How New Technologies Enable The Human Machine Economy Ey Us

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 29, 2025, 7:30 PM

how new technologies enable the human machine economy ey us

EY helps clients create long-term value for all stakeholders. Enabled by data and technology, our services and solutions provide trust through assurance and help clients transform, grow and operate. Discover how EY insights and services are helping to reframe the future of your industry. How digital twin technology powers the future at Xcel Energy How Bristol Myers Squibb overhauled working capital to fund its future How St James’s Hospital's journey to cloud transformed cancer care

AI, robotics, brain computer interface and longevity breakthroughs are creating a workforce that can think faster, move stronger and operate longer than any human alone. My new piece, an article of the new EY Megatrends series, examines how these technologies are reshaping workforce strategy- and why organizations must prepare for a world where human - machine hybrids set pace. #EY, #humanmachine #futureofwork #exoskeletons Thanks for sharing Bea - packed full of insights. The human-machine economy is a true MEGA trend. So relevant to my emerging govt initiative!

You're on a roll, Beatriz :) The landscape of modern business is undergoing a seismic shift. Once relegated to the realm of speculative research and siloed experimental labs, artificial intelligence has matured into the essential infrastructure of the present and the blueprint for the future.1 The initial phase of generative... Today, AI is no longer just a technological frontier; it has become a "bet-the-business" skill set, with its effective integration determining the success or failure of an organization.2 This strategic shift necessitates a fundamental... To guide its clients through this profound revolution, EY has undertaken a deliberate and foundational strategic choice: becoming its own first client, an approach it terms "Client Zero".4 This initiative is powered by an... This internal journey provided an authentic and empathetic perspective on the multifaceted challenges clients face, from technical integration to cultural change.

It highlighted firsthand the risks of fragmented, piecemeal AI initiatives that can lead to "proof of concept fatigue" and squandered resources, a phenomenon EY teams directly encountered within their own organization.6 This direct, cause-and-effect... This internal journey of self-disruption informed the three-part strategic ambition that guides all of EY’s AI initiatives.7 These ambitions are not merely a list of services but a foundational philosophy for harnessing AI's potential... The first ambition is to build confidence in AI.7 This involves leveraging robust frameworks, governance, and ethical principles to instill trust and empower a responsible transformation.4 This is a proactive measure against the growing... The second is to create exponential value.7 This pillar focuses on optimizing performance, enriching customer and employee experiences, and unlocking new, sustainable sources of growth that go beyond simple efficiency gains.7 EY-Parthenon, for instance,... The integration of AI into enterprise operations is set to reach an inflection point in 2025, as organisations transition from experimental AI deployments to comprehensive digital transformation strategies. This shift marks a departure from traditional automation, moving towards systems where AI agents work autonomously alongside human employees.

However, these changes can bring structural challenges for global enterprises. Existing hierarchical management models face pressure to adapt as AI systems take on decision-making roles previously reserved for middle management. Meanwhile, the emergence of quantum computing capabilities introduces new cybersecurity vulnerabilities, forcing organisations to reconsider their approach to data protection. Regulatory frameworks, meanwhile, are struggling to keep pace with technological change. The EU AI Act establishes initial governance structures for AI deployment in Europe, yet questions remain about implementation across global supply chains and data networks. This regulatory uncertainty coincides with growing pressure on enterprises to demonstrate responsible AI deployment while maintaining competitive advantages.

The shift towards AI-integrated operations requires new organisational structures, moving away from traditional hierarchical workflows towards objective-focused strategies. “The vision we are moving towards is one where humans interact with AI agents, while the C-suite oversees decision-making and becomes the control tower of this new hybrid operating system,” says Beatriz Sanz Saiz,... EY tests this transformation through its EY.ai platform, which brings together human capabilities and AI to help clients transform their businesses through confident and responsible adoption of AI. “At EY, we are already navigating this transformation through our EY.ai platform. This initiative showcases how a flexible, adaptive approach to AI integration can revolutionise work structures and outcomes,” says Beatriz. Multinational consultancy Ernst & Young (EY) said generative AI (genAI) is “radically reshaping” the way it operates, and the company boasts a 96% adoption rate of the technology by employees.

After spending $1.4 billion on a customized generative AI platform called EY.ai, the company said the technology is creating new efficiencies and allowing its employees to focus on higher-level tasks. Following an initial pilot with 4,200 EY tech-focused team members in 2023, the global organization released its large language model (LLM) to its nearly 400,000 employees. Even so, the company’s executive leadership insists it’s not handing off all of its business functions and operations to an AI proxy and that humans remain at the center of innovation and development. Looking to the future, EY sees the next evolution as artificial general intelligence (AGI) — a neural network that will be able to think for itself and capable of performing any intellectual task a... Computerworld interviewed Saiz about how genAI is changing the way the company operates and how its employees perform their jobs. You launched EY.ai a year ago.

How has that transformed your organization? What kinds of efficiencies and/or productivity gains have you seen? “Over the past year, we’ve harnessed AI to radically reshape the way we operate, both internally and in service to our clients. We’ve integrated AI into numerous facets of our operations, from enhancing client service delivery to improving our internal efficiencies. Teams are now able to focus more on high-value activities that truly drive innovation and business growth, while AI assists with complex data analysis and operational tasks. EY helps clients create long-term value for all stakeholders.

Enabled by data and technology, our services and solutions provide trust through assurance and help clients transform, grow and operate. Discover how EY insights and services are helping to reframe the future of your industry. How digital twin technology powers the future at Xcel Energy How Bristol Myers Squibb overhauled working capital to fund its future How St James’s Hospital's journey to cloud transformed cancer care Work in the future will be a partnership between people, agents, and robots—all powered by artificial intelligence.

While much of the current public debate revolves around whether AI will lead to sweeping job losses, our focus is on how it will change the very building blocks of work—the skills that underpin... Our research suggests that although people may be shifted out of some work activities, many of their skills will remain essential. They will also be central in guiding and collaborating with AI, a change that is already redefining many roles across the economy. In this research, we use “agents” and “robots” as broad, practical terms to describe all machines that can automate nonphysical and physical work, respectively. Many different technologies perform these functions, some based on AI and others not, with the boundaries between them fluid and changing. Using the terms in this expansive way lets us analyze how automation reshapes work overall.1Our analysis considers a broader range of automation technologies than the narrow definition of agents commonly used in the AI...

For more on how we define the term, see the Glossary. This report builds on McKinsey’s long-running research on automation and the future of work. Earlier studies examined individual activities, while this analysis also looks at how AI will transform entire workflows and what this means for skills. New forms of collaboration are emerging, creating skill partnerships between people and AI that raise demand for complementary human capabilities. Although the analysis focuses on the United States, many of the patterns it reveals—and their implications for employers, workers, and leaders—apply broadly to other advanced economies. We find that currently demonstrated technologies could, in theory, automate activities accounting for about 57 percent of US work hours today.2Our analysis focuses exclusively on paid productive hours in the US workforce, encompassing full-time...

We assess only the share of time awake that is spent on work-related activities, totaling roughly 45 percent of waking hours. Our analysis excludes time spent on unpaid tasks and leisure, but agents and robots could be used in related activities to support productivity and personal well-being. This estimate reflects the technical potential for change in what people do, not a forecast of job losses. As these technologies take on more complex sequences of tasks, people will remain vital to make them work effectively and do what machines cannot. Our assessment reflects today’s capabilities, which will continue to evolve, and adoption may take decades. Thrilled to share another contribution to EY's Megatrends 2026 report—exploring how emerging technologies are enabling the human-machine hybrid economy and fundamentally transforming how we work, lead, and create value.

This research examines the convergence of AI, robotics, and neurotechnology that's pushing the boundaries of human potential and reshaping workforce dynamics across every industry. Key findings from our research: 🔹 Cognitive Augmentation is Here – Human-AI teams are achieving 73% higher productivity per worker. MIT and Johns Hopkins research shows that hybrid intelligence creates superior outcomes in marketing and advertising, demonstrating the power of complementary capabilities. 🔹 Physical Augmentation is Accelerating – The collaborative robotics (cobots) market is growing at 35% annually, reaching $60.6B by 2030. Meanwhile, exoskeleton technologies are expanding from manufacturing into healthcare and logistics, projected to grow from $1.4B in 2025 to $19.7B by 2035—a 30% annual growth rate. 🔹 The Hybrid Workforce Model – By 2030, work tasks will be nearly evenly divided between human-only, machine-only, and collaborative approaches.

This isn't about replacement—it's about reimagining roles to harness augmented intelligence where humans and machines each contribute their unique strengths. The implications are profound: we're moving from traditional job architectures to dynamic frameworks where humans manage, direct, and collaborate with AI agents that amplify our judgment, creativity, and impact. Organizations that proactively redesign their structures for human-agent collaboration will unlock greater agility, innovation, and competitive advantage. As we enter this NAVI world (Nonlinear, Accelerated, Volatile, Interconnected), the question isn't whether to embrace human-machine partnerships—it's how quickly we can adapt our leadership models, workforce strategies, and organizational structures to thrive in... Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/gQBfeSSX How is your organization preparing for the human-machine hybrid workforce? Are you augmenting human capabilities or still thinking in terms of automation vs.

employment? Special thanks to Chris Yeh, Bryan Cassady, and Terri Horton, for their thoughtful contributions to this piece. #EYMegatrends #AI #FutureOfWork #HumanMachineHybrid #CognitiveAugmentation #Leadership #Robotics #WorkforceTransformation #Innovation Thanks for involving Me. . Vitaly Golomb ., you asked great questions

How New Technologies Enable The Human Machine Economy Ey Us

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