Human + Machine
Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson · 2018
Human + Machine (2018) is a book by Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson on Future of Work & AI. Two Accenture executives argue that AI's biggest payoff comes not from automation but from collaboration. Drawing on 1,500 companies, they map the "Missing Middle" where humans and machines work together and offer a playbook for reimagining work.
The book that reframed AI from a job-killer into a collaborator, showing that the real value lives in the "Missing Middle" where humans and machines augment each other.
Two of the ideas you’ll keep
The Clif summary of Human + Machine pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first two.
- The greatest performance gains come not from humans OR machines but from the **Missing Middle**, the collaborative space where humans complement machines (giving them purpose and training them) and machines give humans superpowers (amplifying, interacting, embodying).
- AI is best understood as a **transformational technology** like the steam engine or electricity, not a mere efficiency tool. Companies stuck in the 'first wave' of standardized processes and the 'second wave' of automation leave the biggest value untapped in the 'third wave' of adaptive processes.
The other 5 — and the full 11-minute summary — are in the app.
What’s inside: 8 chapters
The whole summary runs about 11 minutes, read or listened to.
- The Third Wave of Business Transformation
- The Missing Middle
- Humans Helping Machines: Trainers, Explainers, Sustainers
- Machines Helping Humans: Amplify, Interact, Embody
- Rethinking Your Business Processes
- The Data Supply Chain and Responsible AI
- Fusion Skills for the New Workforce
- MELDS: A Framework for Reinvention
Finish Human + Machine tonight.
Read or listen to the full summary in about 11 minutes, then keep the ideas with a minute of review a day. Start with the 2-minute quiz — no card required.
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