Ai E-Skills

Joren De Vrient, Gianni De Poorter & Marie De Borger
Collaboration
Question 1: How will artificial intelligence influence the job market, specifically the
loss and creation of jobs, in the future?
Why?
We chose this question to look at one of AI’s more social consequences on the business
world. Throughout the centuries, the world has seen multiple technological shifts that had a
massive influence on not only business but especially the job market. A market which should
interest us, because as managers we are partly responsible for recruiting, selection and
other human resources activities that are directly linked to the job market. Not to mention
that for any manager, his employees should be at the heart of the company. Knowing how
the employees of the future will look like and how artificial intelligence will influence this,
should be an interesting question to any manager.
The Answers
Despite its importance however, we quickly came to the conclusion that an answer to this
question is not necessarily easy to find. Or must I say, a conclusive answer is not easy to
find, for there are many answers out there and many of them contradict each other to the
point where one may question whether the authors observed the same data. In general
however we can see that despite the many differences, many of the predictions can be
brought under two ideas: either artificial intelligence will outcreate the jobs it destroys or it
will lead to an unprecedented loss of jobs and period of social chaos that have never been
seen before.
Positive Predictions
Let us for a moment forget the possibility of a dystopian future forever and let us focus on
the more sunny predictions of our future. And these predictions are not without merit for
there are multiple reasons to believe that despite the many fears and questions, artificial
intelligence will have many positive influences on the world.
To begin it is important to note that this is not the first time we have faced these fears. In
fact, according to Bryon Reese we have faced many of these technological shifts, and the
fears associated with it, before. 1 However, at the same time we know that during all these
shifts, such as the Industrial Revolution and the further rise of automation, they have always
proven a positive improvement in the long run. This is not to say that these shifts cannot be
terrifying, they always come with a certain loss of jobs. But more often than not, the jobs
which are lost were considered tedious and often unrewarding already and more importantly,
they were quickly outnumbered by the new jobs created by the technological shift itself. As
1
"AI Will Create Millions More Jobs Than It Will Destroy. Here's How." 1 jan.. 2019,
https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/01/ai-will-create-millions-more-jobs-than-it-will-destroy-heres-how/.
Geopend op 8 mei. 2019.
Reese states; despite the constant increase in productivity and technology, unemployment
has relatively remained the same. 2
From a more positive outlook on the future thus, it would be a logical prediction that despite
an initial large increase in lower and middle job loss. We will also see an increase in more
fulfilling jobs that require new and higher levels of education than we can even imagine
today. 3
Finally, it has to be noted that despite the fear mongering today, a lot of the things we
imagine artificial intelligence to be able to do one day will most likely not become a reality in
the near future. At this point, when speaking about AI, we are technically talking about its
narrow variant which basically allows AI to learn how to do specific, usually quite easy tasks,
which while more generally applicable than the automation we know today may not
necessarily create the same shocks in the labour market as some people expect it to do, or
at least not for the near future.
The Negative Predictions

While this positive outlook on an AI future may be appealing, it is important to question and
discuss the arguments represented in this scenario. For even the most positive of scenarios
still indicate that the road towards that utopia may not be an easy one. According to research
by the McKinsey Global Institute, artificial intelligence and related technologies may lead to
the disappearance of up to 30 percent of all jobs and displacement of the jobs of over 800
million people. 4
Many researches today do also not agree with the idea that this number will in the long term
be made up for by newly created jobs. As indicated by Calum McClelleland, many of the jobs
created by artificial intelligence will be jobs that require high levels of education and
experience in the field, jobs of an entirely different type than the jobs that will most likely be
replaced by artificial intelligence in the short run. 5 And even the argument that only tedious
jobs will disappear falls under criticism since even today, artificial intelligence has proven
itself capable of writing articles, overseeing court cases and many other jobs that would by
many practitioners be considered fulfilling and creative jobs 6.
It is because of these reasons that many studies indicate an entirely different version of the
transition towards a new market. A transition that will be characterized by massive
unemployment, poverty and the chaos and violence that comes with such a period.7
2
"AI Will Create Millions More Jobs Than It Will Destroy. Here's How." 1 jan.. 2019,
https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/01/ai-will-create-millions-more-jobs-than-it-will-destroy-heres-how/.
Geopend op 8 mei. 2019.
3
"The Impact of Artificial Intelligence - Widespread Job Losses | IoT For All."
https://www.iotforall.com/impact-of-artificial-intelligence-job-losses/. Geopend op 8 mei. 2019.
4
"What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages: Jobs lost ...."
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-
work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages. Geopend op 8 mei. 2019.
5
6
7
In Conclusion
Like many things surrounding the topic, it is hard to come to a set conclusion on influence of
artificial intelligence on the job market. There are sound arguments for both sides of the
discussion and especially considering the rapid rate at which artificial intelligence is evolving
and changing to this day, it is hard to have a clear vision of a future where this technology
has been entirely integrated into society. However, like with any technological shift before it,
we will most likely face a period of high displacement of jobs. Whether this loss of jobs will in
the end be offset by the creation of new jobs however, is unclear at this point.
Question 2: How will AI change the healthcare industry?
Why?
When it comes to healthcare, we are constantly looking for more efficient solutions. By
continually innovating and optimizing medical processes, outcomes can be improved
substantially, especially in matters of life and death. We thought it would be an interesting
subject to scrutinize, as we ourselves think that radical changes in technology will
revolutionize the medical world for the better.
The Answers
After doing thorough research, we can state that AI will indeed reshape the healthcare
industry in the near future. We have narrowed our results down to five critical fields where AI
will be used most and be most effective in the near future.
Firstly, AI can greatly aid in clinical judgement. Preventable human errors in early stages are
common causes of deaths nowadays. These medical errors, specifically wrong diagnoses or
treatments of diseases, amount to more than 250.000 patients dying in the United States
alone. An AI-system can accurately assess a patient’s’ condition objectively, a job which is
now solely carried out by doctors. By implementing artificial intelligence in these processes,
human errors and therefore, preventable deaths, can be averted. Closely related to this
case, AI can also offer hospitals brisk and highly automated image processing possibilities.
Concretely, by using AI, CT scans and MRI’s could be processed much faster without any
previously prerequisite human interference. This could be a huge efficiency gain, while also
being able to save on human resources. Another way in which artificial intelligence could
refashion hospital workfloors is by implementing it to create virtual nursing assistants.
Patients would be facilitated instantaneously, without having to wait for a nurse to come
over. Furthermore, health monitoring could also be automatically taken care of by an AI
system In this case, with fast response times. In this case, there are potential savings in the
field of human resources again, but patients could lose much a possibly wanted personal
touch when being treated in a medical facility. In addition to these two labor-intensive fields
where artificial intelligence is capable of making a difference, new technologies could fully
take on workflow and administrative tasks, again reducing the probability of errors. Lastly,
there is a huge market for AI assisted surgery. Human errors and inherent flaws often cause
surgeries to take a sharp turn, with all its consequences. The precision of a thoroughly
precise programmed artificial intelligence software could unequivocally mean a sharp decline
in errors made during surgery.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence will most certainly greatly improve the quality and efficiency of medical
procedures. This will be at the cost of human capital, as many jobs can be replaced by an
AI-system. In our opinion, however, the service to the patient and quality of medical care far
outweighs the disadvantage of the upcoming AI trends in the healthcare industry.
10
Question 3: How will AI influence customer service and what will be its new standard?
Why?
Customer is king. This has been and will always be true. That is why businesses are always
looking to improve their customer service and Artificial Intelligence is the way to do that.
There are already many companies using AI as chatbots, for example. These chatbots are
faster, more knowledgeable and more efficient. What we were wondering was how AI will
further influence customer service. And if it keeps on improving, what will be its new
standard? Will it be quality, efficiency, speed or something we still have to come up with?
The Answers
According to online source CIO (2019), AI is a must-have in customer service. By 2020, 80%
of businesses will have their customer service interaction handled by AI. Currently, the early
adopters are the ones using AI already, as fewer than a quarter of all businesses are using it
today. They are mostly centered on offloading time-consuming, repetitive tasks from agents.
These tasks include gathering basic information about the customer, handling routine
customer services, classifying cases, etc.
8
(n.d.). 10 Common Applications of Artificial Intelligence in ... - Novatio Solutions. Retrieved May 9,
2019, from https://novatiosolutions.com/10-common-applications-artificial-intelligence-healthcare/
9
(n.d.). Medical error - Wikipedia. Retrieved May 9, 2019, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_error
10
(2019, February 11). Forbes Insights: AI And Healthcare: A Giant Opportunity. Retrieved May 9,
2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/insights-intelai/2019/02/11/ai-and-healthcare-a-giant-
opportunity/
This allows the agents to focus on more complex and unique issues, where a human
perspective is definitely needed. More than half of the agents without AI would spend the
majority of their time on mundane tasks. This proves customer service without AI is far from
efficient. But AI is not here to replace these agents. It is here to relieve them from these
basic tasks and have them focus on ethical questions. Which relates to our first question
about AI and the job market. But research has proven the vast majority of customer service
agents are excited for AI and its impact on their jobs. But how will it influence customer
service exactly?
According to Forbes, these are the five main predictions on AI in customer service:
· It will automate simple tasks
· Agents will have more time
· Social media and messaging will continue proliferating complaints
· Customers will begin outsourcing service
· AI becomes a table-stakes technology
You may notice that some of these predictions have already come true. But is is applied in
such a small amount of businesses, it is still seen as a prediction as AI is still
expected to grow by 143% in customer service. AI, along with other digital technology are
part of an innovation that will redefine business models and lead the industry into an
unknown territory. As there are no further predictions about AI, it is hard to say what the new
standard will be. In my opinion, something is bound to go wrong as it cannot just keep on
improving. At one point it won’t be able to be faster, more qualitative or more efficient. But
until that point, you can expect customer service to be top notch.
Conclusion
Customer service will benefit greatly from AI. Not only the agents will be relieved of dreadful
work, but customers will be helped more efficiently and businesses will have less costs. But
this will not be at stake of the jobs in customer service, as it will just be helping them and not
fully taking away their job. As for the its new standard, there is still a big question mark. This
question will probably be answered in a few years, when the majority of companies are using
AI.
Sources
https://www.cio.com/article/3328846/the-future-of-ai-in-customer-service.html11
https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-is-revolutionizing-customer-service/12
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikhailnaumov/2018/04/23/5-predictions-on-the-future-of-
customer-service/13
11
(2018, december 17). The future of AI in Customer Service | CIO. Opgehaald op mei 9, 2019 van
https://www.cio.com/article/3328846/the-future-of-ai-in-customer-service.html
12
(2018, december 17). The future of AI in Customer Service | CIO. Opgehaald op mei 9, 2019 van
https://www.cio.com/article/3328846/the-future-of-ai-in-customer-service.html
13
(2018, april 23). 5 Predictions On The Future Of Customer Service - Forbes. Opgehaald op mei 9,
2019 van https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikhailnaumov/2018/04/23/5-predictions-on-the-future-of-
customer-service/

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Joren De Vrient, Gianni De Poorter & Marie De Borger

The Negative Predictions

Question 2: How will AI change the healthcare industry?

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