AI to kill WFH? Employees allowed to return to the office to ‘distinguish themselves from a robot’
AI to kill WFH? Workers may return to the office to ‘set themselves apart from a robot’ while worrying about being outshone by artificial intelligence, PwC chairman predicts
Employees may return to offices to “set themselves apart from a robot” for fear of being outnumbered by AI robots, the president of a global accounting firm predicted.
Kevin Ellis, chairman of PwC, said employees who regularly work from home since the pandemic may prefer to come to the office to have “face to face” conversations with people, so they don’t get replaced by AI.
Speaking to 25,000 staff members last week, he said: “For professional services, where researching and summarizing data is an important part of junior roles, AI has the potential to accelerate trainees from year one to year three. You free people to do more.’
He added that this move to more advanced technology would create obstacles for trainees in their early careers.
“This, in turn, requires more coaching to equip people more quickly for more responsibility and to transfer knowledge that would normally be acquired over a longer period of time,” he said.
The PwC chairman said employees who regularly work from home since the pandemic may prefer to come to the office to have ‘face to face’ conversations with people, so that they are not replaced by AI. (file photo)
Mr Ellis said he thinks AI has the potential to accelerate trainees from year one to year three
“The latest wave of AI is likely to bring people back to the office. Humans will want to learn from others face-to-face, and the best way a human can differentiate itself from a robot is in person.’
Workers in professional occupations are more likely than most to work from home, according to the Office for National Statistics: 27 percent say they do this exclusively and 44 percent say they have a hybrid work pattern.
After the pandemic, PwC was one of the major companies to introduce a more flexible work pattern, encouraging colleagues to come to the office two days a week and finish the rest at home.
According to data from ONS, in February 2022, 84 percent of employees forced to work from home due to the pandemic said they plan to do a combination of working from home and working at their place of work in the future.
And more than 40 percent of civil servants are reportedly still working primarily from home, according to The times.