AI disinterest:

“AI can be a great opportunity for employees”

Artificial intelligence in everyday working life - more opportunity, or too much risk?

(Bild: AFP)

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the world of work. It can take over monotonous tasks, support creative processes and make everyday working life easier. But what opportunities and risks does it entail? Lena Marie Glaser, an expert on new ways of working, explains.

"Krone": In your opinion, what are the biggest opportunities that AI offers employees?
Lena Marie Glaser: Optimistically, the use of AI has the great potential to relieve employees of administrative and monotonous tasks and thus relieve them of everyday work: from daily office work, organizing business trips, analyses and research, writing lists, emails and minutes of meetings. But also to inspire creative new solutions. If AI is used sensibly, it can (in the best case) lead to less work stress, better work results and a better quality of life. From my work in the Future Lab and as a management consultant, I know that many people are currently facing massive challenges in their jobs and are under increasing pressure. Many are suffering greatly from excessive demands. For example, increasing digitalization and the shortage of skilled workers have led to a great deal of additional stress in many industries. AI could therefore be a great opportunity for employees. They would finally have time again to focus on the core of their profession and get back to enjoying their job. They would also have more energy and time for personal relationships, private life, family and hobbies.

Lena Marie Glaser - expert for new ways of working, management consultant and founder of the future lab "basically innovative"

(Bild: David Payr)

On the other hand, you also talk about AI as a "job killer". Which professions do you think are most threatened by automation through AI?
To put it in a nutshell: it mainly affects professions that require little training or jobs that digital technology can do more quickly. However, professions that many people don't even consider at first are also affected: These include office jobs where a lot of administrative work is done or customer service. Many companies are already using AI in customer support. Above all, I see the danger that companies could fall for the AI hype and now believe that AI will replace their workforce and that AI can do the work much more cheaply. That is a misconception. I therefore advise responsible companies to focus on the sensible use of AI - to speed up processes - and to focus on how they can use the time gained to promote the well-being of their staff - instead of laying them off. More and more Austrian companies are taking this approach. This is where companies should not let their competitive advantage lie: Satisfied employees who are not overworked are the key to sustainable success in the future. AI can help with this. Furthermore, it should not be overlooked: Many young, less qualified people today have fears about the future, and this includes the fear of AI as a job killer. Young people are feeling powerless here. Business and politics need to get involved, listen to young people and take active and responsible countermeasures. After all, social cohesion is key to ensuring that we can ALL look to the future with optimism.

Can machines complement or even replace creative human potential?
My view is quite clear: AI can serve as a tool to help us solve tasks and problems creatively. It can inspire us and show us new ways forward. But it definitely cannot replace our human creative potential.

"Künstliche Konkurrenz" (Leykam, 15 euros) is the title of Lena Marie Glaser's book

(Bild: Leykam Verlag)

In your opinion, what role does education play in adapting to a working world shaped by AI?
Basically, we all first have to learn how to deal with artificial intelligence well and sensibly and how to work with it. Some people find this easier than others. This is why education plays a central role here: in schools, vocational training, universities, adult education and even in-company training. It is necessary to offer low-threshold learning spaces and programs in which everyone - regardless of their background - can learn to deal with AI consciously and critically. In Vienna, for example, there are programs at district level where young and old can try out ChatGPT. This is because people who are not tech-savvy often fail due to the major hurdle of having to deal with new technologies at all. There is also a great sense of shame and fear, and this must be consciously and actively counteracted.

What new skills and competencies should employees develop in order to remain relevant in the age of AI?
In addition to the technical skills of how to use an AI such as ChatGPT, it is above all necessary to learn how to use AI critically. Because by no means everything the AI says is correct. For me, as a lawyer by training, this includes critically scrutinizing AI results and checking their accuracy. However, it is important for everyone to learn how to do this. Under no circumstances should you accept the results without checking them. AI likes to hallucinate and spit out false information. In order to use AI sensibly, employees must learn how to activate their own imagination and ask the right questions. This also includes learning how to deal with frustration and mistakes, how to learn to learn independently and how to reflect on and talk about their own needs.

In addition to the technical skills of how to use an AI such as ChatGPT, learning how to use AI critically is particularly important.

Lena Marie Glaser über die erforderlichen Fähigkeiten im Umgang mit Künstlicher Intelligenz

In your opinion, how should society and politics react to the changes brought about by AI technologies?
Politics and society need to take the issue seriously and get people on board. Many discussions about AI today take place in the ivory tower: So experts talk to experts. As the author of "Artificial Competition" and a consultant, I am a frequent guest at panel discussions on the topic of "AI in the world of work", and I always bring the perspective of employees and managers to the table. This perspective is often forgotten here, but this topic must come directly to the people, it must be discussed with them and their fears and wishes must be given space. In summary, I would say that AI must serve people and not end up as a tool for maximizing profits. To achieve this, the right measures need to be taken today on an equal footing with people.

What measures can companies take to train their employees in the correct use of AI?
I know from research and advising managers with my Future Lab that Austrian companies are currently facing the mammoth task of mastering the digital transformation. Successful companies rely on accompanying and supporting their employees on this digital "tour de force". The goal must be to take ALL employees with you. When I advise managers, I tell them: You must focus on further training, knowledge transfer and confidence-building measures. From my observations, I know that many companies focus primarily on technical skills in training. However, it is also important to teach a critical approach to AI in a low-threshold way. Employees must be supported in integrating AI into their day-to-day work and receive support during the transition. They need space and time to get to grips with these new digital tools and learn how to use them. Everyone has a different learning pace. This requires sensitivity and empathy on the part of management, and I support them in this. One concrete approach, for example, is to bring tech-savvy colleagues together with less tech-savvy colleagues in voluntary buddy pairings. This allows them to learn from each other and at the same time strengthens cohesion and a sense of community within the workforce.

From today's perspective, it is safe to say that the use of AI will increasingly permeate our lives and our work.

Die Expertin zur Zukunft des Arbeitslebens

How can we ensure that AI developments are driven forward transparently and responsibly?
I always make it very clear to decision-makers in business and politics that they have a great responsibility to make their decisions responsibly in the interests of people, young and old, to communicate them transparently and to seriously involve the groups affected. Only then can responsible development succeed.

How do you see the future development of AI in the next 10-20 years and its impact on the labor market?
AI is progressing so quickly that leading AI researchers are now saying that we need to press the pause button on development. From today's perspective, it is safe to say that the use of AI will increasingly permeate our lives and our work. I would like to take a positive view and argue that we should turn from passive AI users into active shapers of the future in order to prevent machines from controlling us in the future.

Austrians are skeptical about AI.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

What are the most important steps, especially for younger people, to prepare for a working world shaped by AI?
In my future lab talks and workshops with apprentices and students, I always say: try out the new AI tools in a playful way, try to understand what AI can do for you. But above all, focus on your own interests, strengths and talents. How do you want to live and work? What are your positive visions for the future? Work together, learn from each other, listen to and support each other, stick together. Because AI will never be able to do that - that's what makes us all human.