The below is a summary of my article on the augmented workforce. The world of work is changing rapidly, and the emerging trend of the augmented workforce is at the forefront of this transformation. This new approach integrates advanced technologies such as AI and automation with human labour, creating a more efficient and effective workforce. While there are concerns about the potential displacement of human workers, most experts agree that the benefits of the augmented workforce far outweigh the risks. AI technology can potentially increase productivity, efficiency, and creativity in the workforce, with the ability to automate routine tasks and processes, free up time for workers to focus on complex and creative work, and help address skill shortages.

Artificial Intelligence doesn't need to be a grim topic to discuss. Replete with possibilities to become the most transformative tool in the years to come, AI is fast shaping into an assistive resource instead of staying on course as an overwhelming tech. Clubbed with Machine Learning algorithms and principles of Data Mining, AI is rapidly moving towards a summit way too steep for human contemplation. But then, AI and Machine Learning discussions need not be as complex as the tech itself. AI, in its entirety, is expected to be an industry and business commonplace in the next few months to come, and therefore, it is important to check out some era-altering current trends in AI that might gain a lot of traction moving into 2022.

Artificial Intelligence doesn't need to be a grim topic to discuss. Replete with possibilities to become the most transformative tool in the years to come, AI is fast shaping into an assistive resource instead of staying on course as an overwhelming tech. Clubbed with Machine Learning algorithms and principles of Data Mining, AI is rapidly moving towards a summit way too steep for human contemplation. But then, AI and Machine Learning discussions need not be as complex as the tech itself. AI, in its entirety, is expected to be an industry and business commonplace in the next few months to come, and therefore, it is important to check out some era-altering current trends in AI that might gain a lot of traction moving into 2022. Tech trends are perceptive stepping stones that give us a sneak peek into the future.

Transacting has changed dramatically due to the global pandemic. E-commerce, cloud computing and enhanced cybersecurity measures are all part of the global trend assessment for data analysis. Businesses have always had to consider how to manage risk and keep costs low. Any company that wants to be competitive must have access to machine learning technology that can effectively analyze data. The industry's top data analysis trends for 2022 should give our creators an idea of where it is headed.

As a reader of this column, you probably know I am releasing a new book, The Augmented Workforce: How AR, AI, and 5G Will Impact Every Dollar You Make on May 25 with my co-author, John Buzzell. For the next four weeks, I'll be sharing excerpts from the book as columns to help brands, businesses and professionals prepare and understand what the era of the augmented workforce holds, how to prepare and how to leverage the changes to stay relevant in the future. Dearly disrupted we are gathered here to talk about the future spaces we will inhabit. We are living through a period of rapid change, possibly beyond society's capacity to keep up. Various emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and 5G, along with dozens of devices that work together (Internet of Things), have helped to create an environment in which new inventions, possibilities, and learning curves change weekly. According to Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, authors of The Future Is Faster Than You Think, "Moore's Law is the reason the smartphone in your pocket is a thousand times smaller, a thousand times cheaper, and a million times more powerful than a supercomputer from the 1970s. In 2023 the average thousand-dollar laptop will have the same computing power as a human brain (roughly 1016 cycles per second). Twenty-five years after that, that same average laptop will have the power of all the human brains currently on Earth."

The development and advancements of technology are rapidly changing the nature of work and the workforce. The relentless growing connectivity and cognitive technologies are making it possible where humans and machines can work side-by-side at a shared workplace, enhancing the abilities of the human workforce. Today, as the workplaces are evolving to a flexible workforce driven by technology advances, software, automation, IoT, robotics, and artificial intelligence, among others, almost every job in every discipline is being revived. With the introduction of new technology, companies now have opportunities to power the workplace and augment their workforce to perform tasks effortlessly. The increasing proliferation of intelligent automation into the workplace is taking away a lot of tedious, repetitive works that used to overwhelm workflow, freeing up employees to focus on more valuable tasks.

The Covid-19 pandemic has clearly placed an extraordinary amount of pressure on businesses in practically every sector. Companies have had to pivot and adjust to a new way of working, with a rapid switch to remote teams and virtual workforces - many in a matter of days. The reality is, as we emerge from the current situation, it is inevitable that there will be a lasting impact from the changes that have had to be made. The landscape for business has been altered for good. We have already seen many businesses forced to cease all discretionary spending, pause recruitment plans indefinitely, cut marketing spend while still demonstrating a strong return on investment, and yet still make decisions on how best to drive and generate pipeline.

Paris, June 27, 2019 – Capgemini, today announced that its Cash Collections Assistant powered by Artificial Intelligence[1] has been recognized as the "best virtual agent solution" by AI Breakthrough, part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership. Capgemini's Cash Collections Assistant is a human-like voice collector delivering a seamless humanized virtual agent experience. It is designed to perform courtesy or overdue calls to debt owners in 24 languages (including less common languages such as Dutch and Finnish), meeting the demand for a fast, reliable, and efficient service. It also reduces the amount of repetitive collections tasks, enabling augmented workforce with human collectors focusing on more complex work and handling process exceptions. Capgemini understands the need and importance of reliable customer service and humanized interaction experience in the digitally enabled Business Services based on our Perform AI value proposition.

By combining human-centric machine learning and intelligent context generation, contextere is developing an intelligent personal agent capable of delivering actionable insights at the point of service. Its industrial software weaves together the power of AI and IoT data to give blue collar workers the right information, at the right time, on the right device. Here, Gabe Batstone, contextere CEO shares a vision of the future that empowers workers through automation. In recent years, industrial enterprises have seen a rise in emerging technologies and digital tools that offer considerable improvements in the workplace. It's clear that modernizing in this context is an uphill battle for the blue-collar workforce.

With increased focus on robotic process automation (RPA) to automate mundane and repetitive tasks, the next evolution in cognitive automation is now underway. Chief Information Officers (CIO) are evaluating and deploying second generation Cognitive RPA robots with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities such as sentiment analysis, natural language and machine learning to enhance the decision-making process and to more cognitively orient tasks traditionally reserved for humans. While traditional RPA has been around for several years, it gained extensive popularity around 2015. RPA addresses the need to provide a comprehensive business solution in order to address operational questions in a holistic manner. It utilizes existing disparate and isolated legacy systems by emulating the same daily manual activities that a human operator takes to link functionality within systems together.