The bright side of AI revolution.
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The recent developments in the field of AI have divided people into two distinct groups. One that finds these advancements as key to progressing mankind into the future and the other that is focused on the detrimental effects that AI could bring to humanity. One of the big concerns regarding AI, other than authenticity and security, is the fear of AI taking over jobs previously worked by human beings. In a world where unemployment is widespread and inflation runs rampant, this concern seems to be legitimate. But should AI be the sole focus of this concern and is the hampering of AI developments the only way to solve this issue?
Necessary evil:
In the past, whenever there has been an advancement in science, no matter how small or insignificant, it leads to a general change in the way the world works and as we know :
“Change is the bringer of fear.”
When electricity was discovered, it became a cause of concern for a lot of people; but, nowadays we can’t imagine living a life without electricity all around us. Similarly, when gas powered vehicles were invented or when the rail tracks were laid down or when the internet found its footing, all of these were not only repulsed but rejected outright by a lot of people. There were genuine concerns regarding these advancements back then. Some of them were solved, some of them weren’t and still new ones continue to emerge every now and then.
What we need to understand and accept is that overcoming the fear of the unknown is necessary for progress. There will always be concerns regarding the development of technology; but, if we give in to the fear of change and don’t take that first step, then we’ll never find out the solution to our concerns and we’ll always live in the fear of the unknown. That is why, knowing full well that there will be problems, we need to walk forward. We got over our issues in the past (at least some of them). Once the developments take hold, we’ll find ways to solve the problems. Hampering the developments in AI is no way to tackle these issues. However, it must be paced accordingly. Fast-paced developments will simply not aid in converting people’s mindset and prepping them for the change that AI is about to bring to everyday life.
The silver lining:
In my opinion, AI should not be the sole focus of our concerns. People fear that AI will take over their jobs but I think that instead of focusing on this technology, the focus of this concern should be the people skilled in AI tech.
“AI won’t replace you, but a person well versed in AI surely will.”
AI is simply a tool that will make our jobs easier. But if you think that AI all by itself can replace you, then you’ve got another thought coming. Even if you think that a novice in your field will take over your job because he knows how to use AI, you’d still be wrong. I’ve talked about this in my previous article: https://medium.com/@not_javed/ai-revolution-isnt-as-fast-as-you-think-aa66add95dd8
AI is far from perfect and it makes considerable mistakes with great confidence. If you’re not skilled in your respective field and solely depend on AI for progress, then you’ll surely fail.
This is where the silver lining becomes prominent. Instead of looking at AI as something that’ll replace you, look at it as a tool that can aid you in doing your task more efficiently. Whenever there is a development, it doesn’t just remove jobs from the market, it replaces those jobs with newer ones requiring different skillset. So most people should be good if they learn how to incorporate AI into their workflow. It will create a lot of new jobs and provide enticing opportunities to our younger generations. It’ll allow us to work efficiently and progress quickly. But the big concerns (like legitimacy) will have to be dealt with in due time.
AI will eventually find its way into everyday and professional life. The need of professionals in a field won’t just go away because AI has now come into play. Like I said, AI is not perfect. It does make mistakes and it’ll take a skilled individual to make sure that everything works smoothly. So instead of looking at it as our enemy, our focus should be learning and improving this tech as much as possible. Thanks for reading!
