How AI can replace human labour and help boost productivity

Representational image. (Photo: Julien Tromeur via Unsplash)

Israeli business management guru Eliyahu Goldratt said "Automation is good, so long as you know exactly where to put the machine." AI is revolutionising how employees work by automating routine tasks, improving communication and cooperation, improving decision-making, promoting employee well-being, and streamlining hiring processes, resulting in improved productivity and better commercial outcomes.

According to the McKinsey Global Institute, AI techniques will generate between $3.5 and $5.8 trillion yearly value across nine business activities across 19 industries in the coming years. It accounts for roughly 40 per cent of the total $9.5 trillion-15.4 trillion annual impact that all analytical techniques can enable. Furthermore, Accenture claims that by 2035, AI will have doubled the growth rates of 12 developed countries and increased worker productivity by up to a third.

Can AI increase productivity?

Accenture estimates that artificial intelligence chatbots can boost productivity by 40 per cent. The actual increase in productivity will, of course, be determined by the business and the instruments it employs. Furthermore, we should expect AI capabilities to grow with time, so it's a good starting point.

The massive volumes of data it can handle allow it to improve revenue, productivity, growth, digital transformation, and efficiency, to name a few of the most critical KPIs. Aided by AI, one can: free up workers' time to focus on higher-order, strategic work by automating mundane operations.

How does AI increase productivity?

AI could increase the productivity of a business in several ways. For example, improvements in machine learning have led to cheaper and better predictive analyses, which have led to the complete automation of tasks (like self-driving cars), broader access to new relevant knowledge and data that can be combined to create new ideas and know-how, and the creation of innovations.

AI can change a company's performance by leading to new ideas and technologies and helping solve complex problems. According to Brynjolfsson et al., AI should be viewed as another type of intangible capital in the production function of firms. Investing more in AI technology may increase productivity in the same way that investing in other types of factor inputs may increase productivity. If AI technologies were used well, it would lead to more intangible assets like information, firm-specific human skills, and the creation of new business processes. As with other new technologies, the effects of AI on productivity may take some time to be seen. It is because firms may need to adopt other processes and invest in complementary assets to utilise AI's potential to increase productivity fully.

The following are some of the ways AI is increasing productivity:

Forecasting

AI and Machine Learning can test hundreds of mathematical models of production and outcome possibilities, improving analysis and findings. Moreover, it is done while adapting to new information, like new product innovations, supply chain disruptions, or unexpected demand shifts.

Predictive maintenance

Sensors can continuously monitor the state of equipment and analyse the data. The system allows machines to assess their conditions, order replacement parts, and schedule field technicians when necessary. In addition, algorithms based on big data can forecast future equipment failures, taking predictive maintenance a step further.

Automated material procurement

Everything, even the first phases of quoting and building the supply chain, will be recorded and critiqued using analytics and machine learning. According to McKinsey, Machine Learning will reduce supply chain forecasting mistakes by 50 per cent and reduce expenses associated with transportation and warehousing and supply chain administration by 5-10 per cent and 25-40 per cent, respectively.

Quality control

Industries may utilise AI to analyse component photos from their production lines, allowing them to detect violations of quality requirements in real-time. For example, an AI programme compares vehicle order data with a live image of the newly manufactured car's model identification at a factory's final inspection. If the live image and order data do not match, such as if a tag is missing, the last inspection team is notified.

Conclusion

Humans are stronger at creative problem-solving and complicated decision-making, whereas AI thrives in repetitive, data-driven activities. AI, for example, can automate tedious processes, freeing up human resources to focus on more complicated and creative jobs. Robots, for example, have demonstrably enhanced manufacturing efficiency in various ways, including greater output while reducing downtime, material waste, and product rejects.

Automated methods can do jobs more quickly and efficiently than manual processes. Automation will boost productivity, and when combined with a manual workforce, the output rate will explode. While AI is intended to replace manual labour with a more efficient and faster method of completing work, it cannot wholly replace the requirement for human involvement in the workplace.