The fitness and survival of the OR profession in the age of artificial intelligence

Richard Ormerod

Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2021, vol. 72, issue 1, 4-22

Abstract: How will AI affect OR practice? In OR we aspire to be logical, and therefore our behaviours should be relatively easy to replicate in logic, the basis of computer systems. We also pride ourselves on our attention to context, our project management skills, and our pragmatic approach. To think about the issues, we can turn to our experience of practicing OR and to the insights of mathematics, philosophy, sociology, and economics. Mathematicians and philosophers have widened the scope of logic to cover many aspects of decision-making; sociologists have conducted research into the social context and consequences of new technologies and economists have analysed their rates of penetration. Some OR jobs will be destroyed and others will be created giving rise to new, more varied career paths. The paper concludes that the centre of gravity of OR practice will move from analysis to those aspects difficult to computerise, the ‘residuals’. When AI does finally displace OR practitioners, it may come in the form of ‘AI strong enough for OR’, strong enough to satisfy potential OR clients in terms of efficacy and cost. The OR community needs to get involved more deeply in AI; it has the relevant expertise to do so.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/01605682.2019.1650619

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