The Value of Human-Machine Teams
Fighter pilots’ helmets now include targeting software, thermal imagery and other digital components
With the increased speed at which we must work, interact, assess, and respond to everything around us, our human dependence on machine brain and brawn is growing exponentially. Every fighter pilot knows that a fully operational suite of AI tools is critical to mission success; it’s the only sure way to monitor swiftly changing situations, present usable data, and follow recommended action. It’s no exaggeration to say that a pilot is not functioning alone but is part of a human-machine team working as one.
Other examples of such “cobots” or collaborative robots abound. From the nano-surgical robots that operate on minute parts deep within a patient’s body to the rover that explores the surface of Mars to the more than 200,000 robot pickers in Amazon’s warehouses to the mine-clearance units that sweep roads for explosive ordnance, the tin-and-tissue team is now the norm.
Anticipant aptitude
Anticipant employees are comfortable working in human-machine teams
For organizations ready to adapt, the question is not whether to build anticipant teams of humans and machines, but rather how to locate and select the best candidates for the job. Anticipant humans are atypical, but as a cohort they tend to share a few telling qualities you should look and interview for when you build your hybrid teams.
They are innovators, not inventors. They are realizers, not dreamers. They are iterators, not perfectionists. They respect theory but rely on instinct. They are not rule followers; you might say they are the straws that stir the drink.
Also, anticipants are self-driven. They show relentless initiative, jumping into action when they need to know, explore, test, or validate any idea, hypothesis, product, or plan. They are widely informed self-educators. They have hybrid experience in the disciplines you practice. And they get things done quickly.
