ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: BOON OR BANE FOR HUMANS?

“The development of full Artificial Intelligence could spell the end of the human race; it would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”— Stephen Hawking.

Compelled by a nascent desire for innovation and advancement, mankind’s quest for technological prowess is rooted in its earliest days. In fact, we have always been tinkerers. Through the use of an abundant imagination and burning desire to bend the limitations of what was once deemed impossible, we have tested the boundaries of the abstract with new technologies, blazing a trail towards their reality.

Over and over again, the human imagination has given birth to former science-fiction fantasies. From pocket computers, to self-driving cars, space tourism, virtual reality, and now, artificial intelligence, we have blurred the lines of both fantasy and fiction through wild-eyed innovators that have focused wholeheartedly on their dreams, ultimately bringing them to fruition.

Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI), which was once thought to live purely in the realm of the human imagination, is a very real and looming prospect. In a case of life imitating art, we are faced with the question of whether Artificial Intelligence is dangerous and if its benefits far outweigh its potential for very serious consequences to all of humanity. It is no longer a question of if, but when.

Having said these, we need to ask these questions:

  1. What is Artificial Intelligence?

According to John McCarthy, one of the founders of AI and the person who coined the term “Artificial Intelligence (AI)”, Artificial Intelligence is a science and engineering of making intelligent machines. AI is all about trying to make machines or software mimic, and eventually supersede human behaviour and intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is also called machine intelligence.

Some examples of machines with artificial intelligence include voice-powered personal assistants like Siri and Alexa, computers that play chess, and self-driving cars.

  1. What really are the effects of Artificial Intelligence; boon or bane?

Humans have always fixated themselves on improving life across every spectrum, and the use of technology has become the vehicle for doing just that; and although the past 100 years have seen the most dramatic technological upheavals to life than in all of human history, the next 100 years is set to pave the way for a multi-generational leap forward. According to Forbes, AI spending is expected to reach $46 billion by 2020.

Automation will displace between 400 and 800 million jobs by 2030, requiring as many as 375 million people to switch job categories entirely. How could such a shift not cause fear and concern, especially for the world’s vulnerable countries and populations?

Fortunately, this is not the first time such fears have been felt; in 1961, President Kennedy said, “the major challenge of the sixties is to maintain full employment at a time when automation is replacing men.” In the 1980s, the advent of personal computers spurred “computerphobia” with many fearing computers would replace them.

Despite these fears and concerns, every technological shift has ended up creating more jobs than were destroyed. When particular tasks are automated, becoming cheaper and faster, you need more human workers to do the other functions in the process that have not been automated.

In a poignant interview given in 2014, Elon Musk likened AI to “summoning the demon”. Bill Gates recently stated, “I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and do not understand why some people are not concerned.” So why aren’t more people concerned? Surely, if left unchecked, AI will pose an existential threat to the entire human race.

Aside from the fear that the introduction of Artificial Intelligence will bring about loss of jobs, there are 3 other areas that will be disrupted.

 

 

Transportation

The transportation industry looks like it will be the first to be completely disrupted by Artificial Intelligence. In fact, a lot of the impact of AI is already taking place. Uber and Lyft are both working on self-driving technology. GPS navigation software company, Waze (which was acquired by Google in 2013), quietly released a new App called CarPool that converts its 50-plus million users into drivers and allows users to commute to work together for a fee. It seems that Tesla has already beaten most competitors to market with its autopilot feature. Tesla now has over 300 million miles driven on autopilot, and all Tesla vehicles on the road today are only a software update away from fully autonomous driving capability. Tesla is also looking to disrupt the trucking industry with its new autonomous vehicle called the Semi. Walmart says it has already preordered 15 of Tesla’s electric/AI-powered tractor trailers.

It is not a matter of if but when these companies can perfect the technology and cut through government red tape. Think about how many hours of human productivity can be saved when we put an end to mindless driving and commuting through city traffic?

Criminal Justice

The next industry disrupted by Artificial Intelligence is the criminal justice system. Advancements in facial recognition are making the fingerprint obsolete. Tech startups are using AI to automate legal work. Meanwhile, some courts are already using AI to sentence criminals and determine parole eligibility.

But the criminal justice system is the one area where too much innovation could be a terrible thing for society and lead us into a dystopian future if we are not careful.

Furthermore, AI Creates unintended and unforeseen consequences, while fears about killer robots grab headlines, unintended and unforeseen consequences of Artificial Intelligence need attention today, as we are already living with them. For example, it is believed that Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm influenced an election outcome that affected geopolitics. How can we better anticipate and address such possible outcomes in future?

Advertising

Finally, Artificial Intelligence is going to take targeted/personalized advertising to a whole other level. If you think the Facebook Cambridge Analytical scandal was bad, then you have no idea what is in store in the next decade.

Advertisers are already able to predict what types of ads emotionally impact your purchasing behaviour. As time goes on, ads are going to continue to become more tailored to the individual. Imagine Amazon’s Alexa slipping sponsored messages into a natural conversation or personalized augmented reality billboard ads that know you by name. Ads are going to continue to become smarter and more embedded in our daily lives thanks to AI.

Having said these, one cannot doubt the immerse influence the introduction of Artificial Intelligence has on the human race; here are some of the ways AI has positively impacted us

  1. Cost Reduction

There will be economic consequences to the widespread adoption of machine learning and other AI technologies. AI is capable of performing tasks that would once have required intensive human labour or not have been possible at all. The major benefit for business will be a reduction in operational costs brought about by AI automation — whether that is a net positive for society remains to be seen.

  1. Boosting efficiency

I think of efficiency gains as employee super powers. With this benefit, you are still doing the same tasks, but you are getting more done.

  1. Achieving epic breakthroughs

Breakthroughs happen when someone sheds light on a blind spot. For many organizations, AI and machine learning enable people to overcome those blind spots, working through areas that seemed impossible or where the dots did not quite connect. In medicine, that could mean analyzing patient risk or enabling a new diagnostic product to come to market. In manufacturing, it could mean predicting defects before they happen. 

Or imagine being able to pull deeper meaning from every document in your company and, as a result, instantly spot patterns and trends. Breakthroughs are about seeing what people previously could not — until AI got in the mix.

  1. Frees Up Humans to Do What They Do Best

Humans are not best served by doing tedious tasks. Machines can do that, so this is where AI can provide a true benefit. This allows us to do the more interpersonal, strategic and creative aspects of work. The whole point of AI is to create technologies that ably mimic what a human can say, think and do.

  1. Enhances Our Lifestyle

The rise of AI in our society will enhance our lifestyle and create more efficient businesses. Some of the mundane tasks like answering emails and data entry will be done by intelligent assistants. Smart homes will also reduce energy usage and provide better security, marketing will be more targeted and we will get better health care thanks to better diagnoses.

Finally, the next big question: Regardless of where you are right now, how do you harness the power of AI and machine learning for your business?

  1. Advanced Health Care

Tremendously doing amazing in the field of health care with expansion and sustaining of life expectancy. One example can be of stem cell therapy.

  1. New Job Opportunities.

It has been predicted that 2020, would be a pivotal year for the industries involved with AI, since AI would bring in more and varied kind of job opportunities. On the other hand, we tend to ignore the benefit of AI – Augmentation by confusing AI with Automation, where fears of losing job do exist.

It is simple. Start with the data. Successful AI and machine learning are always anchored in a data-driven strategy — there is no machine learning if there isn’t a good amount of actionable data at the ready. And “ready” is the operative word: most times, many leaders eager to embark on an ML project find their data is less accessible, sizable, understandable, usable, or maintainable than they originally assumed.

At the end of the day, the winners in this seismic shift will be the companies who get it. They are the ones capturing and acting on real-time data and the ones that are willing to roll up their sleeves, dig in, and deliver. Armed with these insights and Intel, companies will use AI and ML to achieve true business impact. Do this and you will be among the envelope-pushers and game-changers driving this critical moment in time. In other words, you will be exactly where you want to be.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertadams/2017/01/10/10-powerful-examples-of-artificial-intelligence-in-use-today/#595c143c420d

https://venturebeat.com/2018/05/21/3-key-ai-benefits-for-the-future-of-work/

https://www.iotforall.com/impact-of-artificial-intelligence-job-losses/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/artificial-intelligence-ai.asp#ixzz5YcP3KOvt

https://medium.com/@daveevansap/so-whats-the-real-difference-between-ai-and-automation-3c8bbf6b8f4b

https://www.consultancy.uk/news/18753/three-benefits-of-ai-and-automation-for-consulting-businesses

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