AI and the end of exception handling woes

People occupy physical space, full of other people, objects, and seemingly endless possibilities. Programs live in a linear space, running scripts with specific instructions and giving binary responses to inputs. Even the most advanced programs essentially function in this linear fashion — they just have more complex instructions to follow and a greater number of inputs to respond to.

But humans and programs actually have some things we have in common. In day-to-day work, both people and programs sometimes encounter unexpected problems, with no instructions for how to respond to them. As work (and programming languages) has become increasingly complex, so has the complexity of potential problems.

For people, this can come in the form of an unexpected emergency or hitting a dead end on a critical, time-sensitive project. For programs, it can be inputs that threaten system failure. Both workers and programs have to move on, and the only way to do this is to reconcile errors.

That’s where artificial intelligence comes in. The technology helps improve workflow efficiency and minimize mundane work, as well as tasks with complex data analysis and learning. But AI has incredible benefits for programs as well, solving one of the oldest problems in computing: exception handling.

What is exception handling?

Exception handling is a corrective process within computing and computer programming that a program follows whenever it encounters an “exception” or any unusual condition that requires special processing. Exceptions break the usual flow of a program’s operation, executing an “exception handler” that solves whatever problem has come up. Exception handlers deploy specialized programming language constructs or execute mechanisms like system interrupts to resolve errors and resume normal program workflows.

AI helps prevent these errors from ever happening by running programs with more flexibility. One method involves building uncertainty and room for error into AI models themselves, so exceptions are no longer exceptions — just part of a normal workflow. Some AI platforms also have human in loop capabilities so a worker can get things back on track if there’s ever a problem a program can’t solve on its own.

How AI improves real world “exception handling”

As automation and AI become increasingly relevant to daily business activities, it’s increasingly apparent how much real life exceptions impact efficiency, profitability, and even project viability. This is especially the case in logistics and supply chain management, which have been thrown into chaos by material shortages and record high demand.

With profit margins razor thin and workforces processing such a high volume of tasks, exceptions can completely derail an operation. Problems like lost deliveries from suppliers, last-minute route changes, or even just a sudden spike in output demand, can be incredibly draining to workers who have to analyze the problem and find a solution. It forces them to act as real life “exception handlers,” on top of fulfilling their normal duties — all under the pressure of a ticking clock and dwindling revenue. Understandably, this can lead to burnout and harm productivity even more.

AI platforms can augment human exception handling by taking over a lot of the mental labor that goes into it. With supply chain and logistics issues, platforms that excel at data extraction, such as Automation Hero, can easily pull specific information from documents and databases and visualize it so workers can identify potential solutions. These intelligent process automation platforms then make it easy to quickly and holistically modify workflows without the need to update individual steps.
Problems are an unavoidable part of life, for both programs and workers. But as AI gets more advanced and integrated into daily business operations, it will become easier and easier to solve them. We’re moving toward an era of full automation — without exception handling problems. Be a part of this future by getting started with Automation Hero.