Is AI a Risk for Our Society?

With the pervasive impact of Generative AI in our daily activities, everyone seems to have an opinion on AI. Without being overly optimistic or pessimistic, this article aims to provide some factual elements to give a better perspective on this controversial subject.

AI: The New Industrial Revolution

AI has the potential to be the new industrial revolution. With more augmentation, more automation, and better companionship in our labor tasks, AI, especially GenAI in the last year and a half, is poised to displace jobs and create new ones. By definition, with the rapid technological and economic changes occurring, AI could be seen as the new industrial revolution, coupled with other technological advancements like robotics and quantum computing.

Let’s look back at the past and see what happened during the second industrial revolution. The scale of change then was similar to what we are currently experiencing, but we are undergoing this change much more rapidly. In the early 20th century, everything was changing and moving fast: mass production, new energy sources, new transportation, new communication...

Job Displacement or Job Creation?

Henry Ford recognized that the economy would get a boost if workers got a couple of days off back in 1926 – governments generalized it nearly 15 years later with the 40-hour workweek. Technological advancement has given citizens a better quality of life, even though most people in factories did not see this industrial revolution in a positive light, as it took their jobs! We should not talk about taking jobs but rather about job displacement. In fact, many new jobs have been created, and even jobs that didn’t exist before, like taxi drivers, electronic engineers, and telephone operators.

AI and GenAI are heading in that direction. The impact of job displacement is a reality; for instance, we will probably need fewer developers but more testers and more people understanding the business impact of IT/AI applications. AI will accelerate our productivity, which may lead to a future where we work only four days a week.

Responsibilities of Companies and Governments

However, it will be the responsibility of each company to help with job changes and train employees for new roles within the organization. In Europe, we are probably already equipped for that. For instance, in France, each company must spend at least 1% of the payroll on training. Governments can obviously regulate to address the job displacement issue, but all companies have a moral obligation to help. Reducing headcount just for the sake of profitability is not viable long-term, as these companies will face smarter competitors who will use AI to disrupt the industry with the help of their employees. More AI needs more people investment, not less.

Addressing AI Fears and Risks

Let me finish with the fear of the unknown. Everyone has seen movies where AI takes control of the world and becomes a threat to humanity. We have already seen that GenAI can resonate; any good LLM can solve very challenging enigmas, and even the father of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, has said that in the future, AI could be much smarter. In my view, this is where regulation comes into play. AI is now a very powerful tool that can do a lot of damage if it is in the wrong hands. Regulation will need to set strict limits on the use of AI, focusing on the potential risks and the explainability of AI models.

The future will tell, but it is very unlikely that we will reach a state where we cannot switch off any model or AI application that is causing harm. The future is ours.

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Gartner, DataCamp or ESSCA. This article is intended to provide a personal perspective on the topic of AI and its potential impacts on society. Readers should consider this as an opinion piece rather than an authoritative statement on behalf of any organization.