Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most popular buzzwords in the IT industry today. It's boosted the confidence of tech pundits but also instilled fear in the hearts of the salaried professionals and small business owners. Some businesses believe that AI technology is coming after their jobs and companies. Whether you are in favor of the widespread implementation of AI or not, the technology is here to say. It's matured considerably over the past few years, and new-age solutions are already being devised and implemented across various industries.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown into the most well-known buzzword in the IT sector now. It has boosted the confidence of technology pundits but also instilled fear in the hearts of those salaried professionals and small business owners. Some companies think that AI technologies are arriving following their jobs and businesses. But what is the floor reality, actually? Whether you're in favor of this widespread implementation of AI or not, the tech is here to say.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive technologies, and robotics to automate and augment work is on the rise, prompting the redesign of jobs in a growing number of domains. The jobs of today are more machine-powered and data-driven than in the past, and they also require more human skills in problem-solving, communication, interpretation, and design. As machines take over repeatable tasks and the work people do becomes less routine, many jobs will rapidly evolve into what we call "superjobs"--the newest job category that changes the landscape of how organizations think about work. During the last few years, many have been alarmed by studies predicting that AI and robotics will do away with jobs. In 2019, this topic remains very much a concern among our Global Human Capital Trends survey respondents.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive technologies, and robotics to automate and augment work is on the rise, prompting the redesign of jobs in a growing number of domains. The jobs of today are more machine-powered and data-driven than in the past, and they also require more human skills in problem-solving, communication, interpretation, and design. As machines take over repeatable tasks and the work people do becomes less routine, many jobs will rapidly evolve into what we call "superjobs"--the newest job category that changes the landscape of how organizations think about work. During the last few years, many have been alarmed by studies predicting that AI and robotics will do away with jobs. In 2019, this topic remains very much a concern among our Global Human Capital Trends survey respondents.

Editor's Note: SHRM has partnered with Harvard Business Review to bring you relevant articles on key HR topics and strategies. It was going to be the factory of the future. Dubbed the "Alien Dreadnought," Tesla's new manufacturing facility in Fremont, California, was designed to be fully automated -- no humans need apply. If all went well, AI-powered robots would enable the company to achieve a weekly production of 5,000 Model 3 electric cars to keep up with burgeoning demand. But Tesla fell far short of that mark, manufacturing just 2,000 vehicles a week.

It was going to be the factory of the future. Dubbed the "Alien Dreadnought," Tesla's new manufacturing facility in Fremont, California, was designed to be fully automated -- no humans need apply. If all went well, AI-powered robots would enable the company to achieve a weekly production of 5,000 Model 3 electric cars to keep up with burgeoning demand. But Tesla fell far short of that mark, manufacturing just 2,000 vehicles a week. The problem, as the company painfully discovered, was that full automation wasn't everything it was cracked up to be.

Editor's Note: SHRM has partnered with Harvard Business Review to bring you relevant articles on key HR topics and strategies. Today, executives have to cut through a lot of hype around automation. Leaders need a clear-eyed way to think about how these technologies will specifically affect their organizations. The right question isn't which jobs are going to be replaced, but rather, what work will be redefined, and how? Based on our work with a number of organizations grappling with these issues, we've found that the following four-step approach can help. Much work will continue to exist as traditional "jobs" in organizations, but automation makes traditional jobs more fluid and an increasing amount of work will occur outside the traditional boundaries of a "job."

Today, executives have to cut through a lot of hype around automation. Leaders need a clear-eyed way to think about how these technologies will specifically affect their organizations. The right question isn't which jobs are going to be replaced, but rather, what work will be redefined, and how? Based on our work with a number of organizations grappling with these issues, we've found that the following four-step approach can help. Much work will continue to exist as traditional "jobs" in organizations, but automation makes traditional jobs more fluid and an increasing amount of work will occur outside the traditional boundaries of a "job."

In the final months of the Obama White House, I was honored to be invited by the President's National Economic Council to discuss the recent report, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy. I was joined by several other venture capitalists and entrepreneurs to comment on how the tech community sees AI -- its potential for positive impact as well as the implications for our workforce. As a VC at NextWorld Capital, a big area of my investment focus is on the companies that are digitizing and automating the physical world, including drones, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence. As an undergraduate and graduate student at MIT studying AI in the late 90's, I saw the commercial potential of technologies such as computer vision and robotics, but now I am convinced that AI is ready to drive systemic changes to businesses and services of all kinds. This new wave of technology will have an outsized impact on what I call the "field office," operated by deskless workers are building and servicing physical goods.