Stories in the news about automation technology making human hands obsolete may paint an incomplete picture of the future of the workplace. The point at which data-driven analytics and automation meet people is actually a wide open space for new types of work, according to some.

“I think McKinsey’s study says only 5 percent of all jobs that can be automated can be fully automated,” said Gerd Leonhard (pictured, right), futurist and founder and chief executive officer of The Futures Agency GmbH. “Even a pilot can be automated, but I wouldn’t fly in an airplane without a pilot.”

Leonhard and Emily Miller (pictured, left), senior director of brand and audience at NetApp Inc., spoke with Lisa Martin (@LuccaZara) and Stu Miniman (@stu), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during today’s NetApp Insight event in Las Vegas. They discussed the intersection of humans and data, as well as the bright side of technological disruption. (* Disclosure below.)

Multinary humans make the final call

AI technologies might automate some of the work a data scientist can do, but most companies find they are not ready to show their data experts the door just yet. The highest yield possible in many fields will result from the synergy of AI and irreplaceable human ingenuity, according to Leonhard.

One example of how new technologies can create more jobs comes from social medias. Companies now put up all sorts of social media accounts, but they don’t manage themselves. “Ten years ago, we didn’t have social media managers, and now we’ve got, what, 30 million?” Leonhard said.

Machines typically can only make binary, yes-or-no decisions. Humans are multinary, Leonhard pointed out. All sorts of questions may pop into their heads in contemplation of a problem and its solution.

“I feel like that’s really our opportunity as humans … to decide where’s the layer of value that we add on,” Miller said.

Data and AI can be a godsend in clearing grunt work out of the way, but there is a space in most high value-add areas of work and innovation where humans can add invaluable creative thrust, Miller concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the NetApp Insight event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for NetApp Insight. Neither NetApp Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE