Spellbinding Solutions: How AI and Automation are Conjuring Up Potential
By MAXX Potential
- Posted:
- Businesses
Artificial intelligence and automation are today’s spellbinding solutions to help businesses augment their teams. Think of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in the movie Fantasia – Mickey lugs buckets of water day in and day out up a tall staircase. His life is monotonous. When the Sorcerer sets the source of his magic aside, Mickey seizes the opportunity to get his work done more efficiently.
A few well-placed movements and Mickey had a team of brooms to do his task. In some ways, AI-assisted work, automated and streamlined workflows, threat protection, and workforce transformation feel like the magic of our times. Tools that march forward, completing tasks left and right, AI and automation have already been a big part of workforce innovation, only gaining the mainstream spotlight when ChatGPT was released.
Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Fantasia
In the same way, the movie The Sword and the Stone demonstrates another set of characters, Merlin and Arthur, who lean into the efficiency that magic can offer. Merlin uses a few words and his wand to get dishes to wash themselves. When Arthur exclaims that he’s supposed to do that work, Merlin points out, “No one will notice the difference, son, who cares as long as the work is done?”
Many businesses often face the challenge of lots of work to do and a small team to handle the tasks. When each team member’s time can be optimized to work on high priority tasks while magic, in this case automation or Artificial Intelligence, works in the background to handle time-consuming, repetitive tasks, more high quality work is completed. Small businesses should consider how generative AI can bring more efficiency, threat protection, and team reskilling.
The Enchantment of Efficiency
Both Mickey and Merlin noticed practical applications for the magic at their fingertips. One used magic to complete his own tasks while the other used magic to take over the tasks of Arthur so that Arthur could have another lesson. Artificial intelligence and automation, while not as mysterious as the magic of these movies, have the potential to alleviate monotonous and mundane tasks, freeing up small business teams to prioritize time and effort on essential overview work.
The Magic of AI-Assisted Work
It feels magical when monotonous tasks can be handled by a generative AI assistant. With a few well-worded requests and some emphatic keystrokes, solutions arrive, whether providing an outline for a blog post, code for a task, or response options for a customer service chat. The work gets done.
According to a group of researchers at Stanford’s Digital Economic Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, customer support agents who had access to a generative artificial intelligence assistant increased their productivity by 14% on average. The study looked at more than 5,000 agents, and the chat assistant monitored customer service chats, providing real-time recommendations for responses. With that said, the researchers noted that the AI assistant really helped less skilled agents and only minimally helped those who were more experienced.
In Mickey’s case, he optimized his productivity to such an extent that he flooded the Sorcerer’s lair. He worked smarter until he didn’t, and when humans seek increased productivity, they are cautioned to do so with wise oversight of the tools they’re using, whether smarter project management tools, AI writing assistants, data analysis software, cybersecurity systems, or supply chain optimization. When monotonous tasks are automated, humans can lean into creativity, just as Mickey did with his visions of fireworks, dancing stars, and more. It empowers humans to have more focus time for envisioning the future or exploring other creative solutions.
The Speed Spell: Automation in Action
In The Sword and The Stone, Merlin wants to help educate Arthur so that he’s ready to step into the important role of king one day, but Arthur has mountains of dirty dishes to clean. Merlin taps into his magic. The dishes are now washing themselves, and Arthur is freed to pursue his education and growth. The magic of our day is the capabilities of automation to take over arduous tasks so that humans can pursue focused problem-solving time, continued growth, or rest.
Automation brings the magic of efficiency, time saving, and consistency. In some situations, companies are noting that it can also increase accuracy and cost reduction. Moreover, the capabilities of automation and machine learning can deeply assist in data analysis, which allows for faster processing and decision making. Faster processing, automated selection, and reduced human error provide data-driven insights for better decisions and support for complex decision scenarios.
Automation allows for smarter workflows, which means tasks get done and the operations are streamlined. MAXX Potential offers a number of powerful AI tools that can revolutionize different workflows with a wand wave. For example, a private and customizable GPT provides data protection while workers receive generative AI assistance for their tasks. Other tools include a SMART Employee Feedback Automation that simplifies HR feedback analysis, a Q&A Bot that is compliance trained and handles queries, and EvalEcho that streamlines performance reviews and manager insights.
The Hex of Security and Ethical Considerations
When the maid in The Sword in the Stone discovers the dishes are washing themselves, she and her peers call it ‘dark magic,’ and when it comes to automation and artificial intelligence, the idea of dark magic and evil is not far from minds. With many folks keeping important information online and in the cloud, cybersecurity is more important than ever before. Generative AI can be used by both bad actors and cybersecurity specialists. And yet, AI and automation may be the greatest protection against threats.
The Protective Spells of Generative AI in Cybersecurity
Machine learning is a powerful force to be reckoned with when it comes to threat detection because its algorithms recognize suspicious patterns and predict potential threats. Immediate responses mean that business systems remain safer. These predictive enchantments of AI’s ability to anticipate and neutralize threats with automated responses trigger the isolation of infected devices or block malicious traffic, as well as adaptive security measures that learn from threat patterns and automatically update intrusion detection parameters.
The cybersecurity attacks that seem to stand the test of time continue to be traditional types of attacks such as phishing, malware, and ransomware. The difference is that they too have tapped into the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning. This means that phishing emails have become even more convincing, and bad actors still view humans as the weakest link in cybersecurity. National CIO Review reports that 67% of companies report difficulties combating increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks.
When Mickey used the Sorcerer’s magic to develop his water transportation system via a broom and two buckets, he didn’t include any type of fail-safe to have his system recognize when to pause water transportation. His efficiency plan was faulty. If Mickey could have had an AI assistant at his elbow, this generative AI system could have noted the patterns, recognized the coming problem, and implemented a solution to keep the water from flooding. This is the beauty of the protective opportunities of generative AI in cybersecurity. It has the capability to learn and update its own systems to maintain the values of the overall system.
The Wizardry of Workforce Transformation
What if the maid in The Sword in the Stone noticed the “dark magic” of the dishes magically washing themselves and waited for Merlin to return so she could ask for a little bit of that innovation? Her work life would have been transformed, freeing her to pursue a higher level self-education or castle management. While AI and Automation may be uncanny, these tools are catalysts for so much opportunity.
IBM released an article that states that 40% of the workforce will need to be reskilled due to artificial intelligence, and they point out, “AI won’t replace people–but people who use AI will replace people who don’t.” This idea can be overwhelming, but truthfully, if a worker can use generative AI assistants for their work now, they are already ahead of the learning curve. While some aspects of work will need more in-depth training, a lot of how automation and artificial intelligence shows up in the world is accessible to folks who are willing to explore and learn. The spell of change may have already been released, but it’s available to all.
When it comes to smart training and tools for building stronger teams, MAXX Potential AI solutions support workforce development beyond operations. Teams and individuals can learn through AI-assisted training and work simulation to discover new ways to collaborate and move through daily tasks. MAXX Potential also offers Video Creation for Onboarding & Training that offers scalable onboarding and training videos with custom AI avatar possibilities, consistent quality, and personalized experience capabilities.
Embrace the Sorcery of AI and Automation
Mickey recognized the opportunity of magic to make his life easier, and Merlin implemented magic so that Arthur could pursue further development of his skills and character. In the same way, artificial intelligence and automation offer so many possibilities for workers, and learning to tap into these tools will enable them to delegate repetitive tasks to AI, freeing up time for strategic and creative work. Embracing these tools can lead to career growth and organizational success, as human-machine collaboration paves the way for enhanced productivity.
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