Human-Machine Teaming Manager

As we wait for machines to take over the workplace, cutting-edge companies are already a step-ahead by creating go-between roles.

Everyone agrees that human-machine collaboration is going to the next big thing. Of course, how close we are to such developments is anybody’s guess. However, industry-leaders like Cognizant are already offering career opportunities to individuals who can help combine the plus-points of robots and AI algorithms with the assets that human employees bring to the table. Professionals who will be handling this responsibility is expected to be a go-between in a joint environment where machines and humans team up for common business goals. It is an HR role for the future.

The Job Description

So, what exactly is the job responsibility. To sum up, the key task is to develop an interaction system through which humans and machines will engage in mutual communications. The goal is to share their individual capabilities and intentions, and chart anoverall blueprint for the envisaged collaboration. The ultimate aim is to set up augmented hybrid teams that will generate improved business outcomes.

Someone entrusted with such a portfolio will need to recognise tasks, processes, systems and experiences that can be upgraded by newly available technologies and imagine new approaches, skills, interactions, and constructs. It would be a part of this profile to set the rules. This involves designing flexible experiences that meet workers’ expectations, while providing a simple and intuitive interaction with machines.

A Typical Workday

Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work has enumerated a list of typical tasks a Human-Machine Teaming Manager would perform on a regular basis. They can be summarised as follows:

Develop a task-allocation decision tree by identifying and describing capabilities unique to humans, as well as machines.
Identify overlapping capabilities. That would help in assigning tasks interchangeably.
Translate consumer and employee needs and business strategies into machine experiences.
Build and manage diverse collaborative teams throughout the design-to-delivery process.
Develop social understanding and acceptance of how robotic/virtual colleagues will change workflows with sophisticated machine capabilities.
Work with external stakeholders to develop the human-machine collaboration roadmap for the next five years.

The Ideal Candidate

No one yet trains to become a Human-Machine Teaming Manager. So what would a company look for in a candidate, while offering such a pioneering role? The search is still on. But meanwhile, Cognizant has drawn up a basic qualifications list that can well serve as the groundwork for others in the industry to take up and elaborate. Since the role would entail interpersonal plus human-machine dynamics, degree holders in experimental psychology or neuroscience are natural choices. However, an additional higher degree in computer science, engineering, or HR is expected. Anyone who has got a fair amount of exposure in domains such as: human neuroscience techniques, robotics, human activity monitoring and understanding, human-robot interaction, machine learning and social robots, along with consumer UI/UX design and implementation – would definitely be at an advantage.

Above all, someone who has the passion for advancing human-robot cooperation strategies in a dynamic business environment will always be a step ahead.

It is predicted that such a role would emerge across industries by 2025. Let’s wait and watch.

Acknowledgement:21 HR Jobs of the Future – www.cognizant.com