MODERN WORKPLACE
supercomputer Watson, poses a
threat to employment. This AI app
is able to answer legal questions
in a matter of seconds, compared
to the hours or even days it would
take a legal assistant. After being
asked a question, Ross Intelligence
scans through thousands of cases
and poses an answer, complete with
citations and suggested readings.
And if you have dined out in the
past few weeks and been served
by a human, such jobs are already
starting to be phased out. Royal
Caribbean’s luxury cruise ship
features robotic bartenders from
Makr Shakr. Passengers can create
their own cocktail via a tablet and
then watch a robot mix, shake and
pour their creation.
With the threat to our jobs from
robots and AI, the need for
skills that cannot be taken on by
machines and intelligent software
intensify. Sitting at the top of this
list are jobs that require creativity.
Research by the Foundation for
Young Australians has found a 65%
increase over the last three years in
job advertisements listing creativity
as a required trait. And after their
review of 4.2 million job ads, the
study found that jobs that list
creativity as an essential attribute
have salaries that are on average
$3,129 higher.
The need for creativity is just as
essential at a leadership level.
Earlier this decade, research
conducted by IBM’s Institute for
Business Value found that in a
survey of 1500 C-level executives,
creativity was rated as the
most essential trait for leaders.
Organisations need to start thinking
more inclusively about how they
label their people. Titles such as
Creative Director or Innovation
Manager can mislead others into
thinking that the responsibility for
innovation rests not with them, but
only with the ones with such titles.
Creativity and innovation lead to
the ingenious problem-solving and
leaps of knowledge and technology
that have driven human history.
They are qualities that, as yet,
robots and AI cannot duplicate.
Organisations should be offering all
employees innovation and creativity
training. If they don’t, employees
should start requesting it – the
need for creative and innovative
thinking will only intensify as
the advancement in technology
continues.
Dr Amantha Imber is the Founder
of Inventium (www.inventium.com.
au), Australia’s leading innovation
consultancy. Her latest book,
The Innovation Formula (http://
www.booktopia.com.au/theinnovation-formula-amantha-imber/
prod9780730326663.html), tackles the
topic of how organisations can create a
culture where innovation thrives.
September 2016
ModernBusiness
45