Work Disrupted

CHAPTER 2People and Machines Working Together: Integrating AI and Workers on Every Team, in Every Job

AI systems will need to be smart and to be good teammates.

—Barbara Grosz, computer scientist¹

“Tell me a joke,” is the first request I usually make to see if one of my voice-based assistants is listening.

I also ask, “What’s your favorite movie?” “What should I eat for lunch?” and even, “How are you feeling today?” Though I bought these AI-powered devices to help with practical tasks, like scheduling appointments, looking up information, and setting daily reminders, I can’t resist trying to detect a glimmer of humanity. The manufacturers of these machines know this, and have started to re-engineer them to demonstrate more of a personality, even a sense of humor. Now if you ask some devices, “Who’s on first?” the answer will be, “Yes, he is.”

AI has become part of our daily lives, as AI-powered virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Home have placed smart machines at our fingertips. AI, or Artificial Intelligence, refers to machines capable of performing tasks that typically involves some aspect of human intelligence—the ability of a computer program or a machine to identify patterns, make predictions, and increasingly, to learn on its own. Every time Amazon recommends a product or Netflix prompts the next TV show or movie, the recommendation is driven by AI. Algorithms suggest what may interest us based on our buying history and other products we have viewed. Sometimes ...