Automation and the age of digital maturity

In this, our first Insight article of 2025, Alastair Adams takes time out to reflect on the positive impact hyperautomation continues to have on our daily lives.

Fast world, faster progress 

The post-Christmas period can often be associated with a slower pace. Everyone is feeling a few stone heavier and experiencing a comedown from the spirit of giving and merriness. But when it comes to returning an unwanted Christmas present from a distant aunt, things have never been faster. In this increasingly digital-first world, there is often no longer a need to meticulously fill out return forms. It has become commonplace for returns to be as easy as using your phone to scan a QR code. The code will similarly be scanned at the post office, giving everyone involved the necessary information and digital receipts to ensure a seamless return.  

The evolution of this process and the ease with which we can now send back any unnecessary or faulty items got me thinking about how much quicker, how streamlined our world has become in so many aspects. We have become accustomed to the removal of manual processes and physical inputs in our daily lives. From bills and bank statements to looking at menus and ordering in restaurants. QR codes and digitised processes are everywhere. While they may not have entirely replaced paper and manual inputting, it certainly seems like everything is focused around speeding up these processes and taking as much responsibility out of our hands as possible. 

While this might be a fairly visible transition in our daily lives, in the business world, many of these changes have been occurring in the background. This evolution can be almost invisible to those who might not know where to look or how to spot the changes.  

AI and hyperautomation 

One glance at any technology related article over the past few years and it can start to feel like AI has slowly crept into every facet of our daily lives and businesses. This may seem like a recent phenomenon, but the fact of the matter is AI has been improving our lives both visibly and invisibly for quite some time now.

When it comes to process automation, AI can help to improve, streamline and ultimately transform our capabilities. The concept of automating everything within an organisation that can possibly be automated is known as “hyperautomation”. Hyperautomation is greatly dependent upon businesses embracing the capabilities of AI, robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning.  

Digital automation of processes has been present in the world of technology for decades now. This form of automation adheres to a structure which we put in place. There are clear parameters and pre-defined rules that must be followed by the computer programmes being used. But hyperautomation, where AI is involved, is unstructured and not put to use in order to perform repetitive tasks. AI is used to mimic humans at the intellectual level. This form of automation involves machines learning tasks through identifying patterns. It is therefore far more complex and has a wider range of abilities. 

We are in the midst of experiencing hyperautomation in our daily lives, as I pointed out earlier, with digital processes replacing the manual across society. In the five years since the phrase was coined by Gartner, AI has steadily, even rapidly in some cases, improved our pre-existing ability to automate previously time-consuming and mundane tasks. Embracing this method of technological evolution can free up the time of individuals within organisations to complete more fulfilling and meaningful work.