The influence of AI on the working world

Artificial intelligence is currently one of the most important megatrends and will undoubtedly lead to a profound change in the economy and society. The technology will have a major impact on the world of work in particular. As with all disruptive innovations, jobs will be eliminated here on the one hand, but new, more highly qualified jobs will be created on the other. If you are an IT expert specializing in this area, you have a brilliant career ahead of you.

Promising industry of the future
"AI can bring an enormous growth spurt to the German economy", says Andreas Wartenberg, Managing Director of Hager Unternehmensberatung. "Many work processes are made more efficient. Since machines and programs will in future relieve not only tape workers but also knowledge workers of many routine tasks, they can concentrate more on tasks with a higher added value," says Wartenberg.

What is artificial intelligence?
But what exactly is behind this buzzword? Artificial intelligence basically makes self-learning IT systems or machines possible. Not only can they evaluate large amounts of data from a wide variety of sources at high speed, they can also draw their own conclusions. The idea behind it is that computers, like humans, store knowledge from experience and then – based on algorithms – find independent solutions. And this also for new, previously unknown problems. This enables KI not only to relieve employees of routine tasks, but also to further automate entire business or production processes.

AI is already being used in a wide variety of applications: for example, in digital language assistants, in medical diagnostics, in routine processes in IT operations, in autonomous vehicles, in robotics or even in supporting management decisions. KI already helps to answer frequent customer inquiries automatically via chatbot. Or predict the future development of sales and automatically create suitable offers for customers. Potential customer credit risks can also be better identified, and procurement processes optimized. AI is also increasingly helping doctors to make more precise diagnoses and better therapy decisions. These are just a few examples. In the future, the range of services will be significantly expanded.

Effects on the world of work
An international study by Capgemini counteracts the fear that AI will lead to massive job cuts in the short term. According to this study, three quarters of the companies surveyed have so far been able to increase their sales by ten percent through the introduction of AI. And four out of five companies have even created new jobs – for highly qualified specialists and managers.

"Even if algorithms can take over the communication, the calculation and the thinking, there will also be limits here. Highly qualified professions such as engineers, architects or judges will continue to exist. Even tasks whose dexterity robots do not reach so quickly will remain with employees for the foreseeable future," explains Andreas Wartenberg. "Machines cannot (yet) replace a person’s emotional intelligence. Therefore professions, which require social authority or creativity or represent a high-quality personal service, cannot be substituted easily by KI, so the managing director of the Hager management consultation.

AI specialists urgently needed
More and more companies are looking for AI specialists to equip themselves for the future. "Many companies are currently creating numerous positions that are important for digitization. From lead architects to cyber security managers to proven digitization professionals (e.g. CDOs)," states personnel consultant Andreas Wartenberg.

However, with the increasing importance of AI, the demands placed on specialists and managers are also increasing in general. More than in the past, they must now have in-depth process knowledge in addition to their specialist technical know-how, a high level of readiness for ongoing further training and a good understanding of IT, security and legal issues. In principle, an affinity to new topics is becoming increasingly important for managers.

"In addition, managers must become more open-minded about relying on the data, evaluations and recommendations generated by AI and not just on their own experience," says Wartenberg. After all, the harmonious interaction of machine and human intelligence will become increasingly important in the future.

Shortage of skilled workers in the IT sector
However, due to the shortage of skilled workers in Germany, it is not easy for companies to attract AI specialists. Employers have to come up with a lot to be attractive for the best candidates. It is correspondingly difficult for small and medium-sized companies to be noticed by the talents at all. "This is where experienced executive search consultants can help to target talent. In the role of a neutral ‚mediator‘, headhunters can also point out the attractiveness of SMEs and thus increase opportunities," advises Andreas Wartenberg.

Summary
Artificial intelligence will lead to a profound change in economy and society. In order to take advantage of the opportunities offered by this future technology for their own growth, companies are dependent on AI specialists. However, the shortage of skilled workers makes it difficult to recruit them on the labour market. The use of experienced and specialized personnel consultants can be advisable here. Proven AI experts have the best chances of a steep career.

Authors:
Andreas Wartenberg has been an executive search consultant for nearly 25 years, filling management positions in the technology sector and other industries. Mr. Wartenberg set up and led national and international teams before joining Hager Unternehmensberatung as a Managing Director in 2008. He is a leading topic expert in the DACH region in regards to all aspects of technology management and digitalization within all type of corporations. Since early 2015 the Hager Unternehmensberatung has become a partner of Horton International. Andreas Wartenberg is currently Chairman of the Board at Horton Group International.