Digital work to increase 50% within two years, says study

The report, entitled ‘Content Intelligence for the Future of Work‘, was carried out by the International Data Corporation (IDC), and saw participation from 500 influencers and decision makers from large companies.

In regards to specific tasks, evaluating information saw a 27% increase in technological intervention, while reasoning and decision making came in with a 20% growth.

The study predicts that usage of AI will not completely replace human workers, instead coming about through human-assisted machine learning (ML).

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“A growing number of employees will find themselves working side-by-side with a digital coworker in the future as technology automates many work activities,” said IDC spokesperson Holly Muscolino.

“Think human and machine,” Muscolino added. “The human-machine collaboration is not just the future of work, but it is the new normal for today’s high-performing enterprises.”

The IDC have forecasted that the intelligent process automation (IPA), including content intelligence and robotic process automation (RPA), is set to increase from $13.1 billion in 2019 to $20.7 billion in 2023.

This correlates with evident approval from decision makers regarding content intelligence technologies; 40% of respondents declared an increase in customer satisfaction while deploying this kind of software.

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Also, more than a third saw improvement in responsiveness to customers, new product or revenue opportunities, increased visibility and/or accountability, or increased customer engagement.

VP Global Business Development at report sponsors ABBYY, Neil Murphy, said: “The IDC survey proves that automation can and should be human-centric, augmented with artificial intelligence.

“Ethical, responsible automation will create a more productive, happier future where human workers can focus on higher-level, creative and socially responsible tasks, and customers get better experiences with faster service.

“Businesses that are early-adopters of incorporating content intelligence within their automation platforms will gain a significant competitive edge.”

Automation is by no means without its challenges however, if the study results are anything to go by. 75& of respondents said that their company found it difficult to hire candidates with sufficient digital skills.

Over 20%, meanwhile, cited inadequate worker skills and/or training.

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Aaron Hurst

Aaron Hurst is Information Age's senior reporter, providing news and features around the hottest trends across the tech industry.