See Far project, together with other six projects have worked recently on the non-scientific paper regarding the role of AI technologies in working through COVID-19 and its aftermath. This close collaboration was led by
SmartWork project http://www.smartworkproject.eu/
And joint by:
Ageing@Work: https://ageingatwork-project.eu/
BIONIC https://bionic-h2020.eu/
CO-ADAPT https://coadapt-project.eu/
See Far https://www.see-far.eu/
sustAGE https://www.sustage.eu/
WorkingAge https://www.workingage.eu/
See Far project had an active effort and role to elaborate and write about the digital solutions and systems to the Covid – 19 implication in different work environments.
The main aims of the concerted paper are to:
- reflect and share about the COVID-19 implications to the work environments, now that teleworking turned into a main instrument and necessity for us all;
- understand how the digital solutions and systems could be developed, adapted, optimized or applied to better respond to the pandemic context challenges.
The contributions collected followed three proposed guiding questions, although the contributing partners were free to explore other relevant aspects, in their understanding:
- How can technology apply to the work environment be leveraged to respond to the emerging challenges raised by COVID-19?
- Are there changes to the actual priorities and needs, considering the pandemic situation?
- Is this an opportunity for projects such as SmartWork to underline the needs to introduce a digital revolution in the workplace?
During the next pages, all the different contributions are aligned. The individual contributions and opinions of SmartWork partners are constituting Chapter 1. Chapter 2 collects the contributions provided by the different projects that were funded under the same call.
Some similarities can be highlighted:
- The desire to leverage the existing knowledge to rapidly respond to the challenges of this new (even if hopefully temporary) era;
- The understanding of the challenges ahead and the will to overcome them collectively.
The collective first step is already the creation of this common paper. It is surely a positive sign for the future. But also some conclusions can be drawn:
- COVID-19 impacted the way we live, work and spend free time severely,
- It has effects on physical and mental health and wellbeing,
AI can play a great role in providing solutions, not only during the emergency but also in the long-term, and not only for the office workers but also for the more traditional industries.
