AI as an Employee: Challenges and Opportunities in the Future Work Environment

Like with all new things, artificial intelligence (AI) evokes various thoughts and emotions. In recent months, we have witnessed the hype around ChatGPT and the rapid development of the service.

ChatGPT is an excellent assistant for various tasks. In fact, it could probably have written this very article itself. However, you just have to trust that the framework of this text was created by a human.

I asked ChatGPT how AI applications will shape the working life. It offered the following response:

1:Automation and task delegation: AI applications are capable of performing many routine tasks faster and more accurately than humans. This frees up time and resources for workers to focus on more complex and creative tasks. AI can also assist in delegating tasks more efficiently within teams.

2:Decision support: AI applications can analyze vast amounts of data and provide valuable information and recommendations for decision-making. Workers can leverage this information to make more informed and better decisions faster.

3:Improving customer service: AI applications can quickly and efficiently respond to common questions, provide recommendations, and solve problems for customers. This frees up the time of customer service workers to handle more complex and demanding customer issues, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

4:Promoting creativity: AI can provide tools and resources that help workers express their creativity and develop innovative solutions. For example, in the fields of art and design, AI can serve as a source of inspiration or an assistant in the creative process.

The most surprising aspect of these responses was the promotion of creativity, so I asked for further clarification to better understand these possibilities. The fun part about ChatGPT is that you can ask for clarifications on its responses or inquire about its capabilities, so you don’t necessarily have to think of all its potential applications yourself.

Ai applications are here to stay – consider the risks as well

I believe that AI applications are here to stay, and their utilization should definitely be considered in your workplace as well. Of course, their limitations must also be taken into account. I asked ChatGPT about the risks associated with using it as an aid in work, and it listed the following:

• Incorrect information and distorted interpretation
• Incomplete understanding of context
• Transferring decision-making responsibility to ChatGPT
• Ethical considerations such as data privacy and dependency on technology.

I fully agree with the other points, and these risks must be considered, but it seems we might be late regarding the last point. Perhaps in our daily lives, we don’t stop to think about how technology has already become an efficient tool, presumably after initial resistance and doubts.

For example, programs that perform statistical analyses used in scientific research can calculate complex computations in seconds. Computations that would take days, weeks, or even months by manual calculation. It would be odd if we didn’t utilize such programs and free up human capacity for designing necessary research and making interpretations, conclusions, and applications.

Organizations are constantly under pressure for change and development. Why wouldn’t we utilize the available tools to free up our thinking capacity for more complex subjects?

As long as they remain tools.