The ability of technology to augment humanity is not a new one, but with the release of generative AI in 2022, there were renewed calls for tech to help humanity rather than replace it. A recent roundtable was hosted by the UK Government Office for Science to discuss the matter. It featured academics from across the UK.
Augmenting humans
Some technologies are still new and not clear in how they’re used, and not many people are using them. We don’t really get how much impact they have.
In the UK, where most jobs are in services and knowledge, technologies that boost our thinking could make training better, let more people work, and let us do more skilled tasks. But, we need to be careful—they could also be used to control people.
A bunch of things stop these technologies from catching on, like not knowing about them, cost, and work always changing. Putting any tech in a job needs a smart approach.
Before using these technologies, we need to talk about it and get permission. We have to think about who benefits and who might get hurt. Trust and permission take time to build.
Work and Getting Stuff Done
Different jobs need different skills, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. We need to know why some people aren’t working before we decide on tech to help them. Jobs these days need you to do more than one thing, so it’s hard to find tech that fits all.
HA includes stuff for both the body and the brain, and they can work in the same areas. But, a lot of these tech things are still starting out and not really focused. We don’t really know how much they help, and we need to understand this for each person and company.
We should think ahead about what future jobs might look like. Some jobs, like in making things or health care, can use these tech tools now. Things like virtual reality are already used for fun, but they can also help you learn better on the job.
These tech tools can make learning faster and help you do more skilled work. But, we have to be careful—they could also be used to control us.
In some jobs, like factories, these tech tools can make things work better. Most people agree that using tech can help people in knowledge jobs work better. But, we shouldn’t think that these tech tools solve all problems. They might bring new problems, like health issues. We need more studies to really understand these tech tools.
When we’re low on workers, we usually think about how much work gets done. But we should also think about making things fairer (so more people can do skilled work) and making jobs more interesting. We need to decide who owns these tech tools.
Problems with Using Tech
Using new tech has its challenges. People might not know about it or trust it. It can cost a lot, especially for small businesses. Jobs keep changing, so it’s not easy to use tech in them. Trying out new things, safety rules, and following standards also slow things down.
Even if a business knows a tech tool is good, finding the right company to get it from and putting it into action is hard. We need a good plan when we put tech into a job, including figuring out how to use the extra time it gives us.
Not everyone in a company might want to use these tech tools the same way. We need to talk and get permission before using them. We also have to think about who benefits and who might get hurt. Deciding who owns the tech is important too. Building trust and getting permission takes time and needs everyone, from bosses to workers, to agree.
