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Hybrid Thinking for Augmented Intelligence

HYBRID THINKING BALANCING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HUMAN INTELLECT FOR AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE

In our year of experimenting with HYBRID THINKING, we have learned to balance seemingly opposing concepts, making them exponentially better together than in isolation. Through Human Sustainability, an Inside Out Perspective, Radical Innovation, and now Augmented Intelligence we have learned how to implement these critical elements into our daily cadence. Our people, businesses, ideas, and decisions are all better because of it.

AI is no longer a concept of science fiction. The reality is humans and Artificial intelligence already work together every day. We have all benefited from AI, but when we activate Augmented Intelligence, we will not just benefit, but excel.

 

 

Human Intellect is irreplaceable. It is the capability of a human mind to generalize experiences, to work with abstract terms, and to make conclusions from assumptions (Procházková 2014). A study published in Psychological Science found that individuals who exhibit the highest cognitive loads are least creative, whereas individuals with the lowest cognitive loads are most creative. When our mind is too encumbered by mental taxation, we’re less likely to seek out novelty. Creativity cannot be accomplished by brute force; it requires a specific breeding ground.

Augmented Intelligence is how we reach our full potential. How we not only maintain market relevance, but become industry leaders. How we become not only efficient, but integral. How we not only positively impact our communities, but how we change the world.

Let’s get beyond the debate of “Team Human” or “Team Technology”. We must learn to leverage HYBRID THINKING for Augmented Intelligence to utilize the best of both to become empathetic human problem solvers. Only then will we see technology as a tool to accelerate decisions—ultimately achieving Transformational Resilience.

 

 

 

What if we could combine Human Intellect with Artificial Intelligence—creating a new form of intelligence that is neither human nor machine but something completely new? This is the foundation of Augmented Intelligence. This is the future of decision-making.

Artificial Intelligence can be used as a tool that will make us all more productive and efficient. But Artificial Intelligence alone will always fall short because data by itself is just numbers, information without context. AI can tell us a lot, but it needs Human Intellect to understand the nuances of analysis, and distill what it means for people. Humans by themselves have unconscious biases that can become dangerous without impartiality. We can’t always make good decisions based solely on “gut feelings”, but data with context validates assumptions and informs the best decisions. With HYBRID THINKING, we can achieve a union of Human Intellect and Artificial Intelligence that plays to their individual strengths while compensating for the weaknesses of the other—making them far better in tandem than they would be alone.

With Augmented Intelligence, data becomes information, information becomes knowledge, knowledge becomes understanding, and understanding becomes wisdom. Augmented Intelligence enables people and machines to work together—enhancing both to ensure better, faster decisions.

 

 

The philosophy of Augmented Intelligence is about leveraging the power of machines to inform better, faster human decision-making across all disciplines. When we implement HYBRID THINKING and balance Human Intellect and Artificial Intelligence, we make a human connection to data.

Our perception of what we think is happening and what’s actually happening may not always be aligned. But when we combine Human Intellect with Artificial Intelligence, we are able to triangulate and corroborate information from multiple sources to develop better strategies.

We can improve our organizations significantly by becoming more data driven. If we don’t see the value in data collection and analytics, how can we apply it to our business strategies? For instance, when trying to determine the best hybrid workplace strategy, we need a variety of data points to understand the full picture. To better determine both the context and quality of work for our people, both human perspective and data analysis must be present. Through a combination of surveys, focus groups, personal discussions and other data, we can build an actionable strategic framework to cultivate our futures and help our organizations become the best versions of themselves.

This balance of Human Intellect and Artificial Intelligence guides our strategies and decisions toward efficiency and value—that’s Augmented Intelligence.

 

 

Augmented Intelligence allows us to process large amounts of information quickly, while reducing cognitive load and allowing us to focus on the decisions that support better planning. Today we have an abundance of data. The real question is how do we capitalize on this information? How do we interpret this data into something meaningful, to ensure we are receiving the right data from the right sources? This is where HYBRID THINKING comes into play.

If we were to take the data at face-value, we would miss the full picture. We need to put people back into the plan. An industry example of systematic planning that has optimized business initiatives by leaning into Augmented Intelligence is Right-Sizing—the process of restructuring a company’s resources to meet business objectives, increase efficiency, and align with company culture. As a method previously used primarily in lean times, it has become the basis of most project decisions. But why? In a world where waste is no longer acceptable, we can’t afford to have empty real estate that doesn’t deliver value to our organizations. We don’t use space the way we used to. But by combining technological and human efforts, we can more efficiently plan for the space we actually need while attracting the right people for our organizations.

When we leverage Augmented Intelligence, our plans deliver more value, our spaces match our needs, and our decisions are accelerated—connecting our present-day reality to our ideal future state.

 

 

If used correctly, Artificial Intelligence can be an amplifier of Human Intellect. In the A/E industry, there has been resistance to change for too long. AI should be a tool to enhance our creativity rather than hinder it. If we choose to reject technological advances for the sake of preserving what was once done, we miss out on achieving what could be done in the future. But if we dare to experiment with Augmented Intelligence our designs can improve building efficiency, enhance our organization’s goals, elevate the human experience, and ultimately inspire people to thrive.

Technology accelerates the design process to make it digestible for the client, functional for the builders, and meaningful for all. We all know the saying “I have to see it to believe it,” and there is innate value in that idea. With human ingenuity and advancing technology, we have taken pen and paper sketches to immersive renderings—making it easier than ever to see it, believe it, and implement it.

As humans, we have an innate creativity that allows us to design spaces that solve the world’s problems, and when we engage Augmented Intelligence our future is limitless.

 

 

We need to embrace, invest in, and foster creative environments where Augmented Intelligence is prioritized. It’s not Humans vs AI, it’s Humans PLUS AI. This is the future! HYBRID THINKING is not solely reserved for one industry, one person, or one scenario, it is a valuable resource for advancing the foundation of any business through our strategies, our plans, and our designs.

When Human Intellect meets Artificial Intelligence, Transformational Resilience is inevitable. Let’s experiment with Augmented Intelligence to make better decisions in a world that is exponentially changing.