Humans in an AI Electrified World

Wharton Business School calls AI as the new electricity that will substantially transform society over the next hundred years. The above described functions were not available just 10 years ago on a consumer level and is the fruit of over 60 years of scientific research. One advantage of AI is that it allows computers to take over repetitive work more effectively than humans. This allows humans to take care of the higher value work.

Why Pay More?

Transcription is one area where the work is repetitive. For a seasoned transcriptionist, they have a 5.9% error rate, but a Microsoft AI tool performed at a lower error rate of 5.1%. AI allows the same transcriptionist to review the existing work and liaise with the speaker to correct the errors.

One other area which is consistently needed and repetitive is the incorporation of companies. If you are new to the world of company incorporation, it is a maze of unknown regulations to navigate like the new Grab driver on the road. For a seasoned corporate secretary, they can almost do it with their eyes closed.

The traditional method of business incorporation would be to hire the services of a professional who charge you between $100 to $1000 per hour (depending on his seniority) to sit down and explain his every item from trivial to serious to the aspiring entrepreneur.

AI Application on Incorporation

One example of a business who had leveraged on AI would be AI Accountant. They have used AI to automate the incorporation process and chatbot to answers frequently asked questions. “I have a corporate secretary and accountant for over 10 years. In my experience, 90% of SMEs have standard questions to be answered that don’t require the interface of my staff. Even if they think that they have a serious question, it is likely that question has been asked before and the answers are readily available.” said Lawrence, Manager of AI Accountant.

“I wanted to provide a low-cost solution for entrepreneurs who are understandably cash-strapped and don’t need the high level of support that MNCs require. It is only through AI that I can charge them $450 for incorporation and still be profitable. Out of the $450, $315 goes straight to ACRA as their incorporation fee and the margin is extremely thin.” said Lawrence.

Where Humans Add Value

Besides the standard items, there are matters of the heart that require human intervention. If you are sick of the AI enabled dating apps, you need some counselling to find the right one. The problem might not lie in the other party but in you. You might not be ready for love and the AI wouldn’t tell you that. AI might just find the next Mr. Right who fits your interest, but you wouldn’t be moved.

You would need a matchmaker like Rishma Petraglia from The Heart Whispers who can listen to you and advise you to love yourself more. These human experts can dig into your past and provide a therapeutic experience to create the breakthrough in love. You can have a customized advice on how to be a perfect date to the other party.

You can find the perfect office space online but you need an expert who can listen and understand your requirements to find the office that fits your company culture. It is not a compulsory requirement, you can still work in any office with a table, chair and other necessity, but your office might be the difference between mediocrity and top performance.

AI High Performance

The advantage of AI is that we are able to commit to high performance if the lower level items are taken care off. These low-level tasks are foundational and can’t be ignored. Yet most of us are not high-powered lawyers who can easily hire quality associates at $100,000 per year to handle the low-level work reliably so that they can take care of winning the case. This is why AI is the new electricity where you can light up a room in 1 second instead of spending 10 minutes a day to fill up the lamp with oil and light the wick.

Kai Kiat Ong is the founder of TextInAsia & a freelance writer who specializes in finance and technology.

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