Collaboration has traditionally been interaction between people. With technological development, this too should be thought about from a new perspective. What if one of your colleagues is AI? When generative AI applications are used as part of work, a new kind of sense of collaboration can emerge.
The importance of work community
The importance of work community for mental health has been researched extensively, and several studies have shown that a good work community and appropriately challenging work support mental health and increase employee motivation and commitment to work. (Sinokki, M. 2010) With a virtual colleague, it's possible to brainstorm or ask for alternative perspectives or implementation approaches.
Collaboration with AI
At their best, AI-powered applications work as a virtual colleague who helps you come up with new ideas or better ways to do your current work. It's about the feeling that you're working with a virtual colleague who enriches your thinking and supports your actions. AI-generated suggestions can serve as starting points that you can adapt according to your own needs.
What does working with AI feel like?
Working with AI creates a new kind of experience that combines dialogue, interactivity, and surprise.
Dialogue: Working with AI resembles a conversation where you exchange thoughts in turns. This can create a feeling of genuine collaboration.
Interactivity: AI reacts and adapts to your inputs, just like you'd be working on some complex problem with a colleague.
Surprise: AI suggestions can challenge and inspire you to try new approaches you wouldn't have considered yourself.
Feedback: AI doesn't just give answers, but offers constructive feedback that can help you refine your thoughts or develop solutions. Receiving feedback from AI is fast and easier to approach objectively. This way you can develop professional skills quickly even in new areas for yourself.
AI as a colleague
The sense of collaboration with AI emerges when you see it as a colleague who brings their own strengths to the process. AI can process vast amounts of data in an instant and pick out essential things. AI isn't emotional, so it can offer objective suggestions and questions in an encouraging way that feeds creativity. If the topic interests you from a customer service perspective, you can read more about AI customer service benefits here.
A virtual colleague doesn't replace human collaboration, but complements it. It offers a new dimension to work where you can get inspiration, feedback, and support anytime. This can be especially valuable when you're working independently or need quick help with problem-solving.
Source
Sinokki, M. (2010). T. Work community – threat and support for mental health. Duodecim, 126, 1803–1809.
