AI and Job Destruction: Co-operating, not Co-opting Careers
Talk of artificial Intelligence (AI) is rampant as businesses are scrambling to embrace this cutting edge new technology. But with its rapid adoption, it is vital to be mindful of the ways it is employed. In the previous blogpost, we took a look at some concerns over the implementation of AI possibly disproportionately assisting the wealthy while having a pernicious effect on the least well-off. Additionally, we saw that though AI may pose a threat in this regard, it can also be a powerful tool to help the disadvantaged, providing them with services that are normally out of reach.
This three-part blogpost miniseries has focused on the question of who will be affected by the AI revolution. In this third post we will take a look at the cooperative and constructive ways in which AI can affect our jobs, in contrast to the destructive concerns many have voiced.
Co-operation with co-bots
The issue of job destruction is not as cut and dry as it may appear to be; there are wrinkles and complexities that need to be appreciated in order to understand the whole story. For example, consider the factory line workers whose jobs were destroyed by the robotic revolution. Certainly there were some workers that suffered such a fate, but for others, the robotic revolution has only served to better facilitate their jobs. For example, the Ford factory in Cologne, Germany is utilizing “co-bots” that work alongside the 4,000 human factory workers, rather than replace them. These co-bots perform tedious tasks and heavy lifting, freeing up the workers to be creative, such as deciding how to personalize or customize the car, which is a request in ever increasing demand.
Humans and co-bots working side by side is a nice analogy for how AI will augment employees, rather than automate them away. A theme emerging from the rise of AI technology, is that humans and machines working in tandem perform better than either one working individually. So although an AI program was able to outperform any human player in the game Ms. Pac-Man, it has been demonstrated that AI learns to play video games better and faster when humans help to train it.
Conclusion, Reflection, and What’s Next
In this series we have seen there are some valid concerns regarding AI and job destruction that it is vital for society to be attentive to. But we have also observed that there are a number of ways in which AI can actually be a helping force for humanity. This discussion highlights the cooperative and collaborative relationship that humans can have with AI, whereby it enhances their jobs rather than destroy them.
This three-part blogpost miniseries has been the first installment of a larger series exploring the topic of AI and job destruction. In the next installment of the AI and job destruction series, we will turn our attention to the issue of augmentation and enhancement by AI. It is from this perspective that we will explore what will likely be the magnitude of the job destruction by AI.
