next step in freeing us up to do what we’re great at. That’s right, robots aren’t going to steal your job, they’re just going to help you with it.

“People are usually afraid of change because they fear the unknown. But the single greatest constant of history is that everything changes.” – Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow”

Intelligent Automation Will Lead to Job Changes

Research by McKinsey shows us that automation, along with other technologies, will continue to impact jobs around the world in the future. The most common jobs to be automated are those involving the operation of machinery. For many years, car manufacturers have used robotic production plants to increase speed and accuracy, and for that reason, repetitive manual tasks are increasingly being replaced by robots.

The cost of robotic hardware is so great that most SMEs have little opportunity to implement it at scale. That differs from software automation where the rollout is based on the cost of design, implementation, and maintenance – rather than all of the above, on top of expensive hardware. For this reason, changing practices in administrative functions are likely to see more impact across businesses of all sizes.

How Can Humans Remaining Relevant in the Age of Robots?

Despite what might seem like a new challenge, humans have been dealing with technological advancement in the workplace since the dawn of the industrial revolution. As machinery became more accessible, companies looked to implement it to overcome historically labor-intensive tasks such as operating looms. Notice a similarity?

The key for companies and people is to focus on additional upskilling. People can think and feel – robots cannot. Humans are built for dealing with new information and adapting so training revolving around critical thinking is key.

What Exciting Innovation Can We All Expect from Automation?

Intelligent automation can, without question, fuel company growth and this will create more jobs that will lead to new products and services. Automation is already available and while there is the drive to improve intelligent versions of it, the automation itself is going to lead to innovation in every area where it is used.

The truth is, we don’t know what innovation is on the horizon yet. Up until now, so many people’s time has been filled with repetitive tasks that sap them of the time and motivation to be creative, critical, and problem-solving. That is all going to change as we take the next step in our working lives.

Automation is a big change for workforces everywhere. It’s going to shift us away from the old ways of working and into the future, offering businesses a fantastic opportunity to reinvest in human beings.

Interested in the future of intelligent automation? We’re ready to chat – speak to PAteam today.