Explainer: AI Complementarity

AI is rapidly transforming the way we live and work. And with so much scope and promise, it can be easy to think that the advance of AI means we’ll all be out of jobs. But there’s another way of framing the future. AI complementarity is the idea that artificial intelligence tools can — and should — enhance human capacity. Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor of economics and of operations, information and technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and his colleagues set out to understand how an AI tool might change someone’s experience on the job. They looked at more than 5,000 customer support agents who had access to a generative AI-based assistant trained on millions of service request transcripts. While agents chatted with customers, the assistant gave them real-time recommendations on how to best respond. Bryjolfsson and his team found that access to the AI tool helped workers resolve 14% more issues per hour. What’s more, novice and low-skilled workers experienced a 34% improvement. By analyzing massive quantities of information, AI did what it does best, which in turn allowed the customer service team to do what it does best: help other people. As the drive toward AI-enhanced workplaces accelerates, Stanford Graduate School of Business professors underline that business leaders need to prioritize humans in their decision making “We don’t have much work — yet — that takes design of the human-AI interface really seriously,” says Jann Spiess, an associate professor of operations, information and technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “Our debate about AI and the capabilities of AI is really misplaced, because it’s all about ‘Is the AI better than the human?’” he continues. “I think instead we should be asking, ‘What are the complementary uses of AI?’” Adds Kuang Xu, an associate professor of operations and technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business, “The bottom line is that AI and data science are supposed to help you drive better decisions. Always.” How has your team embraced AI tools? Share your experience, and be sure to check out this short explainer. Music Copyright ID: SJWOGDFXHJ13QLS8