AI will transform work but will it be an augmentor or a destroyer?

Susanne Jeffery, HR transformation and technology director at PwC Ireland, believes generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has the potential to make life better for employees by automating repetitive tasks and freeing up time for more meaningful work. Along with 69 per cent of CEOs in the State, she expects Gen AI to increase workplace efficiency.

“Gen AI can also enhance creativity and innovation by providing tools for content creation and design,” says Jeffrey. “Ultimately the impact of GenAI on employees will depend on how it is implemented and integrated into the workplace, along with the measures taken to address associated challenges.

“AI can also have financial benefits for employees; a 2024 PwC report indicated up to a 25 per cent wage premium for workers with specialist AI skills.”

Sara Riso, research manager at EU agency for improving living and working conditions Eurofound, believes employers are “just testing the waters” with regard to the role of GenAI in the workplace.

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“I think companies realise that behind all these large-language models there are a lot of inaccuracies, so they are taking a cautious stance when it comes to investments,” she says. “Also, a lot of the AI applications are relatively simple, with bots automating routine tasks with low levels of decision making.”

Riso believes AI is in a transition phase, where companies are experimenting with AI tools, including in areas such as journalism and graphic design. Tools such as ChatGPT are having an impact on general copywriting and freelance services. She sees the number of jobs in these fields reducing, as are the associated fees.

“Similar to the trajectory in, say, agriculture or manufacturing, some jobs will disappear,” she says. “But new jobs will appear and people will transition to the new jobs.”

Emmanuel Adeleke, consulting partner and GenAI lead, Deloitte Ireland, does not think AI is a new phenomenon but rather that the launch of ChatGPT has popularised access.

“The release of GPT represented a significant shift in the consumption of AI, allowing individual access to the technology directly,” he says. “ChatGPT was a great enabler for supercharging the discourse of AI, as generative AI has the potential to profoundly disrupt the way we work, enabling the workforce to delegate mundane tasks to generative AI and focus instead on tasks that require more cognitive load.”

However, the success of generative AI will hinge on a renewed focus on humans, Adeleke suggests.

“So far in 2024, while these themes remain the same, we’re seeing many more organisations attempting to move from isolated testing and strategy to deploying generative AI solutions at scale into frontline systems,” he says. “Despite the hype, it’s not meant to replace humans but to better unlock human potential – just as technology was always meant to do.”

Adeleke says AI is likely to pose unforeseen questions for society, adding: “The AI for Good strategy reinforces the view that we should take a people-centred, ethical approach to AI development, adoption, and use.”

Dragos Adascalitei, a research officer at Eurofound, points out that AI does repetitive, simple tasks very well; however, when it comes to the more analytical stuff, such as doing a literature review, for example, it can be very hit and miss.

“Which means the kind of productivity gains promised by using AI is tempered by the fact a human being will typically need to verify the data for accuracy,” he says. “AI is not going to replace people but to augment them. For example, I use AI to produce programming scripts but I still need to check the code is reliable.”

The danger of producing unreliable results means people will arrive at unreliable conclusions, says Adascalitei.

“There are volumes of words written every day about how AI can impact the labour market but, realistically, no one knows what the labour markets are going to look like in 10 or even in five years’ time,” he adds.

“What we know from previous industrial and technological revolutions is that actually they generated employment rather than leading to job losses. Some occupations will always be more affected by others but on aggregate it’s not necessarily that AI is going to destroy jobs. On the contrary, the changes may generate new profiles, new job profiles, new task profiles – and they’re going to lead to kind of qualitative changes within occupations.

“So, for example, the job of a programmer is going to be different, the job of a journalist is going to be different and the job of an editor is going to be different because instead of just really doing everything by hand, you’re going to have an AI system that is going to help you in carrying your tasks faster. That’s likely to impact on wages as well.”

Shmulik Barel, vice-president of product engineering at Workhuman, is optimistic about the benefits AI can bring to the workplace.

“At Workhuman, we have set up a number of initiatives to foster AI within the company. For example, in our customer support group we use an AI solution that allows customer service to be summarised, reducing lead time when different people work with the same issue,” he says.

“We also see application for tasks that are important but not necessarily exciting, such as documenting code. No one wants to do this work but it is critical, especially when new engineers join the team and need to get up to speed quickly.”

Barel is less concerned about the accuracy of results delivered by AI, viewing it similarly to the way that, he suggests, people do not automatically believe internet search-engine results.

“There will always be a need for checking the data,” he says.

Barel uses the term “hybrid intelligence”, where humans work alongside computers. He also believes that this will soon have impact on job descriptions.

“Humans take a long time read to reports and digest data. AI can do it much faster but we will still need to fact check at the end of the day and that takes human intervention,” he says.

The most important thing in all of this, according to Barel, is for people to stay up to date with technology and for employers to educate their staff.

“AI will not be needed everywhere in an organisation and that will be part of the problem – sorting out where it is needed,” he says. “There is also an issue with the actual developers of the AI who will also be responsible for education. The last thing we need is AI to act like social networks, without boundaries. It’s in hindsight we see many of the problems of social – we need to be ahead of AI.”

Gary Notley, human capital partner with Deloitte Ireland, also picks up on the topic of AI enhancing human capabilities, while supporting people.

“AI as a tool can handle data-heavy tasks or repetitive processes, while human skills like creativity, empathy and complex problem-solving remain irreplaceable,” he says. “The goal is to create a future where humans and AI collaborate and co-create. Involving employees in AI integration demystifies it, dispels fears, and highlights its potential to augment human capabilities.

“Change can be difficult and challenging. Therefore, supporting employees through this transition is essential for realising the long-term benefits of generative AI.

“Targeted communications and engagement strategies move stakeholders from a position of limited awareness and understanding to excitement for the technology, and ultimately knowledge of how to use the tools, which can be reinforced over time. Addressing fears and uncertainties is crucial; work should improve, not worsen.”

Dave Feenan, network director at Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet, focuses on the critical role of education to ensure that AI “augments rather than destroys” the future of work.

“In short, as AI evolves, so must our skills and, therefore, a higher focus on continuous learning and upskilling,” he says.

“While AI’s integration into the workplace is inevitable and will be transformative, success lies with a strategy that focuses on robust education and skills development to ensure it augments, rather than displaces, the future of work.

“Knowledge is crucial as it will educate and inform, enabling better decisions and advising business strategies into the future. By working together with industry experts, third-level educational institutions and Government bodies, we can build a workforce that is not only resilient but also primed to leverage AI effectively and drive innovation in an AI-powered world.”