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The Nordic countries represent the group of countries in Northern Europe and include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and associated territories. These regions can be the leader in digital technology when Artificial Intelligence, automation and robotics take over the tasks from humans. Automation and AI are reshaping the way organizations and companies do business. But this is dependent on the Nordic governments. These technologies are already playing a big role in various sectors, including finance, healthcare and retail. Digitalization makes the service more transparent and efficient. Most profitable businesses in the world are already using Artificial Intelligence for distributing a range of products and services to the people.

McKinsey wrote a report on how AI and automation will affect the future of work in Nordics. They estimate that 40 percent of working hours in the Nordic region may be automated if existing technology alone is adopted. AI and automation will have a bigger impact on the Nordic workforce as they can provide predictions in detail that will not be possible for humans. We can see more and more organizations adopting AI, automation and robotics and shaping their business models around them in the future. They will have to enhance their systems, investments and capabilities and be ready for the future.

Artificial Intelligence represents a graph that makes winners and losers. For example, McKinsey study shows that companies, who adopt the technology earlier could double the cash flow compared to those who have not adopted the technologies by 2030. So, companies and organizations are not investing because of the advantages the technologies give but because they don’t want to miss out on the opportunities and advantages against their competition.

Research for a report from McKinsey suggests that when AI techniques are applied, it can unlock approximately $80 billion in value for Nordics and this is equivalent to two to three percentage point uplift of profit margin.

McKinsey’s research on the effect of AI and automation on Nordic businesses give us many insights. Businesses in the Nordics are positioned well to scale Artificial Intelligence and bring innovation in their domains. Nordic businesses have everything in place that will help them in scaling, including agile, motivated and flexible employees. Artificial Intelligence has the ability to unlock value potential and only those will excel who can adopt the technologies early. Companies, which adopt the technologies early, will have higher profit margin percentage points than the industry average.

However, for all this to happen, the Nordic governments have to start at the earliest or they will lose the advantage of a digital head start. The companies in the Nordics are in a dilemma, some of them are experimenting and only a few are scaling up. Due to this, they are not able to use AI to innovate and work efficiently. However, Nordics can still generate momentum as they have all the necessary aspects, such as technical knowledge, workforce, workplace cultures,
etc. Based on their goals, market and resources, the leaders in Nordics have to use the opportunity and work towards the betterment of society.

In the last few years, we have seen and read a lot of reports on the impact that automation, robotics and related technologies will have on our work and careers. We do not know how much AI and automation will affect our work but we are sure that it will be disruptive. As machines replace human beings and do the same type of work more efficiently, it’s time we adjust our plans and adopt new strategies.

Many studies have projected that robots will take most of the jobs from humans in future. That’s only one side of the coin. Another way of looking at it is the AI and robotics will create more jobs than it takes from humans. AI is already transforming businesses and it will contribute to growth through contributions to productivity. These digital technologies will change the way we work. Machines will take over some tasks done by humans and perform them efficiently. So, some jobs will decrease, some will grow and many others will change.

Forecasting this change in the future of work, humans need to learn more skills and enhance their abilities. In some cases, the workers may need to move to better and growing occupations or change their occupations itself. The latest research from McKinsey examines the challenge of automation and shows some critical issues that the individuals and companies will have to solve.

According to their research, the society requires these improvements for contributing to economic growth, providing value for business and making progress on tough challenges. There has been rapid technological progress because of improvements in mechanics, software and sensors. We can see many new generation automation systems these days, such as automated checkouts at stores and automated processes in factories. Automation and Artificial Intelligence have already transformed businesses and are generating value in services and products. Various companies use them to tailor product recommendations, check losses, identify wrong transactions, etc. Automation and AI have in fact created value across sectors and they have the potential to bring in more changes.

Even as these important technologies are beneficial to both business and society, we have to prepare for the changes in future. According to McKinsey’s analysis of over 2000 work activities across 800 occupations, some categories of work can be easily automated. Automation will affect almost all occupations but only around five percent of occupations can be fully automated. The researchers found that about 15 percent of workers worldwide or around 400 million workers can be replaced with automation in between 2016 and 2030. Multiple factors are impacting the speed and scope of automation and AI adoption. Factors include labor-market dynamics, social norms and acceptance and cost of deployment among others.

There will be work for everyone tomorrow as well as in future with AI and automation as it is today. However, the type of work will be different and those works would require new skills and greater adaptability. The best solution is to train both experienced workers and the new and upcoming generations for the challenges in future. Everyone needs to work together and embrace technologies safely.

Lifelong learning will give you lifelong employability and this is more significant when digital technologies like AI, robotics and automation are advancing rapidly. Automation is not a thing of future anymore because many of the complex tasks can be automated using the present-day technologies itself. Few companies worldwide have already embraced AI at small levels and are prepared to make a transition. So, if the workers need to promote themselves to new roles and positions, they will need to invest their time in education and training to hone their skills.

Companies are offering formal training to their employees but that alone is not enough to prepare the population for a dynamic future with advanced technology. According to a survey by McKinsey, only 25 percent of the companies told that training programs improved the performance of their company. And, some companies said that they never check the returns on their investments done in training. However, according to them, highly skilled employees are more productive and they also need new skills to be ready to deal with the changes in the company’s requirements.

McKinsey Global Institute believes that there will be work for everyone based on most of the scenarios but the changes that will come with AI and automation will be significant. The occupations will definitely change along with educational as well as skill requirements. So, work will have to be redesigned to make sure that humans work with machines effectively and produce better results. The shift in workforce skills will accelerate due to automation and hence the demand for technological skills will grow. Along with programming skills, emotional, critical thinking and information processing skills will be in high demand. So, the population needs to train themselves according to the demand of work in future.

Many countries are already facing the challenge of training their workers for meeting the requirements of employers. If people want to move up the ladder and keep the jobs in future, they will have to get specialized training and enhance their skills. People can choose to train themselves in those sectors that will have high growth potential.

A survey by Pew Research Center found that around 87 percent of the workers believe that it is necessary for everyone to get training as well as develop new skills throughout their life if they want to keep pace with the changes in future. According to this survey, employment is higher among jobs, which require only education and job training, average communication and interpersonal skills and a higher level of critical thinking skills.

In the coming years, the workers will depend on complementary skill sets. Hence, it will be necessary to have college as well as vocational training. You don’t have to follow the same path of completing the school, getting into a good college and finishing it with specialized degrees to have competitive edge. Although those things may be necessary, practical hands-on experience will be equally important along with classroom courses. When you get training in high- growth sectors, you will not only stay ahead of other workers but also you will get new opportunities in the evolving future.