We explore different aspects of cognitive diversity and its effect on the success of group deliberation. To evaluate this, we use 500 dialogues from small, online groups discussing the Wason Card Selection task - the DeliData corpus. Leveraging the corpus, we perform quantitative analysis evaluating three different measures of cognitive diversity. First, we analyse the effect of group size as a proxy measure for diversity. Second, we evaluate the effect of the size of the initial idea pool. Finally, we look into the content of the discussion by analysing discussed solutions, discussion patterns, and how conversational probing can improve those characteristics. Despite the reputation of groups for compounding bias, we show that small groups can, through dialogue, overcome intuitive biases and improve individual decision-making. Across a large sample and different operationalisations, we consistently find that greater cognitive diversity is associated with more successful group deliberation. Code and data used for the analysis are available in the anonymised repository: https://anonymous.4open.science/ r/cogsci24-FD6D

As of March 17th, 2020, more than 188,297 people have been infected with COVID-19. How can technology aid in curtailing the spread of infectious diseases that have the potential to create panic and infirm thousands of people? The Internet of Things (IoT), a network of interconnected systems and advances in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and connectivity, can help by providing an early warning system to curb the spread of infectious diseases. China's efforts to control the coronavirus have meant many residents stayed at home and factories just shut down. That had an unintended effect: less air pollution.

It can also reflect human flaws and inconsistencies, including 180 known types of bias. Biased AI is everywhere, and like humans, it can discriminate against gender, race, age, disability and ideology. AI bias has enormous potential to negatively affect women, minorities, the disabled, the elderly and other groups. Computer vision has more issues with false-positive facial identification for women and people of color, according to research by MIT and Stanford University. A recent ACLU experiment discovered that nearly 17 percent of professional athlete photos were falsely matched to mugshots in an arrest database.

Knowledge is the most important commodity we possess. The ability to harness ideas to improve ourselves has always been the competitive advantage of our species. One of the most effective ways to cultivate ideas -- especially in addressing business challenges such as those that are AI- or data-driven in nature -- is to build teams around cognitive diversity. Diverse teams are effective because they draw on a unique set of backgrounds and experiences to look at problems from multiple angles. Imagine if you could take your best employee and create as many clones as you could ever desire.

AI and automation are constantly changing our world, including the way we work. Take, for example, NASA's 1962 spaceflight. Back then, Katherine Johnson -- the central figure in the book and movie "Hidden Figures" -- famously checked the math of NASA's computer manually to put a spaceflight into orbit for the first time. Within just a few short years, though, that reliance on human intelligence has shifted to calculators and computers. Today, the progression of automation seems almost scary due to the rapidly increasing sophistication of AI.

The question in the AI market is no longer about whether AI can affect the workplace and the human workforce. Instead, the raging curiosity in the market revolves around a series of interlinked questions: When will the AI Wave happen? Will robots replace the whole human workforce? What would the end result look like? Well, AI is happening right now in front of our eyes.

At Siemens ConneCTs 2018 I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Norbert Gaus, Head of R&D in Digitalization and Automation, and Barbara Humpton, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens USA and one of the topics of conversation that emerged was a collision of different insights and aspects surrounding the future of work. A couple of topics that come up quite frequently in relation to the future of work is whether or not the younger generations have the same work ethic as previous generations (Baby Boomers and Greatest Generation) and whether or innovation requires organizations to become more open. Dr. Nortbert Gaus doesn't think the work ethic of the new generation is lower than ours, but their expectations of work are different (the environment). Changing expectations will force employers to re-think how they engage with their workforce, build their work spaces, and structure teams, time schedules and compensation plans. "The ideal characteristics for future employees are curiosity and initiative."

There is no shortage of debate when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. Some believe the technology will cost them their jobs, while others worry about security. A growing body of research, however, points to the narrative that intelligence will only diversify human thinking, not replace it. A recent study by Tata Communications, which was based on the inputs of 120 business leaders from across the world, says nine in 10 respondents agree that cognitive diversity is important for management and 93% believe AI will enhance decision making. What's more, three in four business leaders expect AI to produce new positions for their workers.

Employers are increasingly using recruitment management systems as a way to recognize unconscious bias and improve hiring diversity. One of the goals is to hire based on cognitive diversity, which encompasses people with different perspectives and problem-solving abilities. The approach is different from diversifying workforces based on gender, ethnic background and age and might include hiring based on neurodiversity or interviewing those who are on the autism spectrum. Hiring for cognitive diversity is a way to avoid knee-jerk types of hiring practices, such as favoring graduates of certain universities. It can also mean using the software to root out certain words in help wanted ads that might, for example, discourage women from applying.

A panel at the launch of Roffey Park's Management Agenda 2018 report discussed the challenge of managing remote workers and the importance of cognitive diversity Organisations must act now to embrace technology and shape it in a way that works for them, agreed a panel speaking at the launch of this year's Management Agenda report from Roffey Park. A key focus of this year's report was AI and the fourth industrial revolution. Surveying nearly 700 managers, it found that only 17% believe their organisation has the leadership and people skills to take advantage of AI, and only 38% that their organisation is investing in reskilling employees to keep pace with technology. It also found that 21% of managers don't think their organisation has the technical skills and expertise to take advantage of AI. Speaking on the panel, Siân Harrington, founder of The People Space and former publisher of HR magazine, commented that she was actually surprised that the 38% figure was so high.