By Lucia Mabasa
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will rule the world one day, we are told and it might just if we let it. We don’t realise how prevalent AI actually is in all our daily interactions from travel to commerce, learning and simply living, but AI is ubiquitous.
AI is being used more and more in business. AI is a godsend for efficiency and productivity and you can personalise it to track your own type of work.
The greatest advantage of AI is its ability to crunch data and produce reports, which are vital for decision making – it can help you predict trends and forecast outcomes. AI can also help you identify potential risks and allow businesses to be proactive rather than reactive.
When you consider the capabilities of AI, you might wonder if we still need humans in the business. Some even question whether managers, especially middle management are becoming the next endangered species.
But if you think that you are making a very big mistake.
The question is all about responsibility, how much you need to accept and how much you can delegate. While AI can be used to streamline workflows and automate routine tasks, it cannot assume accountability. Delegating responsibility to AI is possible, but abdicating responsibility is perilous.
AI is a phenomenal tool, but it remains just a tool. The AI model depends on information being fed to it, it can only work on the data it has, which brings the human touch. and human error, right back into the mix.
On the face of it, AI should be a godsend for both employees and employers because it takes the subjectivity out of job assessment and replaces it with objective evaluations. However, not all jobs are equal and not all tasks have the same outcome. For instance, AI cannot replace the human interaction which is essential for interpreting data within its proper context.
Tightening the bolt on a nut is a simple task, but it becomes significantly more challenging if you are balancing on a ladder several metres off the ground, stretching your hands above your shoulders to get the wrench onto the nut. It’s even more difficult metres under the surface, if you are working as a deep sea diver on an oil rig. Yet in a data set, these tasks might be categorised the same way. Without human leadership, AI lacks the contextual understanding necessary to differentiate between them.
AI can set targets for staff, but managers must ensure that these targets account for fairness and real world variables. It’s easy to measure sales reps by the number of client visits they make or the revenue they generate, but what defines success? There is a significant difference between reps serving an existing client base and those trying to develop a brand new market. A rigid, AI-driven system may reward mediocrity, while penalising those taking on more challenging roles.
The same applies to absenteeism. Do you want employees who clock in on time and contribute little, or do you value those who might be difficult to manage but bring in results? Ironically, AI can be an effective measurement tool in these cases because it remains neutral, it doesn’t play favourites, it only measures outcomes. Yet, even in this scenario human leadership is necessary to interpret AI-generated data fairly and equitably.
Great leaders recognise that while AI provides incredible insights, it cannot replace the human elements of leadership such as emotional intelligence, strategic vision and ethical judgment. Just as researchers use both quantitative and qualitative research to gain a comprehensive understanding of an issue, managers must balance AI-driven data with real-world experience and intuition.
AI offers tremendous benefits, but it also presents risks. Leaders must strike a balance between leveraging AI’s efficiency and maintaining their own critical oversight. Managers today are expected to be both fair and empathetic and AI should be seen as a tool that enhances not replaces their ability to lead.
Let’s embrace opportunities, while maintaining a healthy scepticism to ensure we remain in control. By automating repetitive tasks, we can free ourselves to focus on what truly matters; managing and leading people. After all, we are responsible for human beings , not machines. As long as we keep that at the forefront of our leadership philosophy, AI will remain an asset rather than a threat.
* Lucia Mabasa is Chief Executive Officer of pinpoint one human resources, a proudly South African black women owned executive search firm. pinpoint one human resources provides executive search solutions in the demand for C suite, specialist and critical skills across industries and functional disciplines, in South Africa and across Africa. Visit www.pinpointone.co.za to find out more or read her previous columns on leadership; avoiding the pitfalls of the boardroom and becoming the best C-suite executive you can be.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.