How techies would design an AI agent for support at work

I’m recently back from ServiceNow’s Knowledge 18 conference, where teammates and I found a way to break up the isolation of booth detail: we walked the expo floor to poll people about using work tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

The poll results offer a sliver of insight about how today’s tech workforce views AI technology.

Starting with the obvious…

How willing are you to embrace AI-powered tools at work?

53% Totally willing

30% Willing

10% Neutral

1% Unwilling

6% Totally unwilling (#noAIapocalypse)

Sure, given the nature of the event, one may suggest the crowd was biased.

Anticipating that would be the case, we steered the dialogue toward design.

Some of what we learned…

What persona would you choose for an AI agent at work?

37% Female

24% Gender neutral

16% Male

11% Animal / creature

11% Robot

What would you want the AI agent to help with?

71% IT support

43% Competitive intelligence

41% Travel arrangements

40% Career development

What capabilities would you give the AI agent?

71% Advise / recommend

66% Monitor / inform

26% Act on my behalf

19% Depends

What would be the AI agent’s availability?

61% All my devices (including BYOD)

29% All my company-issued devices

7% Phone or tablet only

3% Laptop only

And sense of humor?

40% Hilarious

46% Witty observer

9% Tells me I’m funny

6% Humorless

So what to make of all this?

To be clear, we polled a total of 70 people. So take that in consideration.

Still notable to find the majority of respondents would want the agent on all their devices — whether or not work issued.

Also notable that the IT service desk may be the most in-demand proving ground for companies to dip toes into the AI waters. (Enter IBM Workplace Support Services with Watson.)

In a recent white paper, “Accelerating the Support Experience with the Cognitive, AI-Powered Help Desk,” IDC advises, “most workers want a high-touch, personalized approach to solving their technology issues. But the traditional model of delivering what workers want and need is expensive and time consuming and is at odds with the goal of improving operational efficiency. Cognitive/AI solutions offer a way to prioritize both operational efficiency and a positive user experience.”

And apparently, the funnier the better.

Adam Kleiner is a North Carolina-based creative director at IBM. The above article is personal and does not necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.