\n\n\nBefore the machines become smart enough to replace humans, as some people fear, the machines need teachers. Now, some companies are taking the first steps, deploying artificial intelligence in the workplace and asking their employees to train the A.I. to be more human.<\/p>\n
We spoke with five people \u2014 a travel agent, a robotics expert, an engineer, a customer-service representative and a scriptwriter, of sorts \u2014 who have been put in this remarkable position. More than most, they understand the strengths (and weaknesses) of artificial intelligence and how the technology is changing the nature of work.<\/p>\n
Here are their stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Ms. Neasham, one of 20 (human) agents at the Boston-based travel booking app Lola, knew that the company\u2019s artificial intelligence computer system \u2014 its name is Harrison \u2014 would eventually take over parts of her job. Still, there was soul-searching when it was decided that Harrison would actually start recommending and booking hotels.<\/p>\n
At an employee meeting late last year, the agents debated what it meant to be human, and what a human travel agent could do that a machine couldn\u2019t. While Harrison could comb through dozens of hotel options in a blink, it couldn\u2019t match the expertise of, for example, a human agent with years of experience booking family vacations to Disney World. The human can be more nimble \u2014 knowing, for instance, to advise a family that hopes to score an unobstructed photo with the children in front of the Cinderella Castle that they should book a breakfast reservation inside the park, before the gates open.<\/p>\n
Ms. Neasham, 30, saw it as a race: Can human agents find new ways to be valuable as quickly as the A.I. improves at handling parts of their job? \u201cIt made me feel competitive, that I need to keep up and stay ahead of the A.I.,\u201d Ms. Neasham said. On the other hand, she said, using Harrison to do some things \u201cfrees me up to do something creative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms. Neasham is no ordinary travel agent. When she left the Army after serving as a captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, she wanted to work at a start-up. She joined Lola as one of its first travel agents. Knowing that part of her job was to be a role model, basically, for Harrison, she felt a responsibility for Harrison to become a useful tool.<\/p>\n
[..]<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something A.I. can\u2019t do,\u201d Ms. Neasham said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n