Some academics and large technology companies are
working on creating what is known as “general
artificial intelligence” or the creation of computer
programs or robotic systems that are able to perform
all the activities that humans can, perhaps even
being indistinguishable from humans. While this is a
very interesting and lofty goal with many differing
opinions about when and if this accomplishment may
or may not occur, it ignores the incredible
advancements in AI that are making an impact today
and that will dominate the world of business for the
next few decades. The AI systems in action today are
referred to as narrow AI; the term narrow meaning AI
focused on a specific problem domain. Chess AI and
Go AI that have recently beaten human masters of
these games are examples of narrow or focused AI.
The media has done a disservice to the general
population by propagating myths about Artificial
Intelligence (AI). A recent conversation I had
with a woman behind the cash register at a
retail outlet voiced a common misunderstanding,
that AI is about killer robots. This could not
be further from the truth.
Another common fear that the media continues to
fan is that AI will replace humans at work. I have
seen some media reports quoting ridiculously high
numbers of jobs at risk, some as high as 47%.
While some jobs are certainly going to be
impacted, more sophisticated and careful analyses
put the jobs affected numbers at less than 10%.
What is more likely is that job descriptions will
change but most jobs will not be eliminated.
Computers
are good at making decisions that are highly
computational and governed by very structured
logic, like games of chess and Go. Does it
surprise you to know that although computers can
beat us at chess and Go, they still can’t beat
humans at crossword puzzles? The former games are
highly structured, governed by strict rules and
quantitative logic. Crossword puzzles while
structured also contains lots of ambiguity in the
clues which require interpretive skills to
decipher meaning. Most jobs contain elements of
both types of tasks, those requiring ambiguous
situational interpretation and interaction with
other people as well as a smaller number of highly
repetitive, quantitative tasks and decision
making. I think you can see where I am going,
narrow AI systems will take over the parts of jobs
that are quantitative leaving humans to do what we
are good at which is interacting with other
people, making sense of complex and ambiguous
situations.
Computers are tools that were invented more than
50 years ago and they have been used in ever
increasing ways to improve the human experience at
work and play. AI is just another technical
innovation that is on the continuum of computing
advances that will change the nature of our
leisure time and work, improving our job
experiences and the performance of business
processes involving highly quantitative and
complex decision making. These advances should not
be feared as AI will not replace your jobs. The
changes are inevitable and practical. Choose to
play a role in guiding how AI is implemented in
your workplace and you will see that AI is not
that different from previous technological
advances although the results it can deliver will
change our world for the better.
At Daisy we have developed AI systems that assist
our retail and insurance clients to make better
decisions. In the retail space, choosing what
products to promote, prices to charge and how much
inventory to allocate to stores are critical
decisions that impact retailer performance. In the
insurance world, selecting what prices to charge
for policies and detecting and preventing fraud
are critical elements of managing profitability.
Our clients are improving profits and eliminating
cost by integrating AI into their decision making
processes. AI is freeing people from the more
boring, repetitive and quantitative parts of their
jobs so they can spend more time on the strategic
elements that are most meaningful to our work
experience. At Daisy, we believe that improving
industry profitability will change the world for
the better – creating more wealth which will be
deployed into investment in jobs, new industries
and more innovation. AI should be embraced not
feared.
To learn more about common myths about AI, read
our blog
here.
