Not all increases in productivity produce positive outcomes, but there are great opportunities for harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence, argues Mike Hedges AM.

Every country and organisation wants to increase productivity; the challenge is doing it by increasing output per unit of input and improving outcomes.  Productivity is defined as the efficiency of the production of goods and services. Measurements of productivity can be shown as a ratio of output per unit of input. Either reducing the unit of input or increasing output for the same input increases productivity.

Boosting workplace productivity is not just about working harder: it is about working smarter and utilising tools that increase output. When work groups operate efficiently, businesses can serve customers better, innovate faster, produce more, and decrease unit costs.

 Throughout history, major technological shifts, from the Industrial Revolution to the Information Age, have unlocked significant productivity gains. 

 Productivity is a crucial factor in the production performance of nations as well as organisations, both public and private. Increasing national productivity can raise living standards by increasing wages, improving  people’s ability to purchase goods and services, enjoy leisure, improve housing and education and contribute to social and environmental programs. Productivity growth also helps businesses to be more competitive and profitable.

Productivity growth is a crucial source of growth in living standards and improving the economy. Productivity growth means that the cost per unit decreases and this means more income is available to be distributed or there is a reduced cost of production and cost of goods.

There is productivity driven by technological change, good productivity, bad productivity when inputdecreases and output either remains the same or increases but outcomes reduce, and good productivity where output increases and outcomes improve.

In the last industrial revolution, the ICT revolution, huge productivity gains were made due to technology. Some examples are:

• Manual calculation of payroll almost completely disappeared, as payroll became computerised, and as it developed most people were paid by direct bank transfer.
• Computer-aided design allowed technical drawings to be made only once with the ability to zoom in and out of parts of the drawing rather than having each part drawn separately. We also had computer‑aided manufacturing and the use of computer software to control machine tools and automate manufacturing processes.
• Word processing replaced typewriters which meant documents could be produced by everyone and that those typing documents could easily amend them without a large amount of retyping.
• Computerised accounts replaced manual accounts, making both updating accounts and auditing easier as well as reducing storage needs.
• Electronic communication including email and attachments increased the speed of the sharing of information.

Each of these created disruption, job losses, and deskilling of some jobs, but increased productivity and created new jobs in computing-related areas plus jobs not thought about pre-computerisation.

We have had actions that appear to improve productivity but have produced worse outcomes.

Two examples of this are larger class sizes creating a productivity improvement in the number of pupils per teacher but with worse educational outcomes. The second is shorter home care visits. Again while the rise in the number of visits per home care worker increases the productivity, recipients of the care have a poorer service and outcomes are worse.

As we enter the artificial intelligence age, we have an opportunity to increase productivity. Artificial intelligence enables businesses to automate repetitive tasks so employees can focus on more complicated responsibilities. Actions well-suited for AI automation include email management, data entry, analysis and management, scheduling and calendar coordination, report generation, document processing and filing.

One area of the economy where demand is increasing and where the resources to provide it are under pressure is the health service. There has been substantial progress across the world in using artificial intelligence to improve outcomes and efficiency in health provision. Last year I raised the following as examples of where artificial intelligence could be used in health.

Algorithms can analyse medical images, patient data and other information to assist in diagnosing diseases, often detecting patterns and correlations that might be missed by humans.

AI can help diagnose lung cancer more accurately and predict heart attacks and strokes. It has been publicly reported that the application of AI algorithms in areas such as ophthalmology has ensured increased accuracy in the screening and diagnosis of certain pathologies, such as glaucoma and cataracts.

From published research we know that AI can help develop treatment plans tailored to individual patient needs, considering factors like their specific condition, genetic makeup and other relevant information.

We have research telling us that AI-powered devices help surgeons perform minimally invasive procedures with greater precision and accuracy, reducing the risk of errors and complications.

AI is being used during surgery to optimize force, detect positive surgical margins, and even automate specific steps. AI-powered patient monitoring can monitor patient conditions in real-time, providing alerts to healthcare providers if there are changes that require attention.

We need in Wales to take advantage of the opportunity offered by AI to improve productivity to stay competitive and to improve the health service.

 Mike Hedges is the Senedd Member for Gŵyr Abertawe.