Recent advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) will likely be comparable to agricultural mechanization and industrial revolutions and pose a similar threat to labor. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led to job losses and significant changes in the workplace.
Still, the introduction of robotic process automation (RPA) throughout several industries is positioned to change the future of work. AI is one of the most significant factors in his workplace shift, bolstering RPA with a new suite of powerful resources.
The Promised Rise of RPA Technology
Numerous sectors have used RPA to streamline workflows and boost efficiency, empowering employees to configure software that interprets and manipulates data to enhance processing speed and output. Task automation reduces labor costs; to date, the financial, fashion, retail, logistics, telecom, construction, energy, utilities, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and food industries have adopted RPA in some form.
As a result, RPA technology has a global market of more than $5.7 billion and is anticipated to reach $13 billion by 2030. With the rise of digitization and AI, the workplace of tomorrow will be vastly different than today's.
Just as the rise of digital cameras and mobile phones upended the photography industry, so has RPA changed labor. It was as hard to believe then that the photographer was required to embrace change or become redundant as it is now that top jobs will do the same. Yet the potential for RPA to improve several industries will not be ignored.
Cases Where Industries Have Applied RPA
The telecommunications industry has used RPA to achieve operational efficiency by using software robots to automate mundane jobs, freeing employees to focus on customer-centric strategies. This is a major benefit for the business and its customers, but an uncertain time for employees. Repetitive tasks like account verification, user reports, monitoring network performance, and customer self-service tasks can be left to the RPA.
The healthcare industry has also used RPA to ease the burden of documentation and tedious paperwork. A recent study shows that 43% of United States hospitals, CFOs, and revenue cycle leaders use RPA to automate their revenue cycle. With an RPA, they reduce the cost of enrollment, billing, customer service, and claims.
AI and RPA
Developments in AI technology enable RPA to go beyond programmer-specified rules and make decisions based on unstructured data and environments. As a result, AI can automate non-routine activities, while RPA only replaces routine tasks that require specific environments. RPA allows human workers to concentrate on more valuable jobs while transforming existing ones and providing new ones.
Necessary Adaptation to Change
Change is inevitable; new automation will always emerge. AI and RPA require companies and nations to implement policies that enable maximum benefit from these new technologies while mitigating the risks. Employees must adapt and welcome change before falling behind to maintain a good reputation.
Soon, every business will use RPA, and the nature of work will change, and AI will likely follow. Employees must be prepared to face the new reality, gathering technical skills that will empower them to implement technology into their environment without viewing it as a threat but as an enabler.
