There’s no arguing that artificial intelligence has left a significant impact on the world in a short time. But what’s up for debate is whether it will have a net positive or negative impact when all is said and done.
Will AI make work more efficient and help workers feel more satisfied as they are freed from menial, time-consuming tasks? Will the workforce be dramatically displaced as positions are effectively made irrelevant and taken over by AI?
The future of artificial intelligence is murky at best, and you could make a realistic argument for either position. But Yooz, a paperless AP and invoice payment automation provider, believes in the former scenario. To this end, it uses AI to augment the way people do business, empowering employees to work more meaningfully.
But in order to change the mindset of a generation, you must first understand it. That’s why Yooz ran a survey of 600 professionals across various generations, industries, and positions — all with the purpose of discovering the general sentiment of the American workforce when it comes to AI.
Here’s what they found out.
Artificial Intelligence: A Boon or Bane for the Workforce?
Unfortunately, the survey seemed to show that the general workforce does not share Yooz’s enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. While 45% of respondents said they believe people are excited about AI, they also said people are equally fearful about its potential. Another 38% said they believe people are more fearful than excited.
Where does this fear come from? Well, more than half of respondents said that negative news stories are to blame for this pessimism. This finding is hardly surprising, however. The news thrives off negativity and amplifies bad news far more than it does good news. In the case of AI, you may have seen news stories about the possibility of AI taking jobs away from human workers, failing to mention the significant growth of new positions it will create as the technology grows.
But another significant source of fear is the possibility of AI being used unethically and without moderation, to the point where it harms humans. This has nothing to do with a Terminator-style cyborg revolution, of course; it instead refers to the use of AI in decision-making processes that have traditionally been managed by humans. This includes the approval of insurance claims or loan applications — without a human element, an AI-powered algorithm could unfairly deny people who would reasonably qualify for these benefits.
Indeed, Yooz found that 92% of respondents were concerned about these exact scenarios. Among their concerns were the missing element of human judgment, a lack of transparency in how AI makes decisions, and potential bias in AI algorithms.
Overall, the Yooz survey reveals that the current zeitgeist is aiming a judgmental eye in the direction of tech like artificial intelligence. While AI is seeing increasing use in casual and educational settings, modern employees seem to be hesitant to embrace it in the workforce.
However, what was particularly interesting was that the younger the respondent, the more positively they viewed AI. For example, 5% of baby boomer respondents said people are more excited about AI than fearful, while 22% of Gen Z respondents shared this optimistic outlook. This suggests that as older workers retire and the workforce is replenished with younger generations, AI will be embraced more readily, allowing for increased innovation.
That’s one reason why Yooz is leaning heavily into the power of artificial intelligence. Yooz CEO Laurent Charpentier believes that it can greatly enhance the way the world works, saying, “AI’s transformative potential is undeniable.” He recognizes the global reticence of AI, but he sees it as a challenge to overcome so that AI can serve our society and economy in positive ways.
Yooz: Setting the Gold Standard for AI in Business Operations
Yooz is leading the pack when it comes to implementing AI in the workforce. Rather than waiting for the dust to settle before embracing this emerging technology, Yooz is making a name for itself as an early adopter. Its leaders recognize that innovation happens at the speed of light, which means companies have to quickly adapt if they want to keep up.
For Yooz, this means transforming accounts payable and invoice management and automating some of an AP professional’s most time-consuming work. It’s an all-in-one platform that automates every step of your procure-to-pay process, from purchase request to payment.
Thanks to technology like artificial intelligence, deep learning, and robotic process automation, Yooz can successfully automate 80% of invoices without any prior configuration. The platform combines real-time AI performance with simplicity and robust business features, and thanks to this simplicity, users can get started within one hour — without any training.
It’s in this way that Yooz is leveraging AI to empower AP professionals and allow them to focus on more meaningful tasks. And if other organizations took this mindset and applied it in their industries, the global mindset would surely shift in favor of AI — slowly, but surely.
In the meantime, Yooz will continue to stand out in front, setting an example of how companies can utilize AI in effective, ethical, and powerful ways.
