Realizing the full potential of AI in the Future of Work will require us to shift from a focus on automating manual tasks to adopting a “design view” that contemplates human-machine hybrid systems.
Don’t be misled by the idea that AI will replace humans. The more realistic future is one in which humans and machines will function collaboratively, with complementing strengths that counterbalance limitations. Human and machine intelligence are fundamentally complementary in nature.
Thomas Malone, Director of MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence and advisor to Starling, suggests that these “Supermind-centered design principals” should guide our approach to AI:
Rather than focusing primarily on the ability of computer technologies to automate tasks, we would do well to explore their abilities to augment human capabilities;
Rather than adopt a purely technological view of deploying technologies, we must cultivate a broader view of designing hybrid systems of human-computer collaboration; and
Rather than approach AI only as a technology for reducing costs, we should consider its potential for achieving the mutually reinforcing goals of creating more value, for customers and investors, and work that provides more meaning for employees.
If you’d like to learn more about this topic, you can read this article by Tom Malone that appeared in our Compendium.
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