Human-Centric Technology in Practice
Using AI as a tool, not a takeover, in today’s workplace
Attendees at ABA Marketplace learned of tools to help integrate artificial intelligence into their businesses in a session presented by Glen Guyton.
“I believe the future of work is human,” Guyton said to open Monday’s session, Human-centric Technology Integration: The Future of Work is Human. He followed that comment by adding that we can use AI to create a safer, more productive workplace.
A key is to learn how to integrate AI and technology in the workplace while maintaining the human element, noting that although we all use different languages, we still manage to work together.
“That’s why it matters how we integrate technology,” he said, pointing out that technology can do much to help us, as long as we make sure to integrate it properly.
He then energized the room with a singalong – complete with three volunteers from the audience to serve as backup singers – to the song “Mr. Roboto,” whose lyrics imagined incorporating space-age technology into daily work life.
Guyton explained a brief history of artificial intelligence, noting that it began in the 1950s, when computers were used to perform mathematical calculations faster than humans could.
From there, it advanced, until in the 1990s, Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov faced off with an IBM computer twice, losing the second match in 1997, the first time a computer had defeated a world chess champion.
He next asked attendees what AI could do in their industry and how they could integrate it wisely. Among the pitfalls of integration, he cited misinformation, costs (especially without staff feedback), and the need for technology to be proven in the field.
“Data without context can have you miss the mark,” he said.
He then explained pressure testing to prepare for the integration. It involves four steps:
- Strategic alignment
- Employee empowerment
- Transparency and trust
- Infrastructure.
He closed by saying that AI is a tool, not a takeover. “We’re still in the people business,” he said.
