In this issue of the President's Letter, Frederica explores Artificial Intelligence and the Economy How will it affect your workplace? Judy Homer President, JB Homer Associates

As we move toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), we will have robots learning and absorbing data to provide new opportunities for organizations to automate their routine tasks. RPA is the application of technology that allows company employees to configure computer software, i.e. a "robot" captures and interprets existing applications to assist in processing a transaction, manipulating data, and communicating with other digital systems. For example, we have all experienced this on the IoT when we want to complete a transaction. Robots will continue to assist people through the automation of data, machine learning, high-performance computing, and predictive analytics. This new modus operandi will allow organizations to focus on more pertinent and value-added work. Employees will become more engaged in transforming the organization.

AI enables applications to learn without requiring coding or programming. For example, machine learning, mobile robotics, data mining, and machine vision will be used in the form of software which mimics the actions of humans, completing repetitive routine and data driven tasks. AI will eventually take the place of humans today, increasing speed-to-market and the company's rate of return within a year's time. AI and RPA combined will open up the markets, transform the workforce, and raise the bar for employers and employees to re-engineer their lives, careers, and personal performance.

Organizations looking to thrive or survive through digitization within their industry will need to develop a robust, digital change-enablement strategy, superseding today's business plan. It will create unprecedented change-management challenges in both corporate support and business operations. This new approach will focus on changes to enterprise applications and organizational structure. As a result, industries will experience an unparalleled upheaval. Organizations will have no choice but to create these change-enabling strategies and programs in order to make their companies and their employees work in a more agile and adaptable environment toward the digital future. New organizational challenges will affect how companies hire employees for performance as well as how they implement robots to produce and automate repetitive tasks. How companies hire and implement change will affect the bottom-line and the overall economy. Ultimately, these cultural transformations and business transactions will create a whole new workplace.

From a global socio-economic perspective, growth rates could increase for those countries that have the infrastructure in place to take advantage of AI's economic boost. It will transform the way in which people and capital conduct business by changing the way in which industries function, moving from operational to managerial levels. It can virtually make automated tasks more efficient and improve new ideas to revolutionize infrastructure. This will move the economy forward. There are studies indicating that AI is poised to double in growth for the largest economies by 2035.

In my opinion, China and the U.S. will have the competitive advantage, since they have the largest consumer populations and can bring a new business to scale quickly. What are your thoughts on artificial intelligence and the future of our economy and its effect on the future workplace?