Tracy Westall, president of technology company Curium Solutions, delivered a well-articulated challenge during our recent roundtable discussion on how businesses adapt to challenges and change.
For a regionally based business news site, this raised a fundamental concern about the impact artificial intelligence (AI) could have on cities and regional economic planning.
It was a timely intervention at TheBusinessDesk.com’s roundtable, hosted at Gilbanks in Manchester, as Westall highlighted that while the pandemic has highlighted the possibilities of remote working, the adoption of AI risks accelerating job replacement in certain sectors.
Westall then wondered “what would the future of cities look like in this different world” if AI automated tasks currently done by humans. As AI’s capabilities outstrip the pace of human adaptation, Westall warned that policymakers face a “dilemma” to keep pace. She argued that integrated strategic thinking is needed “at the economic policy level of a region, which affects everyone”.
She added: “I’m really curious about how we can reconcile, particularly at a regional level, this element of placemaking strategy. »
Carolyn Hicks (pictured), partner at professional services firm Grant Thornton, seems to agree that the speed of technological change complicates long-term forecasting. Hicks said businesses “can’t predict in the same way” how AI and other technologies might reshape work due to unprecedented changes.
John Crellin of Jon Matthews Architects summarized some thinking in the field of architecture and design and revealed that asset owners – the funds that own the buildings – are the drivers of change.
“The Hive in Manchester’s North End really shook up office design and 15 years later, the principles that were set in that office, namely natural ventilation, energy reduction, net zero and good -be, are now at the forefront. office design.
“Well-being is at the heart of everything we do. The ground floors of the office spaces have changed, previously it was only commercial units to maximize the ground floor. It is now about well-being and social value.
“It’s about cycling facilities, it’s about gyms, it’s about lounges, and it’s about this kind of space that we are now introducing into offices in order to attract people. But it’s also about what people think. I also want. And this also influences the fund requirements.
Westall highlighted cities like Paris that are actively planning their infrastructure to meet future mobility needs. MEPC’s Dan Hyde highlighted that Paris has committed €100 million a year to create green transport corridors, prioritizing walking, cycling and public transport over private vehicles. With strong vision and decision-making power, Hyde believes that Paris is well placed to thrive through this crisis. technological rupture.
She concluded by emphasizing the importance of data quality for informed discussions on the societal impact of AI. As a member of the Technology Advisory Board, Westall is calling for joint policy development between government, employers and skills providers to help communities cope with disruption and maximize the opportunities offered by emerging technologies.
