Part 5: The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Safety. Safely mixing real intelligence with AI - its coming to a workplace near you – where is this taking you?

Potential Developments:: Ongoing emerging technologies, such as quantum computing, could take AI capabilities to the next level.  Advancing adoption will bring even faster adoption (if a marketing company can gain an edge, it will do so.  Then its peers will have to work to out do them).

Impact on Jobs and Society:: While AI can use speed, precision and quality control in businesses to automate repetitive tasks, it also has the potential to enhance human capabilities and create new employment opportunities in areas such as implementing AI.

Obviously, the other side of the coin, is it could also mean not needing staff to do these mundane tasks.  Not using staff could also translate to harm reduction for things like sorting, boxing, cutting, packing, etc. are where a large majority safety concerns are on from front line (like amazon automated warehouses). This could also mean that your business could save costs while becoming much more scalable with less people.

Above all it will be critical to protect against the misuse of people's data (such as for apps for meditation, or fighting depression, or security). This is a safety impact that goes far beyond cyber security and deeply into the reality of psychological safety.  Companies will have to be careful on how close they get to crossing some line for profit that violates peoples privacy and security rights.  Safeguards are often easily ignored and intentionally overlooked.  Take an example of how hard it is to already to talk to a human in a lot of customer support situations when that existing drop-down list does not have your concern on it. The least capable people may be impacted the most.

Preparing for the Future:: To thrive in an AI-driven world, individuals must embrace lifelong learning and develop skills that complement AI technologies. Generative AI chatbots are taking off in the name of productivity, but they can undermine data security when employees share sensitive information with these tools. A survey from the National Cybersecurity Alliance found Millennial and Generation Z workers are more likely to share information, including things like earnings data, customer data and design plans.

AI can be used by business through things like Computer Vision (recognize objects and faces) for self driving, Natural Language Processing (generate human language and images), and Robotics (using all aspects of AI).  AI can then learn and grow to make better and quicker decisions.  The main areas currently using AI are HR, Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales, and Customers service.

A few tools to help (honestly the government does have some great tools to start) – Check BDC:

Intro Video:  Hype or opportunity? What AI means for your business | BDC.ca (or search “BDC AI means for your business”). Plus – “Get started with AI checklist | BDC.ca” (or search “BDC AI checklist”).

Conclusion:  AI already exists in your everyday life, so its easy to predict that growth in AI in safety over the next few years will explode in the area of AI integrated Virtual Reality.  The training and remote worker implications will be staggering!  It can feel like you are being manipulated or it can feel like you used the technology to come to the best decision.   When you look at use cases for AI in your business you should consider cost and return, along with timing.  Look at your business and break down your processes and decide if technology could improve the way you work.  In most cases your business you will likely want to use out of the box options to save money and learnings.  It is important to do research into how AI is being used in similar businesses to yours to fill in some gaps.  Remember to start small and learn to walk before you try to run.   Awareness of AI is the critical first step to using AI safely and securely.  

The Plug - If you are evaluating your current safety program and want to start down digital path that really can make a change to how you work smarter not harder then please contact our customer support team.  We pride ourselves in the human touch to help and it is always free to explore and book a demo at www.Workhub.com.

This is the Fifth and final article of a five-part series on Safely mixing real intelligence with artificial intelligence. You can find the rest of the series at our website under “blog”.

Part 1: Introduction to AI in Safety

Part 2: How AI Works in Safety

Part 3: Ethical Considerations in AI, not just in Safety

Part 4: AI in the Workplace Safety Program

Part 5: The Future of AI in Safety

Part 5+: Adapting to a Future of Using AI in Safety