Senior business executives welcome introduction of AI 'co-workers' - report

67 per cent of senior execs believe 'workforce' will cover both intelligent machines and human colleagues in the future

Senior business executives are welcoming the emergence of robotic ‘co-workers', with many claiming that they are entirely comfortable working alongside intelligent machines.

In a survey by software company Pegasystems, which polled almost 400 senior executives across financial services, insurance, manufacturing, telecoms and media, public sector and retail, about their views on the increased role that artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in the workplace.

The vast majority of respondents - 86 per cent - said they were comfortable with the introduction of machine ‘co-workers' into the workplace, and more than two thirds (67 per cent) said that in the years to come they would expect the term ‘workforce' to cover both intelligent machines and their human colleagues.

However, senior executives believe that AI will take over many roles currently filled by people, in particular with human workers in administrative roles being replaced - and soon. The majority (70 per cent) predict this will happen within 20 years.

However, a similar proportion of respondents (69 per cent) said that the automation of previously manual processes would enable those in such jobs to be diverted into other areas of the business rather than being made redundant altogether.

One reason why senior executives may be so positive about the impact of AI is because they don't believe it will mean they will lose their own jobs as a result of the technology, or that they would have to report into AI.

This is indicated by UK managers' resistance when asked if they would like to be managed by AI themselves. More than four-out-of-five (84 per cent) of respondents said they would not be comfortable with an intelligent machine managing them.

However, nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) said they would be more comfortable with this prospect if there was complete transparency and auditability as to how the bot reached its management decisions. This suggests that businesses will face a challenge in ensuring that intelligent machines are not biased, and then proving this to their employees.

Fifty-nine per cent of UK business leaders believe that AI will enable staff to take on more varied, rewarding roles as manual processes are automated. An even higher percentage of respondents (73 per cent) agree that AI will allow workers to make more informed decisions at a more junior level.

In the customer-service field, the general consensus is that AI will play a supporting act for the foreseeable future. Only 38 per cent of respondents expect AI to replace human workers in customer-facing roles in 20 years' time, while 74 per cent believe it will be the norm for AI to be used to suggest next-best actions to customer service agents within the next five years.