AI in the Field: Putting People Before Automation

AI is changing the playbook for mobile field operations and how they work. Not long ago, AI sparked fears of job loss and obsolescence. Today, it’s clear that those who lean into AI – rather than resist it – will be able to gain ground, move faster, and remain agile in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.

However, AI is not without its challenges. Data privacy, security, and global regulation are still big question marks. And while AI can supercharge efficiency, governments around the world need to keep pace by designing smart, robust legislation to manage the ripple effects of AI.

At a company level, teams and organisations should embrace AI, viewing it as a positive move, but those implementing it should avoid being blindly optimistic. Devising a smooth pathway to adoption deserves time and attention if you want to get your AI deployment right.

With laws around data, bias, and transparency constantly shifting, it’s easy to lose sight of the human expertise that keeps work tasks grounded. Ethical and privacy frameworks aren’t just nice to haves, they are essential. Organisations should look at AI as a long-term investment. They should pair experienced staff who have deep know-how with newer team members to share knowledge and processes.

For many organisations, AI implementation is still very much at the experimental stage. It’s therefore important to ensure people are always informed to review and refine AI outputs, and that knowledge continues to be captured.

Regulations like the EU AI Act are a good start and will certainly help with implementing AI frameworks, but businesses need to take ownership of their own safeguards and policies. You should be baking ethics into every stage of your AI journey, from design to deployment. Set up internal governance teams which bring in diverse voices and make transparency a core value.

Using AI to enhance mobile field operations and help users to work and think differently will come more easily to some than others. Therefore, coaching and training programs on how to get the best from AI-enabled devices will be required. Support your teams in building new skills, not just technical ones, but strategic and cognitive ones too. 

It is not always easy to change the way you do things, but it’s crucial to empower your users to adapt and thrive in the AI era – without making them feel undervalued or out of touch if they don’t immediately grasp it.