Business leaders are torn about how new technologies are going to impact them in the near future, but agree that sweeping changes are on the horizon, according to a new report from Dell Technologies.
Dell recently teamed-up with Institute for the Future (IFTF) and asked business leaders how emerging technologies are going to impact them. The results in the Realizing 2030: A Divided Vision of the Future report are mixed. Fifty per cent of business leaders think automation will free up their time. More than 42 per cent think it will lead to a higher job satisfaction, but 58 per cent did not.
Tasks most likely to be offloaded to machines include inventory management, financial administration and troubleshooting, and while computing power by 2030 will lead to lightning speed and accuracy, the report says human critical thinking will still be valued.
“It would be a fallacy to assume that technology is making human effort redundant. It’s doubtful that computers will have fully mastered the fundamental, instinctive skills of intuition, judgment, and emotional intelligence that humans value by 2030,” it reads.
Leaders were also split down the middle when it came to the role of schools. More than 56 per cent of respondents suggested schools will need to teach children how to learn rather than what to learn to prepare them for jobs that don’t exist yet. IFTF’s latest predicts 85 per cent of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet. A lot of the uncertainty and divide among business leaders can be traced back to a lack of vision or strategy. Sixty-one per cent of businesses are reporting a gap in senior support and sponsorship and a lack of data to demonstrate the value of digital transformation.
In addition, 51 per cent admit they have poor cybersecurity measures in place. Nearly 60 per cent believe their workforce aren’t sufficiently security savvy.
Overcoming these barriers will require individuals and businesses to form a close partnership with machines to transcend human limitations and develop solutions, says Jordan Howard, social good strategist and executive director of GenYNot, who was cited in the report. Analysts say robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality and cloud-computing will lay the foundation for new human-machine partnerships.
“Many of the complex issues facing society today are rooted in waste, inefficiency, and simply not knowing stuff,” Howard explains. “As a team, we can aim higher, dream bigger, and accomplish more.”
