Disruptive Technologies Like Artificial Intelligence Can Boost the U.S. Workforce

It’s no secret that technological advances have transformed the modern workforce across nearly all industries. However, experts are forecasting that in the coming years, a cluster of disruptive technologies is poised to change the employment picture in the United States even more dramatically. These technologies include artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and many other aspects such as autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, 5G wireless and more.

One core concept that is difficult to understand at first is AI. To clear up some of the confusion around this disruptive technology, Oliver Buechse, an adjunct instructor of business administration at the Donald J. Schneider School of Business & Economics at St. Norbert College, compares the elements of AI to the parallel concepts of intelligence in humans: diverse forms of sensory input, relating that input to existing knowledge, identifying patterns, developing insights and, finally, communicating these insights back. “If a machine keeps going through that cycle, just like the human, it learns. It gets better and better over time at doing its job,” he says. 

The upside of disruptive technologies
In practice, utilizing machines to supplement human tasks can lead to higher levels of automation, which in turn leads to productivity increases. To Buechse, such an increase could mitigate the talent and skills gap that’s plaguing certain industries. “We’re in an age right now of labor shortage, and many companies in Wisconsin are struggling to hire qualified employees,” he says. “If we can make the existing workforce 10 to 20 percent more productive, that would provide an opportunity for additional growth for these companies.”

In many industries – from health care and financial services to manufacturing – smarter technology will augment human expertise. For example, sophisticated programs that can read MRIs and compare the information to thousands of other data sets can improve the quality of patients’ diagnoses, which can have a positive effect on their treatment plan.

“MRIs are basically visualizations of billions of data points,” Buechse says. “These machines can analyze those data points with both speed and precision, and help radiologists see even the tiniest abnormalities. The predictive quality of a computer-assisted cancer screening can be dramatically higher than a human-only review.”

The connective power of AI also enhances how people interact with their surroundings, both in and out of the workplace. Buechse cited the next generation of mobile maps applications, which draws on dynamic information provided by traffic participants, such as obstacles in the road, to provide better guidance. A much wider set of advancements in processing power and connecting information are fundamental to a future generation of autonomous cars that may one day give drivers a hands-off approach to their commute. 

“The quality of the experience that we have doing anything is going to continue to evolve – and, in most cases, it’s more convenient,” he says. “It is richer and utilizing information that was previously not available.” 

Be strategic about implementing new technologies
Although the possibilities offered by AI are exciting, Buechse stresses that companies should be strategic and thoughtful when adopting these new technologies.

“The real questions for executives,” he says, “should be, ‘Why are we engaging on the topic of digital disruption? Is this a matter of survival for us? Is it a matter of competitive differentiation?’ ”

Combining new technology and a strategic mindset certainly paid dividends for Craig Dickman, the founder and chairman of Breakthrough Fuel. His Green Bay-based company found enormous success by creating a platform that could provide financial transparency, real-time data and analytical precision to both fuel providers and shippers, reducing costs and emissions while increasing trust and customer satisfaction.

“It’s absolutely critical that companies, and leadership in companies, take time to understand the disruptive technologies that have the potential to emerge in their marketplace,” Dickman says. “It’s always important to come from the business solution standpoint, or consider the problem they’re trying to solve first, and then look at the technologies that may best enable them to meet the needs.” His advice: “Never build the strategy around the technology – but enable the strategy with the technology.”