1. Automation of Knowledge Work
Technology Paper Presented by:
Joevic Pasit and Jan Vincent Sollesta
2. What is a Knowledge Worker?
one who works primarily with
information or none who
develops and uses knowledge in
the workplace” – Peter Drucker, 1959
3. Knowledge workers are:
workers whose main capital is knowledge.
•Software engineers
•Architects
•Scientists
•lawyers
They “THINK for a living”.
4. • Also known as “gold collars”, because of high
salaries.
• Research shows that they are also more prone
to burnout.
7. •Analyzing data to establish relationship
•Assessing input in order to evaluate complex
conflicting priorities
•Making connection
•Understanding cause and effect
•Ability to brainstorm
•Product to new capability
8. Computers are getting better at mimicking
human reasoning and they are claiming work
once done by people in high paying
professions. – The New York Times
9. Trends in the Technology
– Automated knowledge work
• many workflow automated
• handcrafted knowledge-bases systems
• the real and digital intimately linked
– Information
• widely accessible, much of it free
• Structured and proprietary in narrow domains
– Human knowledge work
• nonstandard business communication
10. Trends in the Technology
– Remote and distribute work
• many knowledge work jobs done remotely
– Computer processing
• exponential increase in power, storage, networking
– Computer interaction
• natural, with cameras projectors, touch and gestures
• emotional intelligence
11. Trends in the Technology
– Flexible employment
• work increasingly at home or on the road
– Education and training
• Lifelong learning w/on demand mentors
• Intelligent tutoring widely available
13. Weaknesses
• Risk in human manipulation
• Dependent on power source
• Initial high cost of ownership
• Tendency to be redundant
14. Opportunities
• Address scarcity of human knowledge
• Contribution to economic growth
• Improvement in specific industry productivity
15. Threat
• Displace human resources on primary
functions
• Dependability on machines will reduce human
interactions and collaborations
• Machine controlling human
17. • Medicine
• More accurate diagnosis because no chance of human
error.
• In depth understanding of disease and cause since
information can be easily obtained.
• Manufacturing
• Faster product research and development
• Knowledge work automation follow the evolution of
factory automation - PARC
18. • Law
• Identification of existing patents, contracts and
regulation.
• Education
• Consistency in learning process. Inexhaustible mentors.
• Finance
• Investments and accounting in finance sector
19. Ethical Issues
United States economy is being “hollowed out.”
New jobs, he says, are coming at the bottom
of the economic pyramid, jobs in the middle
are being lost to automation and
outsourcing, and now job growth at the top is
slowing because of automation. – David
Author
20. “There is no reason to think that technology
creates unemployment,”. “Over the long
run we find things for people to do. The
harder question is, does changing
technology always lead to better jobs? The
answer is no.” - Autor
21. What will it help to the nation?
“The economic impact will be huge,”
.“We’re at the beginning of a 10-year period
where we’re going to transition from
computers that can’t understand language
to a point where computers can understand
quite a bit about language.” – Tom Mitchell
22. According to McKinsey, the potential economic
impact in 2025 across sized application of $5.2
trillion - $6.7 trillion.
