Technology insight
Ally Johns, business analyst in product design at MHR, reviews AI developments and wonders how these fit into the world of payroll and pensions Less tech, more talk
W e have as a society become infatuated with technological advancements, whether it be the wi-fi kettle we received for Christmas that took eleven hours to set up, the pages of forms that need completing to buy products online or the screens of your payroll system you use to automate the most complex of payroll calculation. However, really, in 2017 should we have to frustrate ourselves with cumbersome training, familiarising ourselves with various interfaces and tools or would it be crazy, if I could just ask someone to complete required tasks for me? A personal assistant or, perhaps, artificial intelligence (AI) which has the ability by simple conversation to simplify the most complex of interfaces whilst providing a smart solution? Conversational interfaces or bots take the pain away from outdated user interfaces. Previously technology has perhaps taken precedence over conversations; well, with more than three million people using amazon’s Alexa and over 30,000 bots available on Facebook messenger, it is evident that consumers are more than happy to throw out the apps and webpages and get back to talking. Not only have we seen the uprising of applications using conversational interfaces, 2016 also saw messaging applications usage overtake usage of social media. So, isn’t it time we listen to what people want and bring back conversations? Knowing that consumers are already re-evaluating the way in which they interact with technology, it’s a prime time for organisations to evaluate how customers, both internal and external, interact with them. A recent study by Accenture shows 79% of organisations agreed that AI would help to accelerate adoption of technology within an organisation. This will allow organisations to efficiently improve both engagement
of employees and the experience that customers receive by implementing invisible technologies that provide always on, instant gratification solutions to be consumed. Without utilising an AI solution, we expect customers either to manually query systems or people, leading to inconsistent and non-uniformed responses. Conversational technology will not only give a learnt consistent response but can also utilise learning mechanisms in order to personalise the interaction. This alone gives organisations a huge amount of autonomy to send the desired messaging and creating a voice to deliver your brand. Though we can see that AI has the potential to radically improve the way in which we interact with organisations, my bigger interest is in what can it do for me? Can it take on the personal assistant role? I certainly believe the answer to this is yes; AI and conversational technologies are already showing to be curators, coaches and orchestrators within day-to-day life. Both Spotify and Amazon are serving up suggestions based upon learning from previous actions without the user having to make a request. Spotify suggests new music based on what a user has previously listened to, Amazon suggests products to purchase determined by previously viewed and bought items; these are now expected behaviours of such apps. Whilst considering AI within coaching, my out the apps and webpages and get back to talking ...consumers are more than happy to throw
mind was racing with all the possibilities of genuinely being able to help people. For me it’s the really exciting part of the concept. Learning user’s preferences and using data in order to suggest the optimal route for the user. There’s already a plethora of bots out there that do this; from recruitment such as TagOpp that is aimed to help IT graduates find roles within the industry, to personal training and life coaching giving non-biased advice and suggestions based on real data enabling users to make better decisions in their day-to-day lives. As previously mentioned, over three million people are using Alexa to orchestrate various tasks on their behalf, from becoming their own personal DJ (disc jockey) and playing music at command to booking taxis and ordering takeaways. Alternatively, both the generic functionality of Facebook messenger and the bots now accessible within are all orchestrating actions from simple conversation. If you hadn’t already noticed, try suggesting to meet a friend within a messenger conversation: it will offer to create an event for this meeting for you. Facebook messenger is really only taking small steps in the orchestration of data. If we compare this to a messenger created in China – WeChat – that works much like Alexa and Google home, and which will invisibly enable users to order food from restaurant menus, buy products and services, transfer money and rate services all via conversational technology and not leaving the one app. We can see that AI and conversational technology certainly has its place throughout the consumer world, and the expectation of users’ interaction is changing. Conversing with companies over interacting with user interfaces is becoming the norm. Does this fit into the world of payroll and pensions, and, if so, where? n
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 29 | April 2017
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