{"id":9904,"date":"2020-09-30T07:44:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T07:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/?p=9904"},"modified":"2023-10-26T12:03:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T12:03:57","slug":"how-the-human-and-machine-workforce-is-being-accelerated-by-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/future-of-work\/how-the-human-and-machine-workforce-is-being-accelerated-by-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"How The Human And Machine Workforce Is Being Accelerated By COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"9904\" class=\"elementor elementor-9904\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-19347774 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"19347774\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7225e965\" data-id=\"7225e965\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-642bffb0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"642bffb0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>Just a few months ago, I wrote an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/danielnewman\/2020\/02\/17\/the-human-and-machine-workforce-leading-digital-transformation\/#3b24579d7cf5\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"noopener\">article about human and machine partnerships<\/a>&nbsp;in the workforce. Hosts of companies, from CVS to McDonald\u2019s, were already using AI to enhance their human workforce with superhuman new efficiencies while also delivering premium customer experiences and cost savings.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f86952 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9f86952\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>Fast forward a few months and throw a global pandemic into the mix, and that machine-enhanced human workforce model has transformed from an emerging trend to business necessity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-56e5edd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"56e5edd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>One of the most obvious benefits of employing robot \u201chelpers\u201d is that they cannot get sick, and are therefore able to take over risky jobs that would otherwise endanger human workers through frequent or prolonged physical contact with others. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-82a0871 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"82a0871\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>For this reason, I believe COVID-19 may be the catalyst for an inflection point in the growth of human-machine workforce collaboration. The following is a brief overview of how this particular tech segment is likely to expand in the coming year.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-79bbd94 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"79bbd94\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Rise of Big Butler<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-65ec753 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"65ec753\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>In 2019, my colleague Olivier Blanchard and I published a book called&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Human-Machine-Reimagining-Work-Age\/dp\/1633693864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Human\/Machine<\/em><\/a>. In it, we discussed three archetypal uses of technology:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Big Brother: technologies used to surveil and collect data for possibly nefarious or exploitative purposes.<\/li><li>Big Mother: technologies used to surveil and collect data for altruistic purposes, albeit in an overbearing or intrusive way.<\/li><li>Big Butler: Technologies used to serve users, enhance their productivity, protect their privacy, and augment their abilities.<\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-859f713 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"859f713\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>Of the three, Big Butler is the safest and most transparent category of technology uses, particularly for the general public. It is also the one seeing the most growth in response to COVID-19 and the challenges it presents for organizations, workers, and everyday people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s explore a few different ways that companies are using \u2018Big Butler\u2019 technologies and discuss why they are likely here to stay:<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ec39da1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ec39da1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chatbots Find Their Footing<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fe14e92 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fe14e92\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>From commerce and banking to healthcare and the government, the use of chatbots has increased dramatically in recent months, as the technology is being employed to fill the void left by absent personnel in either understaffed or locked-down customer service centers. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35ce823 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"35ce823\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>Among other capabilities, chatbots can answer customer questions, share information, and help employees spend more time on high-value tasks. Before the pandemic broke out, it was predicted that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.itsecuritydemand.com\/insights\/tech\/chatbots\/role-of-chatbots-in-the-development-of-businesses-during-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"broken_link\">80% of companies<\/a>&nbsp;planned to invest in chatbot technology by the end of 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As chatbots have proved their value as part of the human and machine workforce, that estimate may need to be adjusted upward.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9eee1d5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9eee1d5\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-bc25317\" data-id=\"bc25317\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d81cb43 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d81cb43\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Assistive Robots Have a Role Now<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-07be9d7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"07be9d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>Investments in robotics have also surged in recent months. In some hospitals in South Korea, for instance,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-52340651\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">robots have been assisting with patient care<\/a>&nbsp;inwards where resources were spread thin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Caregivers and medical robots can perform valuable tasks like taking temperatures and distributing hand sanitizer, freeing up hospital staff to deal with more critical patients and specialized tasks.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b0140ad elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b0140ad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>Healthcare isn\u2019t the only industry turning to robots to fill gaps in manpower. Walmart is also employing robots to mop floors, for instance, and a San Diego-based robotics company has seen a 13% increase in orders for their autonomous floor-cleaning robot since the start of the year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/08\/08\/luxury-miami-high-rise-using-robots-to-zap-out-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hotels<\/a>&nbsp;are also using sanitizing robots equipped with powerful UV lights to eradicate pathogens and keep staff and guests safe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bf85cc1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bf85cc1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/10\/business\/coronavirus-workplace-automation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"broken_link\">AMP Robotics<\/a>&nbsp;has also seen an increase in orders for robots that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to sift through recycled material and dispose of garbage \u2014 a job that used to be assigned to human workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These small changes might have seemed like a pipe dream a year ago for many companies, but now these same companies are realizing the vital role robots can play.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5fd6bea elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5fd6bea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Automation Spending Will Increase<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7dcf493 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7dcf493\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/roboticsandautomationnews.com\/2020\/07\/24\/more-than-half-of-us-companies-are-planning-to-increase-automation-investments-due-to-covid-19\/34436\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent study from Honeywell<\/a>&nbsp;found that more than half of US companies are willing to increase their automation investment to survive the market changes brought on by COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve already seen that increase happens in robotic process automation spending. In Q1, UIPath gained more than&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/pandemic-propelling-new-wave-automation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">800 customers<\/a>&nbsp;by helping them deploy new models of business continuity in this unexpectedly disruptive period. Some believe RPA spend will hit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rpatoday.net\/news\/report-rpa-spend-to-reach-25-billion-by-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$25 billion by 2025<\/a>\u2014it\u2019s just $3.6 billion today.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-edfe599 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"edfe599\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Human and Machine Workforce Going Forward<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ffea86d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ffea86d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p>Many articles these days play to a common fear-mongering trope that paints robots and automation technologies as vehicles of massive job loss and widespread human replacement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it is true that some jobs will inevitably be automated and some human workers displaced, the impact of smart automation technologies on employment is unlikely to be as dire as these articles tend to predict. Instead, I believe that the vast majority of smart automation technologies will instead augment the human workforce: <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f853a9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5f853a9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>COVID-19 may be the catalyst for an inflection point in the growth of human-machine workforce collaboration. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":23859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-2.php","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[678,676,677],"ppma_author":[3224],"class_list":["post-9904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future-of-work","tag-collaboration","tag-human-workforce","tag-machine-workforce"],"authors":[{"term_id":3224,"user_id":607,"is_guest":0,"slug":"daniel-newman","display_name":"Daniel Newman","avatar_url":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/medium_7789c161-9099-44fa-ab1a-1a09d25b81d7-150x150.jpg","user_url":"https:\/\/futurumresearch.com\/%20","last_name":"Newman","first_name":"Daniel","job_title":"","description":"Daniel Newman is Founder, partner and operator of 4 companies.  He is Principal Analyst at Futurum Research, CEO at Broadsuite Media Group and President at Digital Agency V3B. He is also an author and contributor to some of the world\u2019s largest media outlets. A regular on Forbes, Entrepreneur and The Huffington Post, as well as the author of 5 Amazon Best Selling Books, he is also an Adjunct Professor of Management at North Central College."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/607"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9904"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33785,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9904\/revisions\/33785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9904"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=9904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}