By now, I am sure we are all aware of how artificial intelligence is changing our lives. I decided to apply this new technology to a series of office topics. The following are responses to my questions from Bing.com:
My first question was about the office of the future. AI response:
“The office of the future has been evolving over the years. It is expected to be more flexible, collaborative, and technology-driven. The future of the office will be about collaboration, open-plan offices, and working remotely…….As work culture shifts to a flexible hybrid working model, organizations will have to rethink their office space to accommodate new norms. What they will look like is still being defined.”
I persisted by asking about office flexibility and its importance. AI response:
“Office flexibility is a strategy for responding to changes that may occur and meeting expectations…….Flexible work arrangements can include telecommuting, flexible schedules, job sharing, part-time work, and compressed workweeks…….The benefits of workplace flexibility include increased productivity, employee satisfaction, and retention rates……In addition, workplace flexibility prioritizes the best circumstances for workers to thrive in. Rather than a rigid time line or environment, this structure supports the need for work-life balance. It embraces the idea that employees can be at their most productive no matter if they’re in the office or sprawled on the sofa at home on a weekday.”
I asked about the future of the private office. AI response:
“The future of the private office is changing. According to a LinkedIn article, the future workplace is a hybrid office. There are open spaces where ideas can flow freely, and creativity and innovation are thriving. And then there are areas where people can focus in a quiet environment, where private meetings can take place and where people go when they don’t want to be distracted” (partial quote)
In its private office response, AI referred to a “hub-and spoke” model. I wanted to know more. AI response:
“According to Forbes, the hub-and-spoke model enables a centralized “hub” for people to come together while providing the choice to work from “spokes.” A spoke does not have to be a conventional office but instead any from which a person can be productive. The hub-and-spoke model offers an alternative to your main office by giving remote workers access to local office spaces on demand.”
The mention of “local office spaces on demand” could include shared workplace centers. I asked AI to define a shared workplace center facility. This is where AI showed its fallibility with its dated response.
“A shared workplace center is a type of office space that is shared by multiple business or individuals. It is an alternative to traditional office spaces and can be started on a reasonable investment of about $25,000. Shared office centers usually consist of 20 to 30 small individual offices housed in one location. Additional revenue can be generated from providing tenants with “extra services” such as reception, and secretarial services, high-speed photocopying, parcel shipping and receiving, and boardroom facilities.”
I asked AI for the difference between flex office and co-working spaces that is more current with the modern concepts of shared workplace centers. AI response:
“Flexible workplaces are typically owned by a co-working company from which a business rents offices or open space on a short-term basis. They can come from hot desks, coworking spaces, open offices, or dedicated desks. While hot desks allow users to book a desk whenever they need it, dedicated desks provide more constant users with the same workspace whenever they com to the office. Co-working spaces can be reserved on-demand at an hourly, daily, or weekly rate. Many also offer monthly rates. Coworking spaces are designed to be collaborative environments where people can work together and share ideas.”
I asked AI for examples of flex spaces. Within seconds I was provided with a large and varied array of pictorial examples.
Finally, I asked about the profitability a shared flex office center can provide. AI response:
“According to some sources, shared flex offices can be very profitable for commercial real estate owners and operators….. Shared spaces have the potential to generate two to three times as much revenue per square foot as traditional office space…… 43% of all flexible workplaces generate a direct profit from their operation…… Coworking growth in 2018 reach almost 20%….. However, profitability also depends on several factors, such as occupancy rates, location, amenities, pricing, and competition.”
All the above responses are direct quotes from AI on Bing.com. They came complete with footnotes and directions to similar topics. The responses are interesting. I was more fascinated, however, that in a few seconds, artificial intelligence technology was able to find, evaluate a broad range of information relevant to my questions, and respond in clear, well composed conversational prose. This is only the beginning.
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