“You can tell when it’s genuine versus when AI wrote it, it’s


almost too perfect,” White says. “It’s too tuned in. When there’s such perfect writing and everything’s so well laid out, I feel like our brains just kind of skim through it.” Another matter that your company has to consider is the eth- ical uses of AI. Westergard notes that the government has yet to set any parameters for AI, so it’s a bit like the Wild West right now. For instance, AI can take a picture of an unsmiling employee


and make it look like they’re happy. “I think organizations that are going to use AI do need to have some standards in place,” Westergard says. “What will we do and what won’t we do? What is okay and wasn’t what isn’t?”


THE EVOLUTION OF JOBS With the advent of AI, also comes the fear that the new tech- nology will take everyone’s jobs. However, this concern should not keep you from learning and experimenting with AI in your business. “I would say look over your shoulder,” Bemus says. “I think as an


industry, I think as companies, I think as individuals we have to always be looking and being aware of what’s going on and learn- ing and being open and not being stuck in a certain mindset.” Bemus doesn’t see AI impacting field-level roles, but entire


industries have been wiped out in the past by other innovations. Like other industry game changers – the internal combustion en- gine, the assembly line or the personal computer – AI will change the work economy. “I think things are going to move into more of a skilled workset,


more creative thinking, more critical thinking type of positions,” Swank says. “Jobs that require a lot of mundane data entry, those will shift. We’re going to be able to free up time and opportunity for other things to be done.” Gowda says some job will disappear and others will change, which is why it’s important to find a career that requires human touch.


“I think if you’re in the landscape industry, it’s not something to


worry about,” White says. “What I would say is if you don’t embrace AI and technology over the next five years, your competition will take your jobs, literally your market share, because they are able to deliver a higher quality service at a lower price.” White argues that AI isn’t going to take jobs, it will make your competition better than you. “I believe the newer entries into the market, the newer contrac-


tors that are coming out, they’re going to set up their business from the ground up using automation,” White says. “When they do that, they’re going to be more competitive on a price point because they have less backend overhead.”TE


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KEYTAKEAWAYS


 AI and automation can provide significant time savings for your team when used on mundane tasks.


 Automation does not eliminate the need for human interactions.


 Consider the risks of be- coming too dependent on AI and automation and develop ethical stan- dards for your AI usage.


 AI is not going to take jobs. It will shift roles and create new opportunities.


National Association of Landscape Professionals 25


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