Will AI be the Evolution or End of Humans in the Workplace?
“Where is someone to serve me? These machines are stealing your jobs!” This was a comment that I received regularly back in 2015 when I was working at Kmart and they had just launched self-serve checkouts. Many people complained and would refuse to use the machines because they thought they were doing me a favour. However, in reality they were only making my job harder and resisting the unavoidable evolution in technology. But were their concerns warranted?
Flash forward to the present time and again, the changing nature of the workplace and their trends have got people in frenzy. Many have raised questions and doubts about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. But what exactly is AI?
Artificial intelligence is the creation of intelligent machines that work and react to situations as a human would. Theuse of AI in our daily liveshas increased rapidly in recent years from virtual assistants like Siri to travel assistance like Apple Maps or Uber. However, the question on everyone’s mind is still “How long until AI takes over?”
I personally think AI is a step in the right direction because it frees up time for people to be creative and allows for new, better jobs to be formed. Furthermore, it is evident from researchthat AI in the workplace is actually creating jobs rather than taking them. Professions are constantly being discontinued and create, it is impossible to predict what jobs there will be in the future, but I think society will always create new occupations. Though, there is still a moral panic surrounding AI and how robots will steal our jobs and wipe us out. Maybe the movie “I, Robot” was a prediction movie after all.
However, with the advancements in technology revolutionising the world, it is clear why AI has already integrated into our lives. Not only does it help us daily, but it also helps various industries such as banking, manufacturing, automotive and many more. A new dimension of interaction and affordances that was not previously available to humans is now ready for use thanks to the assistance of AI. As stated by the Future of Life Institute,
“These capabilities cross the threshold from laboratory research to economically valuable technologies, a virtuous cycle takes hold whereby even small improvements in performance are worth large sums of money, prompting greater investments in research”.
Benefits of AI
Currently, AI is beneficial to businesses because it enhances efficiency and is available 24/7. Examples of this include answering emails, data entry and the use of automated vehicles, which are already being used in the mining industrywith great results. No longer do businesses need to risk of their employees becoming bored, tired or sick. AI is able to take over doing the tedious, time consuming and repetitive tasks, allowing humans more time to be efficient and creative with their tasks. The healthcare industry will also progress thanks to improved diagnostics, leading to an enhanced quality of life for civilisation. With the help of AI doing manual labouring tasks, communication professionalsare now able to focus their time and effort into better understanding their clients, consumers and competitors. This is because AI is able to provide them with visual data information for key stakeholders, which may have previously been missed by humans. As a result, they can tailor marketing strategies and create content better suited for their target audience. Moreover, industry professionals will be able to proactively prepare for any crises that may arise and increase productivity and workplace satisfaction. Additionally, in podcastby Joe Rogan, entrepreneur and angel investor Naval Ravikant discusses how education is the real issue at hand as there is currently an all time record low in unemployment (Skip to 28 minutes for the details)
Cautions of AI
Two main concernssurrounding AI is the loss of jobs for humans and a loss of control if the machines become smarter than us. Numerous celebrities including Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates and even Apple -founder Steve Wozniak have openly expressed their concerns. Although, they recommendedthat there should be some regulatory oversight at a national and international level. They believe that AI has already become so good at faking intelligent behaviour that it’s easy to forget there’s no one really home.
Conclusion
Taking into consideration, both sides of the argument, if AI is monitored with the right preparation, I believe it will continue to progress alongside humans and become the new normal in the future workplace. Similarly, to self serve checkouts, people will come to realise AI as a benefit to mankind. It would allow new opportunities for revenue generation, cut down on costs and enhance efficiency. Moreover, it will encourage gradual evolution in the workplace where more jobs will be created for humans to work with the help of AI and automation integrated. Humans will have the opportunity to explore innovation and technology like never before.
