Towards an Autonomous Future

Good read.  Yes, expect more autonomy, more technology.    More at the link.

How Organizations Will Produce in an Autonomous Future

Big Idea: Artificial Intelligence and Business StrategyBlog
By James Gips, Brendan Guerin, and Sam Ransbotham

Can AI-enabled automation replace your company’s entire labor force?

 Autonomous workforce jobs

How much will technology change affect labor? According to research informing our 2017 research report, “Reshaping Business with Artificial Intelligence,” not as much as one would expect. Less than half of more than 3,000 survey respondents expect AI to reduce their organization’s workforce in the next five years, and just 30% are fearful that AI will automate their own jobs. But as technology relentlessly improves, significant changes may still be on the horizon. To what extent can AI-enabled automation replace the entire labor force of an organization?

Consider these companies:

The Moby Mart, a store on wheels, brings groceries to customers in Shanghai. Unlike most other retailers, each mobile store has no staff, not even cashiers.

The Aidyia hedge fund consolidates recommendations generated with multiple types of artificial intelligence. Free from the constraints of physical products, algorithms trade digital assets without human involvement.   

BottleKeeper, a producer of stainless steel containers, has no employees.

These companies, encompassing both physical and purely digital products, showcase the potential of autonomous companies. They are taking the replacement of labor with technology to an extreme. While most organizations are far from this extreme, what can managers in far less autonomous companies learn from — and be wary of — the trend toward autonomous companies?   ... "