The Business Bytes
Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just getting more disruptive. It is spawning new worries about the future of work. ChatGPT, the latest AI sensation, is posing a threat to the jobs of content writers and digital art creators. People of our ilk start wondering if automation anywhere can be a threat to jobs everywhere. The chorus of concern is growing louder. On whether automation fuelled by technologies like AI will make people in their current jobs redundant or obsolete. Will robots with enhanced capabilities replace more humans in workplaces? And can we bank on black box algorithms that AI uses to make recommendations and forecasts? Humans getting obsolete at the hands of technology is a far-fetched notion. But automation is steadily rooting out humans from low-value jobs. Technology is already dislocating workers and disrupting the workforce.
When figures don’t tell the tale
A third of all employment worldwide is at risk of being automated by the mid-2030s, says research by PwC. The workforce manned by people with low academic qualifications is the most vulnerable to machines usurping their jobs. Economists at MIT and Boston University estimate that robots could replace two million more employees in manufacturing alone by 2025.
The transition to a new workplace ecosystem means more man-machine collaboration. An ambience where AI doesn’t supplant human labour but supplements it. AI is transforming businesses and has the potential to address moonshot societal challenges in areas ranging from health to climate change. McKinsey is bullish on AI’s potential- it could generate $13 trillion in economic output per year by 2023. AI is stealing jobs and generating new jobs too. The talking point is not if the new jobs are better but whether they are fewer.
AI is evolving but humans have the edge
Usually, AI programs are capable of specialized intelligence – they can perform a single problem and execute one task at a time. They can be rigid, and incapable of responding to any changes in input or thinking beyond their prescribed programming. By contrast, humans possess generalized intelligence endowed with problem-solving, abstract thinking and critical judgement – skills that are of strategic importance to any business. Plus, other factors limit AI’s runaway advancement. It needs ingestion of troves of data, flagging issues of privacy and security around such data. There are constraints in computation and processing power too. The cost of electricity alone to power one supercharged language model AI was estimated at $4.6 million.
Tuning in to the workplace of future & Artificial General Intelligence
Automation and AI will pivot the future of workplaces. Demand for advanced technological skills will grow and so will the demand for social, emotional, and higher cognitive skills. As intelligent machines and software will be embedded into the workplace, workspaces and workflows will be redesigned to enable men and smart machines to work together, seamlessly. The next big leap touted in AI is Artificial General Intelligence, the idea of a truly human-like brain that exhibits general intelligence across multiple domains, as opposed to specialized capabilities in one area. This type of AI would be able to think and learn like humans do and would possess a wide range of skills and abilities. Instead of getting polarized on viewing AI as an opportunity or threat, businesses and individuals should embrace changes to remain competitive and ahead of the curve.
