Looking back at the past, one can say with a clear conscience that our relationship with machines is somewhat complicated. I’m not talking about when the computer goes on strike again and we yell at it, but about how machines turn the status quo upside down. The introduction of the loom already led to riots. Steam engine and co experienced similar things. However, machines are part of our everyday life. Whether the oven in our kitchen, the smartphone in our pocket, or the car that takes us from A to B.
Machines have changed our lives and simplified them in many ways. But despite all their advantages, we are suspicious of them. We are afraid that the next generation of machines will take away our work. Automation and robotics will drive people away and artificial intelligence will completely take away our thinking. In itself another simplification of our lives, but not really worth striving for. It is much more important to correctly interpret the machines and their significance for the future. They are a tool that helps us to spend the day better, to focus on the essentials. There may be professions that are automated, but at the same time completely new occupational fields are emerging.
Companies must openly approach the future and recognize what machines can really be used for in the world of tomorrow. They must consider which tasks that require little human intervention can be automated and where there are new opportunities for current employees to grow professionally and personally.
Smart Assistants can also be a solution for human-machine collaboration. The goal of these applications is to create added value by searching through data volumes in order to show employees ways to optimize processes and increase efficiency.
Overall, when it comes to the use of machines in a corporate context, the goal is never to replace people. Rather, it is about the complementarity between man and machine. Employees must be able to create added value with the machines and see the machines as a reinforcement of human talents and not as a danger. Only then is our relationship with the machines no longer complicated, but fruitful.
