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Office Concepts
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AI at the next desk?
Artificial intelligence joins the team.
{Hi ChatGPT! Please write an article about artificial intelligence in the modern working environment.}
It probably would have taken us less than five minutes to enter this command into perhaps the world’s
best-known generative AI tool and get an article about artificial intelligence and New Work back, ready
to print. But is that really the future of the world of work? Where is AI going to be used, or perhaps
even take over? What are the risks? And are we going to become something more akin to colleagues?
Office workers sit in a room designed in a vintage style. Colourful elements can be seen all across the room. Each worker wears a
futuristic helmet, creating a surreal contrast to the nostalgic aesthetic. They are working together on an AI project, a scenario that
blurs the boundaries between the past and the future.
AI research – the status quo.
Almost all of us see the rapid development in the
field of AI as something unfamiliar and unusual. Up
to now, digital- and machine-based support in our
working environments has been limited to assistance
systems – the actual implementation and decisionmaking
still left to us humans. Artificial intelligence
systems, on the other hand,
are becoming more and
more far-reaching, working
largely independently of us,
and generally only requiring
human intervention
as the exception, rather
than the rule. AI enables
machines to imitate human
cognitive abilities – such as
logical thinking, learning
and planning – by recognising
and analysing the
data it is fed and drawing
conclusions from it. It is
therefore not “intelligent” in a human sense, and cannot
magically acquire a human level of understanding;
the data AI works with is provided by humans,
after all. At a base level, it’s all a matter of statistics.
But where are we with AI research at the moment?
Markus Manz and Lukas Fischer from the Software
Competence Center Hagenberg know the answer.
“Research in the field of artificial intelligence is
diverse, dynamic, and revolutionising a huge range
of sectors and roles, including pattern recognition,
forecasting, selection processes, chatbots and medical
technology. Deep learning and neural networks
– both sub-domains of artificial intelligence
– are dominating here. Advances
in the neural network architectures
have revolutionised some areas of
application, such as image recognition
and language processing. As
well as exploring new opportunities,
researchers are also concentrating on
making AI systems more robust, reliable
and adaptable”, says Manz.
AI is particularly suited
to tasks that are
repeatable and require
large volumes
of data.”
AI joins the team.
What exactly does that mean for the world of work,
and where can we make best use of artificial intelligence
systems? “AI is particularly suited to tasks that
are repeatable and require large volumes of data. Making
decisions based on complex facts, and the ability
to react to changes, are also areas where AI shines”,
explains Fischer. But it’s not
suited to every task. “Creativity,
emotional intelligence
and deep interpersonal
communication are all areas
where AI is (currently)
lacking”, adds Fischer. If
artificial intelligence is used
to process complex data or
perform repetitive, routine
tasks, teamwork is essential
– just as it is between
human colleagues. “For
humans and AI to develop
a successful working
relationship, there needs to be a clear assignment of
roles, transparency, explainability, feedback loops,
continuous learning, trust, and consideration of
ethics and responsibility. If these basic principles
and proven methods are adhered to, humans and AI
can solve complex problems together”, says Manz,
confidently.
Dangers and risks.
As much as AI can support and simplify our
working lives, critics are constantly voicing their
concerns about the dangers and risks. “There are
clearly some potential dangers to be aware
of when working with AI. Risks such as
bias (stereotyping) and discrimination,
loss of jobs and social inequality,
security and data protection.
There is also a potential loss
of control, and many ethical
questions. It’s already making
our lives easier in some areas to
such an extent that we could start
to lose certain skills down the line”,
warns Manz. The fear of losing jobs
is a particularly hot topic right
now. “It’s a justified concern, and
the question needs to be asked.
History shows that technological
developments can lead to a
loss of jobs in certain
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