AI will automate tasks, not jobs. Merck's supply-chain team used it to handle internal processes while people focused on customer relationships. Roles evolve when companies create psychological safety for workers to voice concerns and invest in upskilling.
Of course, that can bring a lot of concern and fear for people, and this is where the psychological safety piece comes in, that you need to create an environment for people to say, actually, I'm really worried that my job is going to be replaced by AI. Is it the case that all of our jobs will be replaced by AI? I think that there is some opportunity that some roles that we do might be replaced or made more efficient by technology and AI. But where I see the great opportunity is where else we can add value as humans. Where I focus with my team and where Merck, the supply chain team in Merck is focusing is on the customer added value. So really being able to focus more on the final mile and how we serve our customers, and particularly in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, that's becoming more and more important to have that kind of nuanced personal experience. If I look at my team now, where I would love to spend more time on that customer focus, we cannot because we are focused so much on the problems that we have on our internal processes, our internal systems that are not working. That's a lot where we can put the AI and we can put the tech which will allow us to spend less time internally focused and more time externally focused. But I think to your question, particularly on how that impacts on the humans, it's also making sure that they understand that their roles might change, their roles might evolve, might not be replaced, and how we can build up those capabilities that are needed for the future, but do it in an open and transparent way.
