Will machines take over humans?
Was recently working on a proactive thought-leadership piece on ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) — how it affects people and changes the way banks operate.
It’s interesting.
I’ve been hearing so much about AI from the media. My first attempt on research brought me top news of how AI brings a negative impact to the world. I see so much fear, anxiety and concern with majority of news headlines questioning “Will machines take over humans?”
Not to mention world leaders like Bill Gates & Elon Musk giving multiple warnings of dangers of AI if not handled appropriately.
Hence, my first cut of the deck was all about how machines have replaced jobs and leave many unemployed.
My planning director who was reviewing it asked me to give it a positive spin.
My first thought was “Okay, I can try…”
Then, I dug deeper and deeper, I watched videos of seminars and interviews from experts and senior management. Yes, everyone has their point-of-view. There’s always both sides of a coin.
Then one moment when I caught an insight.
That as smart as machines are, machines are created by humans with algorithms. How they think/behave depends on the fuel we add.
If machines become smart, we will become smarter.
We will be able to tap on our unique human abilities — creativity, empathy, intuition, vision, compassion, morales.
This is indeed another revolution — the 4th industrial revolution they call it. After the invention of steam engines, electricity, electronics.
I realised how easy it is for human to fear anything new and foreign to us. And the power of media to blow it up.
I’m not saying AI has no dangers, I’m sure they do and they need to be dealt with and managed properly, with laws to govern it.
However, just because it’s new and we’re scared of the unknown, should it stop us from growing and discovering?
I believe it’s always about balance.
Same as how our digital gadgets have connected more people together, yet always bring distance between people.
But first, we need to get there first and there’s still a long way ahead.
