While out at the Apple store, I couldn’t help but gravitate toward the new Apple phone. As I stood there holding this device that’s capable of facial recognition and supporting augmented reality applications, I realized this is way more than another fancy new device to give your selfies a few more filters. This is the next thing. The thing to make old smartphones look downright dumb. This is artificial intelligence being put into the collective hands of the world for the first time on a mass scale, and that is HUGE.
While most of the talk (and anxiety) surrounding AI has been from a political standpoint in regard to military uses of autonomous weapons, there is also merit in discussing how this technology can affect other sectors. Even if a business is not tied to the government or military, AI and technology infrastructure investment is the key to building a stronger workforce and company.
Current AI is the process of giving human-like intelligence to technology and machines, which has given us such innovations as handwriting, speech, and facial recognition, among many other things we use every day. However, AI isn’t stopping there, as the future of artificial intelligence will strive to create machines that are able to create artificial intelligence themselves.
This future AI has the potential for an extraordinary impact on how we do business, our health, and the way we live our very lives. Because AI is closely linked with understanding how the human brain works, advancements in this technology could lead to revolutionary treatments for brain disorders and injuries. This also means more jobs and tasks being given over to machines with the ability to “think” like a human being.
Risks Associated With AI: As with most new technology, there is concern over its impact on society and the role it will play in our lives. Along with the threat of autonomous weapons, one of the primary concerns researchers face is safely developing AI so that it does what we need it to.
Currently, AI is used more for tasks that are important but not necessarily life-or-death situations. As we hand more difficult tasks over to technology, such as driving cars, running automated trading systems, and controlling medical devices, it becomes imperative that the machines act as they’re intended to minimize risks of disastrous consequences.
Why the Benefits Outweigh the Risks: AI will likely make even more jobs obsolete, but it is also likely to create different jobs and eliminate the threat of dangerous work humans currently do. An example of this would be robotic welding.
The fact of the matter is that most of the information found on jobs and AI focuses on the negative aspects because that’s what people are conditioned to want to hear because it supports what they already know. However, there is already a range of new positions that have been formed because of this technology. This includes new marketing positions, sales, support, and leadership roles. Increasing innovation and AI budget could not only save a company but also increase the number of jobs it can provide. Other benefits, according to Forbes, include:
While the days of potentially having super-intelligent robots in our everyday lives are a long way off, there is a wide range of useful ways to integrate and benefit from AI in industries now, including:
Ultimately, no matter where a company starts, the important thing is that AI and innovation investment is made a priority because it is likely the only way to stay competitive. Starting the investment now will also prepare a business for future needs and potentially make it possible to develop AI that is specifically geared towards an individual company which will allow for better service, faster growth, and greater overall company health.