While artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other new technologies can change the world we are used to, a new global study found that most owners value technology more than people when it comes to their business.
A study by consulting firm Korn Ferry surveyed 800 business leaders from multi-million- and multi-billion dollar global organizations. The firm says 44 percent of business leaders agree that robotics, automation, and AI will change the future, making humans, in general, unnecessary.
Jean-Marc Lachetz, Global Managing Director of Solutions at Korn Ferry, explains why many executives take this controversial point of view, saying, “Leaders can have what experts call a perception bias. In the face of uncertainty, they tend to rely on something tangible for their thinking, planning and execution - something that can be touched, seen and measured, such as technological tools.”
According to a Korn Ferry study, a number of CEOs have allowed technology to occupy anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of their priorities when it comes to strategic focus, financial investment and time. The firm also compiled a list of the top five company assets according to the executives themselves, which does not even list human talent as an asset, but instead includes real estate, brand, product / service, innovation, and technology.
Lashets offers his vision of why human talent was not viewed as an asset by business leaders, saying, "It is much more difficult to place a price tag on people, even though people directly influence the value of a technology, innovation or product."
While artificial intelligence and robotics will play a huge role in the business of the future, Korn Ferry believes that business leaders should not underestimate the creativity and impact that people can bring to business.