Surely, as most techies maybe aware of, robotic process automation (RPA) or, simply, robotics, is so prevalent nowadays in all sectors of the economy of the developed countries in the world. Though there are stark disparities in approaches, these developed countries’ businesses are continuously gearing up for different methodologies that would enhance their capabilities. The fact is, according to Kearney’s (one the world’s ten largest consulting firms) Senior Partner Ettore Pastore, there shall be “no slowdown in automation, information technology (IT), digitization or artificial intelligence (AI) investments for the foreseeable future.”
Notably, two years ago, we keenly examined several start-ups and found out that most of them were all tech or tech-driven companies. Airtable planned to launch more low code features so that users may be able “to build inside the platform without writing code.” Replicant raised money for its “autonomous call center.” Its AI bot (with a conversational and “human-like” voice) was touted to resolve simple issues over the phone. While intricate issues are routed to a human agent, it was said that “the bot employs deep learning to understand the intricacies of humans’ sentences, and can fully resolve certain customer service inquiries.”
Of these start-ups, for us, job-wise, Replicant’s technology was really worth watching then and now. For one, it is not the only company that develops AI bots. This simply means, the supply of AI bots will soon inundate the BPO industry (call centers, in particular). Therefore, our call center agents’ jobs will be at risk.
Well, we can always say, human intelligence is irreplaceable. Yes, that is quite accurate because bots can’t handle complex issues. The question, however is, how many do we need for jobs that require human intelligence. Remember, it is an undeniable fact that some of our call center agents are just handling repetitive tasks or transactional work. Concerns or tasks that can be easily undertaken by AI bots.
Indeed, with the pace by which robotics and AI is developing, as a country whose economy largely depends on services, the future of jobseekers could be bleak or scary. Remember, just a we thought that robots or AIs can simply take care of menial or repetitive jobs or those done by high school graduates or college undergraduates, the highly equipped professionals could be into stiff competition too.
Markedly, The Business Research Company reported recently that the global market research industry today is worth an estimated US$87.7 billion. It is expected to reach US$102.88 in 2033 or a CAGR of 4.1% from 2024 to 2033 (base year is 2033). A huge industry, it goes back to practically a century ago, when in the 1920s, American psychologist Daniel Starch “created the world’s first market research study.” Notably, for a century, finance and accounting professionals as well as data analysts and marketing experts dominated this industry. Simply put, they were milking companies especially those manufacturing consumer goods.
Moving forward, the situation could be different as a 2018-established, Singapore-based company, Ai Palette, provides AI-powered market research with real-time predictive analytics. Direct competitors like ZoomInfo Sales, Trajaan and Brandwatch Consumer Intelligence are also deploying a “variety of technology to comb through consumer data and marketing trends.” These head-turner companies were able to arouse interest of global consumer goods manufacturing giants Nestlé, Pepsico and Kellogg.
Truly, the pace of change is remarkably fast. So that, regardless of profession or occupation we are in, the need to embrace this development is paramount. We need to realize that in the coming years, intelligent systems will take all clerical and repetitious tasks from us. We must further realize that these systems will even take over more and more decision-making tasks from us, humans.
Therefore, there is a need to exploit these powerful technologies. How? By, first, understanding it. Just like any tool we can find in our households, we can’t use it if we do not understand how it works and what it can do. We don’t have to know how it is being made. We only need to know their distinctive characteristics and how they can help solve real and pressing problems.
Admittedly, AI bots or systems are already powerful today and are capable of improving quickly. It can surely surpass us in many aspects. If there is any consolation, it is the fact that we are human beings. That we are emotional beings. That AI bots or systems can’t replicate that.
Therefore, what we essentially need to do now is to recognize the strengths and limitations of both artificial intelligence and human intelligence and find ways to work together.