AI vs. Automation Before we can prepare the future workforce for this dramatic shift, it’s important to understand the difference between artificial intelligence and automation. According to CompTIA’s research brief, Understanding Emerging Technology: Artificial Intelligence, AI is the practice of designing computer systems to make intelligent decisions based on context rather than direct input. It’s important to understand that AI systems always behave according to rules that have been programmed. Consider a computer playing chess; this may not strike many people today as AI, but it certainly fits the definition of a system that has been given rules and calculates probabilities and decisions on the fly based on the moves of the opponent. Companies like CrushBank – profiled here – are harnessing cognitive computing via the IBM Watson platform to assist helpdesk engineers in finding information quickly and efficiently. “With every interaction Watson is getting smarter and smarter,” said Evan Leonard, president of CrushBank. “It’s not like typing a search into Google.” In many cases, AI will not be a means
unto itself, but rather a critical ingredient undergirding operations inside digital organizations. CompTIA research reveals that among the 50 percent of companies that are aware of AI in place at their organization, there is recognition that the capabilities are built into existing tools and the challenge lies in utilization. On the flipside, automation has a single purpose: to let machines perform repetitive, monotonous tasks. The machine will do exactly what you have programmed it to do – nothing more and nothing less. The manufacturing industry is the industry that has to-date utilized automation the most, but paperless invoicing, job applications, cloud documents, and online marketing and sales also fall into this category. Many of the jobs expected to disappear due to automation in the next decade are industrial jobs such as metalworkers, coal miners and machine operators – particularly those without specialized skills. But the service industry is also at risk. Futurists cite telemarketing, tax preparation, paralegals and fast food workers as jobs that are likely to be replaced by automation in the near future.
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SPRING 2018 | CompTIAWorld
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