The Role of Technology and Human in Innovation

We encounter the power of technology in the application of innovation and change in almost every field of life. We make use of various technological infrastructures in each of the invisible stages of the product we choose from a market, from production to our basket, in medical tools used in surgeries, in the technical equipment of a film set or in the functioning of aircraft. In many areas from wearable technologies to nanotechnology, technology, whose development momentum is increasing day by day, is becoming more and more involved in our lives; this situation brings the human factor to mind. While business life adapts to digital transformation with developing technologies, how does the human factor play a role at this point?

Human errors due to fatigue, stress, distraction, etc. occur at a much higher rate than technology-related errors. Moreover, crises arising from mistakes made due to human errors often result in huge costs and losses. On the other hand, conveniences such as the ability to handle stacks of documents in a much more systematic way in seconds with artificial intelligence, instead of processing them in such a long time that they become dysfunctional in paperwork done by human labor, liberates the employee. Of course, at this point, the following question comes to mind: Can technology completely replace human labor in terms of both skill and practice? Is it possible to completely eliminate the human motive in the whole operation?

Technology is undoubtedly produced to make human life easier. Technology, especially digital transformation, offers organizations numerous advantages. Better, faster, with fewer errors, more economical, less costly, less labor force, less carbon footprint… In summary, the labor force is provided with “less” effort in many areas with the power of digital transformation and technological possibilities. In this way, it can be said that replacing human resources with technology in various jobs is very profitable for the organization in every aspect. Another important benefit of this is that it gives employees the opportunity to develop and apply themselves and their professional equipment more effectively. Thus, opportunities arise that serve the innovation goals of organizations.

Almost all great discoveries are the result of mistakes or creative experimentation. Uniquely human qualities such as creativity, the ability to interpret human aberrations and the quality of original judgement cannot be imitated by technology. However, technology is essential to support and utilize them more efficiently and to support the energy needed for innovation. Innovations and inventions are realized by designing existing technologies for a different use. As the relationship between human beings and technology increases in parallel with the needs of the age, innovation studies also develop.

Innovation is to make a product or service better than it is. Systematizing business processes with technology, combining them with human labor and creativity and setting sail for innovation brings innovation. Solving unnecessary drudgery and long-lasting routine, boring jobs quickly, systematically and at low cost allows human labor to be used in more creative jobs. Considering the operations, for example, in a supply chain process; production, logistics, cloud solutions, data transfer, cross-cultural commodity codes can be transferred to a different code system. Many operations, from rational complex operations such as translation to simple drudgery piles, can be solved with specialized artificial intelligence solutions. Thus, companies that invest in this type of technology can use their workforce more efficiently. Therefore, investments in technology, for example, the budget allocated for integrated solutions offered specifically for an organization’s digital transformation needs, also serves to make efficient use of human resources and thus supports innovation investment.

Maintaining and managing the functioning in almost every line of business and operational processes requires human relations and related skills. Unique communication skills and soft skills such as empathy, effective listening and providing feedback through interpretation are indispensable in every field. In other words, the human factor is what adds value to the workforce and this value is meaningful in sales, logistics, after sales, production, innovation or any other operational process. Therefore, it is not possible for companies to operate completely dependent on technology and devoid of people.

Those who work only for the transfer of technical knowledge and know-how, from the production of products or services to the point of reaching the final consumer, will be replaced by artificial intelligence in the coming periods when idea development will gain more value. Human qualities that will be inaccessible to artificial intelligence, which will be valued in the coming period, will be combined with artificial intelligence skills and will appear in new dimensions. This means new business lines and new operational processes.

The goal of digital transformation will evolve into “über digitalization” for companies that desire to get ahead in intense competition. Today, communication, which is often undervalued by many visionless companies, “handled” by groping, tried to be cheaply closed, or ranked last among budget items, will gain value in every dimension. Instead of developing consumer forecasts by making inferences based on statistics and accumulated information, the communication skills we have acquired through centuries of transmission will be the rising value of the future.