Where does an ageing population fit into AI?

The initials “AI” seem to crop up sooner or later in almost every business conversation at the moment. But what will the growing presence of AI in our working lives mean for us all? This was perhaps the key question at the heart of a recent think ahead discussion hosted by London Business School, with the title “The Workforce Shift: adapting to ageing, automation and AI”.

Taking part were Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour at London Business School and an expert both on workplace organisation and the ageing society, Thomas Gustinis, CEO of 4^th-IR, a firm which aims to “bring practical innovative AI solutions to life”, and Mary Glowacka, global head of learning and leadership development at Rolls-Royce, the engineering company (and not the car maker). I had the pleasure of chairing the discussion.

For just over an hour our panellists ranged widely over the big questions which are occupying business leaders around the world. What does the growth of AI mean for jobs? How many humans will still be needed? And how can we manage this transition to a world containing ever more technology-driven innovation?

The issues are complex and varied. A poll answered by the watching audience showed that for 33% of them acquiring AI collaboration skills was the main priority, while 29% said they wanted to develop adaptability and learning agility.

Tom confirmed that, in his discussions with other CEOs, he has heard there is “a lot of anxiety that these machines are going to take your jobs”. Perhaps the desire to be more collaborative with AI stems from a wish to avoid that fate, he suggested.

“We certainly see this when we do executive roundtables,” he said. “They don’t want to admit that they don’t know a lot about this technology or how their organisation is going to adopt it.”

These very human fears raise the question of what it is to be human in this technological age. Lynda was clear: “My view right now is that to be human is to have memories, to have experiences, to have emotions, and that sort of wisdom, the crystallised intelligence comes from being older,” she said. The same cannot be said for AI – for now at least.

Still, fear about the “end of work” – for humans, that is – persists. Tom saw this process potentially developing in two stages. For the next five to six years humans will still be mainly in charge of the AI. But those roles could reverse over the following five to six years. And then…who knows? Excited predictions are being made about the new technology’s potential.

Lynda pushed back on the “end of work” scenario. “What are we going to say about that future?” she asked. “Do you want to say to your kids that there’s no role for you?”

Rolls-Royce’s Mary observed that AI has already been deployed in manufacturing engineering for 40 or 50 years. “AI helps our engineers look at component parts of an aeroplane’s engine,” she said. But the ultimate decision still remains in the hands of the human, the chief engineer. For Mary, a priority is to build people’s resilience so they are ready for what comes their way. This means having grown-up conversations. And building trust when some are sceptical about the reliability of AI. “It’s only called AI until it works,” Tom joked.

At Rolls-Royce lifelong learning is a “non-negotiable”. Mary said her father had told her only three things are guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and change. “That’s what I want our people to continuously develop,” she said, “a mindset of, do not be complacent, because you don’t always really know what’s coming. Curiosity is at the heart of our organisation. Some of the most brilliant engineering mindsets in our organisation: these are people who live for and are hungry for knowledge,” she said.

Other issues touched on during the discussion included a compulsory airing of the “hybrid work” debate. Lynda was our go-to authority. “I think that very fast feedback is really important for learning,” she said. “So I am a very strong supporter that people need to be together for some of the work that they do. There’s quite a lot of co-ordination work where actually it doesn’t really matter where you’re sitting. But there is something very special about humans meeting each other,” she added.

As a closing thought Mary suggested that employees had to grasp this moment to make mature choices about their future. “I say to people that the best investment you can make is an investment in yourself, and you choose, do you invest in this skill, that skill, or do you not invest?”, she said.

This is undeniably a daunting, if also exciting, moment. There is no shame in feeling slightly uncertain with so much change in the air. After all, it can be hard to make the right call about the future. Tom recalled what his parents had told him when he was a youngster: “You know, Tom, there’s no future in computers…”

 

This event was part of The Second Sixty—London Business School’s 60th anniversary—exploring six global challenges shaping the future of business. Read more about the challenges here.

You can watch the full discussion here: