COVID-19 has shifted most organizations in the developed world to predominantly virtual work.
The question is what happens from here.
Of course there many unknowns around how long it takes to resume work practices similar to 2019 and before, the timeline for a potential vaccine or other measures that may support that return, or indeed whether we will ever see the complete easing of today’s social distancing.
Many organizations are explicitly or implicitly waiting for a return to ‘normal’ workplaces, in the meantime doing the best they can while most of their employees are forced to work from home.
However an increasing number of organizations are clearly stating that they expect never to return to work as it was before.
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Responsible AI: selecting degrees of transparency and highlighting potential for bias
By Ross DawsonAs the power of AI soars, the ethics of how we use AI is becoming an increasingly pressing issue, which as a futurist I speak about frequently.
In working with the intelligent automation company Pega I have learned about some of their extremely interesting approaches to ‘Responsible AI’.
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Looking forward to 2100 on offices, robotics, education, social media, urbanization…
By Ross DawsonA recent article in ICON magazine looks at what to expect as we think far into the future, potentially the end of this century, based primarily on an interview with me.
The full article is well worth a read. Below are some excerpts from my quotes in the piece.
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How can large organizations build empathy at scale?
By Ross DawsonThis year in particular has been one in which many people have needed empathy in trying circumstances.
Yet how can large organizations with thousands or even millions of customers express real empathy?
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An evolutionary leap for life sciences: when AI transcends human crowds
By Ross DawsonThe announcement that Google’s DeepMind has won the Critical Assessment of protein Structure Prediction challenge is important in a number of ways.
Being able to predict a protein’s shape from its amino acid sequence could massively accelerate the development of new medicines. Speaking to Nature:
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Weaving together microjourneys to create compelling customer service journeys
By Ross DawsonThe phrase “customer journey” has become part of everyday business vernacular, bringing a customer-centered and design thinking perspective to the mainstream.
Customer engagement and intelligent automation company Pega uses the phrase “microjourney” to focus on the elements that comprise the customer journey. This is useful both in being able to design a better experience for customers, but also in optimizing each of those elements so they can be woven together effectively across situations existing and new.
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Five important charts to understand the future of work and society
By Ross DawsonMIT’s Taskforce on the Work of the Future provides some of the most well-researched insights we have on the future landscape of work.
It has just released two very interesting reports: The Work of the Future: Shaping Technology and Institutions and The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines.
The latter report in particular provides deep insights and updated research on key factors driving the future landscape of work, culminating in a series of policy recommendations that should be required reading for politicians and government leaders.
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The shift from reactive to proactive to preemptive customer service
By Ross DawsonIn healthcare the biggest – and very long overdue – shift is from reactive to proactive healthcare: instead of fixing people when they get sick, helping to keep them healthy.
This idea of shifting from reactive to proactive is also being applied to customer service by the very interesting enterprise technology vendor Pega , which pushes it further to frame “preemptive” customer service, avoiding any need for customers to seek assistance.
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Why we must have faith in humanity, now more than ever
By Ross DawsonOne of the deepest questions we can ask is:
Are humans fundamentally good or bad?
Of course the answer is neither and both.
Yet day by day how we feel about this question fluctuates with our moods and what we observe in the world.
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The shift to ‘virtual first’ organizations will undoubtedly continue
By Ross DawsonCOVID-19 has shifted most organizations in the developed world to predominantly virtual work.
The question is what happens from here.
Of course there many unknowns around how long it takes to resume work practices similar to 2019 and before, the timeline for a potential vaccine or other measures that may support that return, or indeed whether we will ever see the complete easing of today’s social distancing.
Many organizations are explicitly or implicitly waiting for a return to ‘normal’ workplaces, in the meantime doing the best they can while most of their employees are forced to work from home.
However an increasing number of organizations are clearly stating that they expect never to return to work as it was before.
Read more →
Designing future organizations based on ethical foundations for AI
By Ross DawsonI recently spoke at Tech: The New Era conference, which was part of London Tech Week, in a conversation with Kriti Sharma on the ethics of AI.
I had previously interviewed Kriti as part of the OFX/BBC Storyworks Where the world is moving podcast series I hosted in a very interesting episode on AI ethics, so I was delighted to have the chance for another fascinating conversation with her.
My core message was that we have critical decisions to make in how we use and implement AI. We must start by thinking through the ethical issues and potential implications of AI, and from that designing the future organizations that will in turn shape all of society and the role of humans in creating value.
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