In business, we can end up relying way too much on technology to do the job for us. We’re at such a precarious time in the world of business that we can almost think that human performance skills are secondary to the role of technology.
But there is one place where human skills can still outshine the machines, and that is in research. Of course, there are many people who are using tools like ChatGPT to ensure that they are researching a topic comprehensively, but what is the future of research? It has the potential to change the workplace in so many ways, so what can we expect to see?
A Mixture of Man and Machine
As we delve into technology as a key to assisting us with everything, especially in terms of artificial intelligence (AI), we can expect to see a mixture of man and machine. Automation is one of those tools that has been used to streamline processes and improve services, but when it comes to research, the benefits we could expect to see can span a whole variety of industries.
AI has the potential to analyse large data sets so that they can identify patterns, which ensures that you can create a working structure that has a far better impact on the workplace. This is not just because it helps employees to do their work more efficiently, but employees can use the notion of automation and efficiency as a way to work more effectively in themselves. Something as simple as a cache warming service can ensure that people access information quicker when they are browsing the internet. It’s such a small-scale example in comparison to automation and AI, but the reality of the situation is that man and machine are more likely going to integrate more effectively.
Many people are concerned that there’s going to be a “rise of the machines.” The reality is that many people are going to be able to use these automation tools and get inspired to create a far more streamlined approach to work. Because people are concerned that automation and technology, in general, are going to completely override their lives, the reality is that it is a tool, rather than something that will completely take over.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Research has pivoted a lot in recent years. This is partly because of an increased availability of analytics tools. From the perspective of a business looking to stay one step ahead of the competition, analytics tools provide greater access to more information. Research is such a massive undertaking, but is changing because of the impact of real-time insights. Many leaders can make the mistake of going with their gut when it comes to certain decisions. Incorporating research based on data to facilitate decision-making means a greater degree of accuracy.
Because we are more dependent on real-time insights, data-driven decision-making will become more commonplace among smaller businesses. Larger organisations already use data-driven decision-making, but as smaller companies need to start thinking like bigger businesses, this is where data becomes a pivotal component. As we rely more on real-time data, we will see research skills become more adaptive and dynamic as a result. This may mean we rely more on analytics tools to use our decision-making, but we also then have to consider how our human workers will become better researchers themselves.
A Change in Human Research Skills
As we rely more and more on technology to do the job for us, and we’ve seen AI and automation aid a person’s ability to research more effectively, the fact is that, as humans, we will still need to make certain changes to how we research. The biggest challenge humans have is that there is just too much information. Human research skills have undoubtedly become less sophisticated as the internet became more widespread.
Going forward, skills will be more to do with how people distil information effectively. Because the internet is a vast minefield of information, as well as disinformation, people need to become wiser about how they can separate the good information from the bad. Therefore, as we become more reliant on technology, we need to become more “switched on” as humans.
It goes back to that notion of over-relying on technology to do the job for us. We’ve seen what ChatGPT can do for people, especially when it comes to doing research, but the most important lesson in all of this is that we must rely on our abilities rather than having blind faith that the computer will do it all for us. This is why having a better attitude to research and understanding that research encompasses distilling the salient points and using this information to make better decisions is even more important now.
When people are looking for basic facts, they can do a quick Google search and find the answers at the top of the results page. But when you start to become more cognisant of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques and the fact that the pages at the top of Google are optimised for SEO, if you want your employees to do effective research, you’ve got to give them more time to do the real detective work. This is something that many leaders don’t necessarily consider, especially when we look at data-driven decision making having to force them to make real decisions quickly.
The world of research used to be about having the time to delve through textbooks and come up with a decision based on a number of variables because they were allowed time to do it. Arguably, now there is a combination of having to distil the information quickly while also using the right tools to conduct more effective research.
Man, machine, and method: these are three approaches that can help to completely alter the face of research in business going forward. It is a vast minefield out there because of technology, but as we see changes in the digital landscape, we have to also make careful considerations for our human workers as well.
