AI and IoT teaming up to reimagine the labour market

According to a new PwC report, Artificial intelligence (AI) is laying the foundation to massively accelerate innovation throughout and beyond the coming decade. This will create a significant boost for the global economy, but it will also impact jobs, skills and human resources strategies across virtually every industry.

AI will ultimately enable the full promise of the Internet of Things (IoT), but in that process, it will also disrupt the labour force in a manner that is not appreciated by most today. The labour force disruption from AI will go beyond the age-old debate of man versus machine and require the retooling of people’s existing skillsets.

As stated in a PwC report, Leveraging the upcoming disruptions from AI and IoT, the transition to an AI-enabled world, while creating enormous opportunities for growth and expansion, will also pose many challenges. Companies in all sectors will face decisions on how to transform their workforces to leverage the new opportunities while adapting to new recruitment, training and retention realities.

“We’re facing the prospect of nearly half of today’s jobs in the US alone being automated out of existence,“ said Raman Chitkara, PwC Global Technology industry leader. “New jobs will emerge to take up some of the slack, but this will remain a fluid situation as technologies evolve from assisted intelligence to truly autonomous intelligence.“

This widespread impact underlines the fact that companies don’t have the luxury of time as they map out their plans for an AI-enabled world. Businesses must move rapidly to identify how to drive value from combining AI and IoT. Otherwise, they could be playing catch-up for years to come. When tapping into IoT, connecting products and equipment is only half the battle. As organisations accelerate their embrace of IoT, it is increasingly clear that rapidly advancing AI must play a pivotal role in their strategies.

PwC’s report urges companies to create a strategic plan for the combination of these pervasive technologies. Integrating AI into IoT networks is quickly becoming a prerequisite for success in today’s IoT-based digital ecosystems. The full effect of this disruption will not materialise overnight. Smart companies and executives are taking a proactive and far-sighted approach, moving now to start the strategic dialogue.

In addition to people-related shifts, increased intelligence in products and services will force companies to adapt their product portfolios to new realities. This will create the potential for new leaders and laggards to emerge across all industries. According to PwC’s report, rising adoption of AI will trigger five key changes in the competitive landscape. These will be higher revenues, enhanced safety, reduced losses from accidents and other causes, lower costs and enhanced customer experience.