Work tools, rapid transition in the social structure of work
Work tools.
Tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Bing Chat have appeared on the heels of a three-year period in which white-collar professionals have experienced a massive dislocation in where and how they work.
To see important ads, turn off your ad blocker! Article continued below:In a world where remote work has become the new norm, technology is spearheading a revolution in the way we work. The dynamic trio of ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Bing Chat are redefining our workspaces, enabling seamless collaboration and transforming traditional office paradigms.
Let’s explore how these groundbreaking innovations are reshaping where and how we work.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, technological breakthroughs continue to reshape industries and redefine the way we work.
The overnight shift to remote work that took place during COVID-19 lockdown has matured into a durable change in the structure of work.
Among the 40% of American workers who have jobs that can be done remotely, a third now work from home full-time, while another 40% work remotely some or most of the time.
That means 30% of the American workforce now spends a significant portion of their working lives outside of a conventional workplace.
And 70% of American employers now have a hybrid workforce, where some (if not all) employees spend some (if not all) of their days working remotely.
When you consider that less than 3% of the U.S. workforce was full-time remote before the pandemic, this represents a staggeringly large and rapid transition in the social structure of work.
Work tools, transformation.
This transformation in the where of our working lives is about to collide with a transition in who is doing that work.
This collision is the new hybrid work, in which organizations are made up of a mix of on-site and remote workers, and teams are made up of a mix of human and artificial colleagues.
The next decade of working life will be shaped by the twin challenges posed by these two simultaneous transitions.
It’s absurd to talk about the automation of work or the impact of artificial intelligence on employment without reckoning with the way our assumptions about work and employment have already been transformed, recently and massively, by the embrace of remote work—as well as the backlash against it.
And it’s equally pointless to talk about how to get workers to return the the office, or how to build culture and collaboration among distributed teams, without considering how AI is already reshaping our daily working lives and employees’ fears for the future.
Let’s start by looking at four ways remote work has set the stage for AI acceptance.
Work tools, technology.
Remote work lessened our attachment to human colleagues.
While ChatGPT and other generative AI tools may be driving headlines, a recent Pew survey found that only 14% of Americans have tried ChatGPT to date.
But when that same survey zoomed in on people who’ve actually tried the platform, it found that 38% of users under 50 found ChatGPT “extremely” or “very” useful, and another 39% found it at least “somewhat” useful.
That’s an awfully positive response to a technology that we’ve been raised to fear as prospective robot overlords.
Work tools, transformation.
Remote work laid the groundwork for this acceptance. Not so long ago, human workers talked about the value of work as a place for social connection.
Indeed, one of the most frequent complaints about remote work is “a sense of isolation that often accompanies the social detachment and reduced interaction with coworkers”, as Stephens and Shana put it in Perceptions and Expectations:
“Why People Choose a Telecommuting Work Style”.
But remote employees seem to have made peace with a working life that offers fewer social gratifications: 94% of employees in remote-capable jobs want to keep working remote at least part of the time, according to a 2022 Gallup survey.
We might miss the human contact with colleagues, but we don’t miss it enough to actually put on pants and go to the office every day.
And once you’ve relinquished your hold on the interpersonal delights of working life, and do more and more of your collaborative work over text, email and document sharing, how much do you really care if your invisible colleagues have human bodies?
By diminishing the social function of work, the shift to hybrid and remote work has readied us for working with virtual AIs, rather than physical humans.
As much as we might welcome an AI email bot that takes the edge off our digital overload, that’s not where we’re likely to see the biggest wins from AI.
The real wins, as Kevin Scott imagines, will come, “when folks who are more imaginative and creative than I am are able to incorporate new AI-based cognitive tools into their work, to make things that awe and inspire, and to solve those vexing problems that face society as we race forward to an ever more complicated future.”
I would argue that those still-unimaginable gains are unlikely to appear in the five empty minutes between boardroom meetings or water cooler conversations.
The traditional workplace is such a cacophony of overheard conversations, spontaneous intrusions and back-to-back meetings that it should come as no surprise that Bailey and Kurland’s 2002 A Review of Telework Research describes “avoidance of interruptions as a primary motivation for telework.”
Sure, your dog might bark—but he doesn’t expect you to answer!
However, autonomous work and automation have a future!
Work tools, automation and efficiency.
One of the key ways in which ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Bing Chat are revolutionizing the work landscape is through automation.
These AI models are capable of performing repetitive and time-consuming tasks, allowing employees to focus on more complex and strategic activities. By delegating routine work to these models, organizations can significantly increase productivity and streamline processes.
Moreover, the automation capabilities of these technologies enable businesses to scale their operations with minimal effort. With ChatGPT, for example, customer queries can be handled efficiently, reducing response times and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Unleashing Creativity.
ChatGPT and DALL-E have a unique talent for fostering creativity. ChatGPT’s ability to generate conversational responses can inspire new insights and ideas, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking.
Similarly, DALL-E’s remarkable capability to generate custom images from textual descriptions can ignite the imaginations of designers, artists, marketers, and many other professionals.
These AI models empower individuals to unleash their creativity and innovate in ways previously unimaginable.
By leveraging these technologies, businesses can create engaging marketing campaigns, design captivating visuals, and develop groundbreaking products that resonate with their target audience.
Unlocking the creative potential of employees will undoubtedly lead to a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced, innovation-driven world.
Work tools, communication and collaboration.
Bing Chat, the AI model developed by Microsoft, is redefining the way we communicate and collaborate in the workplace.
Its advanced language understanding capabilities enable more natural and efficient interactions between humans and machines. With Bing Chat, conversations become smoother, context-aware, and personalized.
Furthermore, Bing Chat’s ability to understand and navigate vast amounts of knowledge and information makes it an invaluable tool for knowledge workers.
Employees can access relevant data and insights instantly, minimizing the time spent searching for information and facilitating collaboration across teams and departments.
Work tools, redefined workspaces.
The integration of ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Bing Chat into the workplace is transforming physical and virtual workspaces alike.
With the automation capabilities of these AI models, tedious tasks are no longer a burden, freeing employees to work remotely or focus on more meaningful work.
Additionally, the collaboration and communication features offered by Bing Chat enable seamless virtual teamwork across geographical boundaries.
Remote employees can stay connected, exchange ideas, and work together effortlessly, ensuring productivity and engagement remain high. As businesses adapt to this redefined workspace, companies may even reimagine their physical offices.
With the automation of certain activities and the optimization of remote work, organizations may choose to create more flexible environments that emphasize collaboration and creativity, rather than traditional cubicle setups.
However, it’s important to note that while AI technologies bring immense potential, there are ethical considerations and challenges to address.
Striking a balance between human expertise and AI capabilities is crucial to ensure responsible and sustainable adoption of these technologies.
All The Best!
