Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI
Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson
Harvard Business Review Press (September 2024)

Welcome to the era of generative AI, powered by foundation models

This is an updated and expanded edition of a volume first published in 2018. Heaven knows, any book or article written about artificial intelligence several years ago — however valuable it may have been — needs to be re-considered and probably revised, given the fact that the global marketplace today is much more volatile, more uncertain, more complex, and more volatile than at any prior time that I can recall.

According to Paul Daugherty and James Wilson, “The key to understanding AI is how it radically changes how work gets done, leading to transformation of business processes…[and] the greater power is in complementing and augmenting human capabilities…The first wave of business transformation involved standardized processes…The second wave consisted of automated processes…Now, the third wave involves adaptive processes as organizations reimagine work in the age of AI. This third era, building on the previous two, will be more dramatic than the earlier revolutions enabled by assembly lines and digital computers. AI, including the latest advances in generative AI, will usher in entirely new, innovative ways of doing business and greatly enlarge the number of workers with access to one of the most powerful technologies to appear in our lifetime.”

Moreover, Daugherty and Wilson point out, “In this current era of business process transformation, AI systems are not replacing us wholesale; rather, they are amplifying our skills and collaborating with us to achieve productivity gains that have previously been impossible…In the missing middle, workers work with smart machines to exploit what each party does best…In the missing middle, humans and machines aren’t adversaries fighting for each other’s jobs. Instead, they are symbiotic partners, each pushing the other to higher levels of performance.”

How do Daugherty and Wilson organize the material in Human + Machine? “In part one, we examine the current state of AI in companies…In part two, we explore the missing middle and provide an executive guide for overhauling and reimagining the traditional notions of work…Finally, we explore the future of work in chapter 9 [the last chapter], “Extending Human + Machine Collaboration: Eight New Fusion Skills for an AI Workforce.”

These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to indicate the nature and scope of Daugherty and Wilson’s coverage:

o Introduction: What’s Our Role in the Age of AI?  (Pages 1-23)
o Generative AI in Context (29-32)
o Foundation Models (32-36)
o No Regrets Bets and Strategic Bets (39-43)
o Getting Started (46-49)

o Hypercustomization and One-of-a-Kind Components (68-7o)
o “A Brief History of AI” (74-80)
o AI in Business Processes (86-87)
o How Do You Know How Much to Change? (91-92)
o Redefining an Entire Industry (95-99)

o AI Technologies and Applications: How Does This All Fit Together?  (99-109)
o AI in R&D and Business Innovation (111-119)
o Reimagining Processes with AI (151-158)
o Three Roles Humans Play in Developing and Deploying Responsible AI (159-161)
o Why Three Roles Will Become More Important Than Ever (181-182)

o Three Types of Augmentation (188-191)
o Rubbing Elbows with Robots (197-202)
o Human + Machine Technologies to Watch (204-206)
o Eight New Fusion Skills for an AI Workplace (239-260)
o A Call to Action: Reimagining Business (268-273)

I commend  Daugherty and Wilson on a brilliant, substantial contribution to thought leadership throughout the global marketplace and highly recommend it to all C-level executives and those who aspire to become one as well as to those who are now preparing for a business career or have only recently embarked upon one.

Years ago in Future Shock (1970), Alvin Toffler made this prediction: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

If you agree with Toffler, then Human + Machine is a must-read for you.

* * *

Here are two suggestions while you are reading Human + Machine: First, highlight key passages. Also,  perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to the sequence of mini-commentaries that are strategically integrated throughout the lively and eloquent narrative. “A Brief History of AI” (Pages 74-80) is one of the most valuable.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.