Can AI Replace Your Manager?

                 As AI capabilities grow some managerial positions are at risk for total automation.  In 2018, Amazon abandoned deve...

                 As AI capabilities grow some managerial positions are at risk for total automation. 

In 2018, Amazon abandoned development on a smart recruiting AI tool. Up until it was scrapped, this AI algorithm was considered the state of the art until it took a turn. As a learning machine, the AI was fed ten years worth of resumes to help identify patterns in successful hires; the only issue was this had been a predominantly male-dominated industry. The end result was a biased and sexist machine that began to favor male applicants over female applicants, even going so far as to filter out female names and applicants listing all-women colleges. However, the AI excelled in identifying patterns, good fits for applicants and positions, and organizing piles and piles of resumes to make suggestions. But hiring is another story. Machines don’t have the emotional capacity, the human touch, to get a personal feel for a potential hire, that is best left up to talented and intuitive hiring managers. 


What we learn from the failed Amazon AI project is not the failings of AI itself, but we have learned how well it can work alongside a human manager. By picking up the slack of paperwork, managers can focus on the candidates themselves.  It also reveals to us how AI manage data on a scale that no person ever could, but the lack of human touch poses its own issues - and opportunities.

Today, payroll managers and paymasters face a 96% chance of automation, going against many predictions that it would only be service industry positions and other predictable tasks that could see an overhaul of this kind. Gathering data, analyzing said data, and spitting out solutions is what this kind of AI does best and it seems to be creeping into management roles. 

Ask any smart manager and they’ll be the first to tell you how valuable humanity it when it comes to being a leader. Yet it seems more and more office managers and project managers find themselves inundated with repeatable, even mindless tasks. From ordering new office supplies to coordinating with the weekly cleaning crew, sometimes a manager is left with little time to actually manage. Wherever we go, tech seems to pick up our slack. Taking over the menial, the time-consuming, and the repeatable tasks of daily work operations save us time and valuable energy.

From a manager’s perspective, this absolutely changes the game. But making this kind of digital switch isn’t always easy, especially for small businesses with limited staff, limited resources, and limited funds. Around one in five small business leaders think the process of selecting and implementing new tech is just not worth the hassle and more than one in three think they don’t even need more tech. When it comes down to brass tacks, four in five small business believe they could benefit from better tech - as long as it’s the right kind of tech. Business leaders should ask themselves some key questions - What daily responsibilities consume too much time, and what gets overlooked with it’s crunch time? What could operations benefit from most, time-saving tech, data processing automation, maybe even mobile access support?


Daily office operations and the responsibilities of office managers get an auxiliary boost from programs like Managed By Q. Ordering office supplies, scheduling maintenance, and cleaning, can all be done with the touch of a button. Furthermore, built-in hiring algorithms to find receptionist, assistants, and other staff can easily be reached through the iPad hub it works from. Today, more than half of small businesses are using some form of tech to help with the hiring process.

Project management gets streamlined and simplified as well as AI platform iCEO takes on big projects and shrinks them down to size in easily achievable and scalable pieces. By the deadline of a project, iCEO is capable of generating a research report of up to 124-pages. Other AI programs from hiring to scheduling are available, but there really is no one-size-fits-all AI-bot for business. Ready to find the perfect fit for your business and get back to doing what matters? Let this infographic be a guide to AI management tools, its capabilities, weaknesses, and how to find the most sustainable and scalable option for any business.