About Memes, Power, and Control
A few days ago, I received a meme that said it didn’t want artificial intelligence to worry about writing and drawing so that I’d have time to clean the house or cook, but rather the opposite: that artificial intelligence should handle the most tedious and repetitive tasks so that I could dedicate more time to creative and enjoyable tasks.
When we talk about robotization, automation, and artificial intelligence, this is precisely what we mean. Companies dedicated to these processes often don’t realize which type of process should indeed be automated and end up thinking that the more complex tasks should be the ones chosen. But it’s not about this criterion; rather, it’s about another perspective: what is repetitive, repeatable, and frequent. These are the processes that take the most time and, consequently, cost more money, so these are the processes that should be automated.
The great value of companies lies in their human capital and their ability to be creative. So inventive that they are capable of creating automations and artificial intelligence, yet there is no sense in having people do repetitive tasks while automation takes care of what we, humans, do best.
So, what should be automated?
Any type of automation is like a great engine with almost infinite power. A great engine, as we know, can make our car reach extraordinary speeds, but this is not always the best. Our vehicles have structural limits, meaning they can disintegrate if we push beyond our limits.
Moreover, we must consider that any accident at high speed can be truly tragic, causing irreparable losses. The metaphor applies to automobiles but also to companies.
Where should we place more attention and workforce? What are commodities that we should no longer waste time on?
An advertisement for tires many years ago said that power is nothing without control, so you can have the best technical automation capabilities, but without a specialist on how to use these tools, you might be automating what matters least, or worse, automating an error and causing damage on a large scale.
To conclude…
It’s not about how much you automate but the quality that it generates for your business. How many work hours you reduce without losing performance.
Automating is sexy and fancy, but speeding was also once seen that way. Great accidents happen when only power is given importance, but remember that around the next curve, an unpleasant surprise might be waiting for you, and at that moment, the best thing is to have, by your side, the peace of mind that comes with having a specialist.
