Robotic process automation: the latest promise to liberate back offices

So, we have robot process automation (RPA) and a bunch of new jobs arising around it -- what is this oddly named thing? Leslie Willcocks, professor of technology, work, and globalization at the London School of Economics' department of management, was recently interviewed by McKinsey on what robot process automation (RPA) is, and what it will mean for administrative and back-office tasks. Not to worry about RPA taking away jobs -- it is meant to elevate roles -- and even may be a stress-reduction strategy, Willcocks explains. "The average knowledge worker employed on a back-office process has a lot of repetitive, routine tasks that are dreary and uninteresting," says Willcocks. "RPA is a type of software that mimics the activity of a human being in carrying out a task within a process. It can do repetitive stuff more quickly, accurately, and tirelessly than humans, freeing them to do other tasks requiring human strengths such as emotional intelligence, reasoning, judgment, and interaction with the customer."