How to thrive in the age of AI and Robotics

Off late every conference that I have been to, every event that I have attended I have heard someone talking about disruptions caused by AI and robotics and its impact on our workforce. Though there are many folks especially in Asia who thinks that the impact is going to be significantly less, I tend to differ based on what I have seen as a trend in the last few years. 

Let us look at China, where I happen to have lived for 4 years and have managed close to about 80,000 employees. This year, a single factory alone in China owned by Foxconn replaced close to about 60,000 employees.

For example, data from the international federation of robotics says that in 2014, robot sales increased by 29% to 229,261 units with most of them being shipped to Asia.  This trend according to their data is only going to increase with higher spend on robotics by governments and private companies alike. In his book Augmented: Life in the Smart Lane , Brett King states that By 2025, more than 1.5 billion robots will be operational and by 2030, we may be out-numbered by them.

This trend is not applicable only to blue collar workers, but also white collar jobs. Thestudy ( pic 1) done by “Global center for digital business transformation” shows how every industry is getting sucked up into the digital disruption. It is no longer a matter of how but a question of when that needs to be answered.  

We in HR have already seen how HRIS systems have already removed a significant chunk of HR operational tasks. Predictive analytics in the recruitment space along with other tools are now making it recruitments less reliable on HR or traditional recruitment specialists. Here are some quick thoughts on how we can ensure that we are not becoming obsolete in this disruption. I like to call this the “CLICK” to thrive.

• The first “C” in this case is to be curious.  You need to have a child like curiosity to be able to connect dots, ask questions, think beyond your industry and border. 
• The “L” stands for learning. It is an often-used cliché that when you stop learning you stop growing. In today’s world it does not even stand for growing, as you need to learn continuously to even stay afloat. This will help you create more runway for your career.
• The “I” stands for innovation. We are all creative in some form or other, but it is our will power, perseverance and ability to take risks that allow us to innovate from just being creative. It is important that we continuously question the status quo and iterate, innovate and disrupt.
• The second “C” in this case stands for connect, or networking. I have seen fewer and fewer jobs getting posted, new jobs being created based on the individual’s ability to create value etc. If you must be part of this new way of finding jobs you need to be networked at all levels.
• The final one or the “”K here is a bit philosophical. It stands for kindness. The reason why I state this as a very important ingredient is that this is what makes us human beings different from any AI. The feeling of empathy towards others and able to feel their joy and pain will help us stand apart from any machines.