AI insights series #3 | Don’t just automate work – make it meaningful
Sudeep Trivedi, Head of Strategy and Alliances, Logitech for Business
Editor’s Note: This article is part of an exclusive series featuring insights from our latest ebook, AI in the workplace: An expert’s guide for CIOs. We sat down with AI leaders from Microsoft, Google, Logitech, and Unisys to move past the hype and get to the practical realities of AI at work.
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In the tech world, we talk a lot about efficiency. We obsess over speed, throughput, and automation. But if we only focus on doing things faster, we’re missing the bigger picture.
We shouldn’t just ask how AI can help us work faster. We should ask how it can help us work better.
Since hybrid work became commonplace, companies have seen a concerning decline in employee engagement. Studies from Gallup suggest that only 36% of employees are truly engaged at work. That means the vast majority of your workforce is not fully involved. This leads to lower team morale, higher turnover, and significant productivity losses that no amount of “efficiency” can fix.
We shouldn’t be looking at AI as technology for its own sake. We should be looking at it as a tool to fix this engagement crisis.
The goal of AI isn’t just to replace individual tasks; it’s to eliminate the repetitive, friction-filled parts of the day so that work becomes more meaningful to people.
Here is how I believe leaders can use AI to put the “human” back in the hybrid workplace.
Using AI as an engagement tool
One of the biggest friction points in hybrid work is the “second-class citizen” problem.
Most employees don’t like being the one remote person dialing into a physical conference room. They can’t see who’s speaking, or read the energy in the room. They feel more like a fly on the wall than an active participant. And eventually, they tune out.
This is where AI-powered technology can shine. It can virtually pull remote attendees into the meeting by presenting their in-office colleagues in a more visible way. Not only that, but it follows the conversation as it moves around the room, intelligently selecting the best angle of each speaker.
At Logitech, we call this Smart Switching. It’s an employee engagement tool disguised as a software feature. It uses intelligent, automatic multi-framing technology to turn meetings into experiences that feel more like polished TV productions. The AI embedded within Rally Bar and Logitech Sight act as a director, emphasizing the humans involved, not the mechanics of the meeting.
When every participant feels seen, included, and equal, engagement naturally follows.
Negating the everyday friction
AI-driven solutions can also remove the manual intervention required for everyday tasks.
Consider the simple act of booking a room. It seems trivial, but it is often a source of massive frustration.
- The “ghost meeting”: Someone books a room, but doesn’t show up. The room shows as “booked” on the calendar. Other teams wander the halls looking for space, walking past the empty (but reserved) room.
- The “overrun”: A meeting runs long, causing an awkward standoff at the door with the next group.
At Logitech, we use AI in our camera sensors to automatically detect these behaviors and react to them without human input.
- Auto booking: If a team walks into an open room and starts working, the sensor in our video bars recognizes the occupancy and books it for them instantly.
- Auto release: If no one shows up to a booked room within a set time, the room is freed up automatically for others.
With less human intervention needed, employees can spend less time on manual actions so they can spend more time on collaboration. And IT admins gain a realistic picture of which rooms are actually used, not just which ones were booked. It’s a win for all parties involved.
The “toothbrush” adoption theory
How do you get employees to actually use these tools? Resistance to new tech is natural, especially when people fear it might replace them.
At Logitech, we believe the most effective way to maintain momentum is to integrate tools into everyday life until they become a habit. In that respect, AI becomes just as much a habit as brushing your teeth or tying your shoes.
Imagine this workflow:
- 8:00 AM: You start your day using a wireless headset and a keyboard with a dedicated AI prompt key to conduct a meeting from home. The AI-powered noise cancellation handles the audio clarity.
- 10:00 AM: You commute to the office, where AI-powered cameras frame you perfectly in the conference room, making you look professional without needing to adjust a single setting.
- 12:00 PM: You rely on AI-driven desk booking software to find a spot near your team.
- 7:00 PM: You wind down from your day by streaming a video game with an intelligent streaming assistant as a sidekick.
When employees incorporate AI into their daily work and their daily lives, they see the benefits firsthand. That personal experience creates champions and advocates, resulting in viral momentum for the technology.
Navigating the ethical conversation
Of course, implementing AI isn’t just about hardware and software; it’s about trust.
Logitech developed our Responsible AI Principles to serve as a blueprint for how we deploy this technology. Our approach prioritizes transparency, accountability, the protection of privacy, and the mitigation of bias.
But a best practice here is simply being honest: AI is an evolving technology.
It’s advancing before our eyes. Legislation is trying to keep up. We can’t claim to have the answers to it all, because nobody does. But as a company, we’re bound to our principles of ethics and integrity, which have guided us through many uncertain times in the past.
Acknowledging that uncertainty doesn’t make you look weak; it makes you look trustworthy.
Rethinking ROI to focus on the intangibles
Leaders often get stuck trying to measure AI value solely through quantifiable cost savings or productivity gains. “How many minutes did we save?”
While important, I believe we need a more holistic approach. We must account for AI’s intangible, qualitative benefits.
- Does it help us implement flexible work models successfully?
- Does it positively influence employee satisfaction?
- Does it reduce burnout by removing drudgery?
These factors often lead to more significant, far-reaching improvements in overall business performance than simply shaving a few seconds off a task. A happy, engaged team that stays with the company is the ultimate ROI.
The future: Human-friendly, AI-powered environments
Looking ahead, AI will make our physical environments more responsive.
Using advanced environmental sensors (like Logitech Spot), we can now detect space occupancy and monitor environmental conditions in real-time.
This gives us accurate data on how humans naturally use spaces, rather than forcing them to contort to structured setups that don’t work for them.
Companies who are using these sophisticated systems are far ahead of the curve. They aren’t just managing buildings; they’re creating responsive, human-friendly environments that adapt to the people inside them.
Want more expert insights?
My perspective is just one piece of the puzzle. Appspace brought together a full panel of leaders to discuss the practical realities of this technology.
To get the full view – including advice on governance, culture, and security – read the guide below. It features insights from my peers at Microsoft, Google, Unisys, and Appspace.
