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Fears caused by digitalization: New AI offering should help!
Economists at Saarland University are developing the AI chatbot “Changebot” to reduce fears about digital change.
Fears caused by digitalization: New AI offering should help!
Digitalization is increasingly shaping everyday life and is causing both progress and uncertainty. Current studies show that many people find digital transformation overwhelming. As part of this development, economists from the Saarland University took a revolutionary step to make it easier for employees to deal with change.
The solution is an AI-powered chatbot called “Changebot,” whose goal is to reduce fears and make changes more understandable. Project leader Eric Grosse, junior professor for digital transformation in operations management at Saarland University, is leading the project, which is being carried out at the university's Center for Digital Transformation (CeDiT) and is scheduled to run for twelve months. The initiative is from Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) promoted.
The role of the changebot
As an intelligent conversation partner, the Changebot is intended to actively support employees through change processes. It uses modern AI technology to address the individual needs of companies and employees. The technical development of the Changebot is carried out by Delphi Artificial Agents GmbH from Düsseldorf, which was founded by Oliver Wüntsch.
The special thing about Changebot is that companies can store their own process data in its knowledge base. The Changebot test is carried out in real company environments to observe the interaction with employees. At the same time, the effectiveness of the changebot will be examined in an empirical study. Interested companies can apply until March 30th and receive support by sending an email to Michael Bauer.
Fear of digital change
Employees' fears of being replaced by technology are not an isolated case. According to a recent study Many people feel overwhelmed by digitalization and its accompanying effects. The D21 Digital Index shows that 76 percent of working people are convinced that changes by 2035 will lead to the elimination of certain activities or professions.
Yet only 23 percent believe this could directly affect their own job. Interestingly, 43 percent of working people see companies as having a duty to specifically prepare their employees for digital change. Despite these requirements, the number of working people who actually take advantage of further training opportunities has stagnated at 18 percent for years.
The digital divide is also visible through the data collected by the D21 Digital Index. While the index value has increased by one point to 58 out of a maximum of 100 points, only 54 percent of those surveyed believe that their employers are taking sufficient measures to keep up with change. The importance of digital literacy is becoming increasingly clear, with only 28 percent believing schools are teaching the necessary skills.
Experiences with artificial intelligence, especially with chatbots like ChatGPT, have given many a better understanding of the possibilities of digitalization. Almost 20 percent of those surveyed said they used ChatGPT within the first six months of its launch. 47 percent use ChatGPT to write texts and 43 percent to obtain information.
Overall, companies face the challenge of considering both the technical and human aspects of digital change. Saarland University's Changebot could provide crucial support in this regard to promote acceptance and understanding of the changes while at the same time putting employees at the center.