How automated is too automated?
“To speak to a representative, say … representative …. “
“Representative.”
“Sorry I didn’t catch that … would you like for me to repeat the options menu?”
“NO”
“Sorry I didn’t catch that … please state wh…”
“REPRESENTATIVE”
“Sorry, all of our representatives are busy helping others at the moment ... Goodbye.”
*CALL ENDS*
How many of us have been in this scenario when on the phone with an airline, insurance company, or any other automated call center?
Where are the people? Why can’t I speak to a human?
One of my son’s few memories of my Dad involved listening to him going through a scenario like this with a late 1990s version of an auto-attendant. It was funny. My Dad became increasingly incensed that he couldn’t get to an actual human being. It devolved into: “Shut up! Stop talking! I’ll give you $50 if you let me talk with a real person.” And it went downhill from there.
The reality is that despite these systems being frustrating, they save companies time, money, and resources. And, in an ideal world, they streamline callers into organized categories, making for a more efficient experience. They’re clearly working on some level because you’re seeing increased adoption of A.I. chatbots and digital support systems.
For what it’s worth, I predict that AI-enabled chatbots are about to be huge! The evolution of this technology is going to take the place of people in marketing, sales, consulting, coaching, and even therapy.
But does the efficiency or effectiveness it creates justify the lack of human connection? Why did so many of the legacy call systems get rated so poorly?
I came across an article highlighting a trendy new restaurant in Venice, Italy. They serve the best dishes from several popular restaurants from across the city! They must have a massive kitchen and extensive staff to take on such a task, right? Wrong. This restaurant is fully automated; you order and receive food via … vending machines.
My first reaction was this … the convenience is fantastic, but you lose so much of the community and human interaction that you enjoy when going to a traditional restaurant. As I continued to read, however, the article explained that in order to “humanize” the restaurant, it is used as a meeting place for food tastings, community gatherings, and question-and-answer sessions.
Humanity and automation merged beautifully.
Semi-Automated Often Beats Fully Automated
Systemize the predictable so you can humanize the exceptional
— Isadore Sharp, Four Seasons
Earlier, I mentioned automated call centers, and how frustrating they can be. I’ve come in contact with several who have found a great balance in how they automate their system.
Often, the automated answers allow calls to be organized before reaching their intended destination or to answer frequently asked questions. Either way, it reduces the need to transfer calls to find the correct department or gets the caller the information they need without tying up phone lines and wasting their and the receptionists’ time with basic questions.
“There’s a lot of automation that can happen that isn’t a replacement of humans, but of mind-numbing behavior.”
— Stewart Butterfield
This quote highlights the point of automation! Expedite the menial tasks, which in turn frees up the people working to provide a far more attentive experience.
Humans tend to look for ways to increase efficiency in all aspects of their world. But we are social creatures, craving meaningful connection and community. Therefore, the human element will not only persist but remain vital.
Gartner's 2023 Hype Cycle For Emerging Technologies
I share an article about Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies each year. It does a great job of documenting what technologies are reaching maturity and which technologies’ ascents are being enhanced by the cultural zeitgeist (hype, momentum, great timing, etc.).
Creating a report like this requires a unique mixture of technological analysis and insight, an acute understanding of human nature, and a lot of common sense.
Identifying which technologies are making real waves (and thus will impact the world more) is a monumental task. Gartner’s report is a great benchmark to compare with your perception of reality.
A quick look back at past reports shows that 2021 saw the inclusion of NFTs and advancements in AI. It also focused on the increasing ubiquity of technology. 2022 built on those trends, recognizing that we were moving towards immersive experiences, faster digital transformations, and the adoption of exponential AI capabilities. For reference, click here to see what Gartner predicted last year.
Meanwhile, let’s look at the 2023 version of Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report. 2023 has some meaningful changes – and is best understood by where things are placed on Gartner’s framework called the “Hype Cycle.”
What’s a “Hype Cycle”?
As technology advances, it is human nature to get excited about the possibilities ... and to get disappointed when those expectations aren’t met.
At its core, the Hype Cycle tells us where in the product’s timeline we are – and how long it likely will take the technology to hit maturity. It attempts to tell us which technologies will survive the hype and have the potential to become a part of our daily lives.
Gartner’s Hype Cycle Report is a considered analysis of market excitement, maturity, and the benefit of various technologies. It aggregates data and distills more than 2,000 technologies into a concise and contextually understandable snapshot of where various emerging technologies sit in their hype cycle.
Here are the five regions of Gartner’s Hype Cycle framework:
Understanding this hype cycle framework enables you to ask important questions like “How will these technologies impact my business?” and “Which technologies can I trust to stay relevant in 5 years?”
That said - it’s worth acknowledging that the hype cycle can’t predict which technologies will survive the trough of disillusionment and which ones will fade into obscurity.
What’s exciting this year?
Before focusing on this year, it’s important to remember that, in 2019, Gartner shifted towards spotlighting new technologies at the expense of technologies that would normally persist through multiple iterations of the cycle. This change helps account for the increasing number of innovations and technology introductions we are exposed to compared to the norm when they first started producing this report. As a result, many of the technologies highlighted over the past couple of years (like Augmented Intelligence, 5G, biochips, the decentralized web, etc.) are now represented within newer modalities or distinctions.
It’s also worth noting the impact of the pandemic on the prevalent technologies.
For comparison, here’s my article from 2019, and here’s my article from 2015. Click on the chart below to see a larger version of this year’s Hype Cycle.
via Gartner
Last year’s themes were:
This year, the key technologies were bucketed into four major themes.
Last year, the main focus was on the spread of emerging technologies. Last year’s themes focused on the ubiquity of AI in all facets of life – and the increasing immersiveness of these technologies.
This year, the focus seems to be on responding to that increasing ubiquity. It’s about building systems that help adopt these new technologies efficiently ... while also protecting yourself from making mistakes at lightspeed.
Of course, I’m always most interested in the intersection of AI and other spaces. Last year, AI became a lighthouse for businesses to work toward. It’s continued to shine a light this year. In my opinion, this points towards the increasing maturity and adoption of AI. The opportunity cost of adopting AI into your business is continuing to decrease.
Meanwhile, these systems are also becoming more autonomic, self-managing, and self-learning. I’m excited to see Gartner emphasizing what this does for humans - not what it takes away from them. Remember, the heart of artificial intelligence is human - and it continues to free us up to be more human.
As we reach new echelons of AI, you’ll likely see increasing examples of over-hype and short-term failures. You often miss a rung on the ladder as you reach for new heights, but it doesn’t mean you should stop climbing. More importantly, it doesn’t mean failure or even a lack of progress. Challenges and practical realities act as force functions that forge better, more robust, resilient, and adaptable solutions that do what you want (or something better). It just takes longer than you initially wanted or hoped.
To paraphrase a quote I have up on the wall in my office from Rudiger Dornbusch ... Things often take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
Many of these technologies have been hyped for years - but the hype cycle differs from the adoption cycle. We often overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in ten years.
I say it often ... we live in interesting times!
Which technologies do you think will survive the hype?
Let me know what you think.
Onwards!
Posted at 06:52 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Gadgets, Ideas, Market Commentary, Science, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
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