The Shift to Digital Workers
AI technology has made massive strides over the last few years. The global artificial intelligence market is currently valued at USD 196.63 billion and is expected to hit over USD 1.8 trillion by 2030, registering a whopping 37.3% CAGR.
Even more impressive is what the latest breed of artificial intelligence can do.
Take ChatGPT, for example. The large language model (LLM) took the world by storm after demonstrating the incredible power of generative AI. The applications of such capabilities are virtually limitless. And we’re already seeing people and organizations bend AI to their will and accomplish impressive feats.
AI in the Enterprise Space
Artificial intelligence is at an inflection point. It’s no longer a gimmick; AI is increasingly becoming a powerful tool to deliver value and transformative change in business.
Some companies are already using AI in their business operations, while others are actively exploring AI adoption. What’s more, many organizations are seeing the benefits of using AI systems, mainly in terms of cost savings, better operational efficiency, improved technical performance, and enhanced customer experiences.
Additionally, many enterprises are augmenting their workforce with one form of artificial intelligence or another. And the results are astounding. In some use cases, businesses are reducing processing time by 60%, answering hundreds or thousands of questions each month autonomously with a 95% accuracy rate, and cutting the time spent searching for information by 75%.
AI technology is undoubtedly a game-changer in the business world. A majority of entrepreneurs are keen to drive productivity through digital innovations. And AI is quickly proving a valuable tool for productivity-focused digital transformations. The concept of “digital worker” is at the forefront of enterprise AI initiatives.
Who or What Is a Digital Worker?
Before AI went mainstream, the term “digital worker” referred to a tech-savvy employee. Today, digital workers are essentially smart software robots (bots) programmed or trained to perform or facilitate specific tasks.
“Digital worker” is a general term describing the frontline to autonomous technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA), workflow automation, low-code/no-code development, process and task mining, machine learning, and natural language processing.
Digital labourers work hand in hand with humans to improve outcomes, work efficiency, and employee/customer experiences. The following five capabilities make digital workers useful in a business setting:
- Speed. Bots can perform tasks, especially repetitive routines, many times faster than a human.
- Availability and reliability. You can always count on a bot to work around the clock while churning out consistent and expected results.
- Accuracy. Bots eliminate human error and bias in business processes. Digital workers are objective, have no interests of their own, and do exactly as they’re told.
- Intelligence. Smart bots can be trained to handle complex tasks with variable inputs and outcomes. That’s the very essence of artificial intelligence.
- Scalability and adaptability. Digital labour can be deployed at specific scales, from user groups and departmental levels to companywide deployment.
Digital Workers in Action
Digital workers are not meant to replace humans but to augment human capabilities. They understand human intent, answer questions, and take over mundane or repetitive tasks from the human. In this arrangement, the human holds all the cards — they control what the bot can and cannot do.
Here’s an overview of the opportunities applications digital workers present to enterprises:
Task Automation
A task is a single step in a business process. For example, replying to customer queries, verifying documents, and entering data are common tasks in larger business processes.
Task automation means eliminating the need for manual labour to complete various tasks. AI is especially good at handling business tasks since they normally involve simple instructions and only a handful of inputs, if any. Plus, the expected outputs are always clearly defined.
Automation tools take over everyday business tasks, freeing employees to focus on high-value duties. Task automation saves a lot of valuable company time and puts human talent to better use.
Decision Guidance
Decision guidance or decision assistance is another handy AI application in the workplace.
Digital workers help their human counterparts make informed decisions to get the desired outcomes. They have a wealth of knowledge, which they can tap into to give unbiased actionable recommendations and feedback to human employees.
For instance, digital workers can pick up on an employee’s intentions and recommend a better path toward a set goal. Similarly, employees can explicitly ask for directions when stuck in a process. And since digital workers communicate in clear natural language, it’s like getting advice and guidance from a friend.
AI-assisted decision guidance reduces workplace errors, minimizes the time wasted looking for information, and eliminates human bias in decision-making.
Self-Service Digital Tools
Most enterprise AI systems, including IBM’s Watson, take a low-code/no-code approach to deploying digital workers.
This capability allows users without any IT or programming skills to create and run complex digital assistants. No training is required to develop digital workers, and the whole process can take minutes. It goes to show just how simple and intuitive business digitization and automation have become.
Self-service digital tools accelerate automation while keeping costs low. They also expand the scope of automation since anyone can just as easily automate a process or task.
The Future of Digital Workers
Where is the idea of digital labour headed, and what will it expand into?
Today’s AI capabilities are just the beginning of an all-out AI adoption in business. As IBM puts it, we are entering the age of AI-powered digital employees.
Digital labour is already commonplace in business. Soon, automation may take over the concept of business workflows and replace it with event management. As AI becomes smarter and more ubiquitous, digital workers will have the capability to handle business events entirely on their own. This is already happening in some industries and business models.
For instance, customer interaction events in some fintech companies are handled solely by intelligent bots. The customer can come in, converse with a bot, and request to make a transaction. The bot will respond by providing the tools or guidance to make that transaction. Once done, another bot verifies and approves the transaction almost instantaneously. And all this is done without human intervention.
But again, the goal of digital workers is not to replace humans with bots. Digital workers create opportunities to better utilize human capabilities. If anything, digital labour creates more meaningful roles and responsibilities for human workers.
The future definitely looks bright for the digital workforce.
