AI: The good, the bad, and error 404
With the explosive growth and subsequent crash of the NFT market, the omnipresence of crypto ads on your YouTube app, and Facebook’s rebranding to the Meta(verse), it is clear that humanity is on the cusp of a new technological era. Astrologers call it the Age of Aquarius; the tech-savvy community call it Web3, or Web 3.0 if you prefer.
Web 3.0 brings with it, among other things, the promise of large-scale asset digitisation, more connectivity, and better protection of user data using Blockchain. With these new innovations, the tech world is fast starting to feel like an episode of Futurama. Web 3.0 is not only an advancement from a human perspective but also an improvement on machine learning, which brings us to the topic of the day…Artificial Intelligence.
AI
Of course, how could we have missed it? The answer has been staring at us all this time. It was Adobe Illustrator all along. That, my friends, is what is called a Rick roll, and like many other memes, the concept of AI has been an ever-evolving idea in popular media. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s define AI. Put simply, it’s the ability of computers to simulate human thinking, reasoning and logic for problem-solving and decision-making.
Why would we want this? Mainly because:
• It can improve speed and efficiency in the workspace.
• It removes human labour from tedious, repetitive tasks.
• It’s active 24/7 with no need to rest or recuperate.
• It’s versatile enough to apply in almost any scenario.
Fundamentally, AI makes our lives easier, meaning more time freed up for us to work on even greater and more important stuff thus furthering our development as a species.
Man vs Machine
Different types of AI have appeared in popular movies such as The Terminator, i-Robot, The Matrix, Transcendence, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Most of these films understandably take a dystopian look at AI. The basic premise is that man-created machines are so smart, that they no longer need to follow their creators’ orders, essentially replacing humans and (for the sake of drama) plotting ways to eliminate us. As sensational as this might seem, they reflect a deep-rooted fear that we collectively share about the rise of AI: loss of control and authority.
Many believe that the more new technologies are integrated into the workspace, the more likely people are going to lose their jobs. Can we really blame them? With the rate of unemployment here in South Africa and other developing countries, millions of people have to scratch and claw their way just to get to the foot of the employment ladder, let alone climb it. It is understandable, therefore, that society is afraid of losing the few jobs that are available to working people in the first place.
In Good Hands?
AI aside, it would not be the first time that humans have feared automation would render them replaceable. This is a recurring theme in all the industrial revolutions up to this point. With new technologies taking over previously manual work, there were indeed instances of short-term job losses, but in most cases, as one door closed, a new one opened. Workers were reskilled to better work with the new technologies, and new technologies made it possible to create new jobs for us to fill. With this reflective understanding, we should have solace in knowing that despite some tasks, and jobs, becoming obsolete, there will always be room for humans moving forward.
Being responsible as software engineers
What is the responsibility of UX designers, developers, and other software engineers when it comes to AI?
The answer is simple and is the foundation of why our jobs even exist: we have a responsibility to people. Everything that we make is for the continual improvement of the human experience. AI is just one of life’s inevitabilities, and we as the hired problem-solvers in this digital landscape have a duty to shape AI along the right path.
The Future Now
Whether we know it or not, society is already enjoying the fruits of AI. Everything from voice recognition on our mobile devices, and biometric scanners in the workplace, to machine-generated art — I’m looking at you, DALL•E Mini — owes its existence to AI. Despite the occasional ethical hiccup, we are already witnessing how positive our lives can become if we embrace and adopt new technology responsibly, and it’s only going to get better from here.
