Robot Overlords or Robot Cohorts?

The age of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived, leaving many to debate its impact on the future of work. No doubt there will be change, but the extent of that change is what has people worried. So as you contemplate whether an automated system will render you completely obsolete, displace you, or be the best tool you ever worked with, consider the following:

Machine learning is the ability of a machine to do something that it wasn’t programmed to do. Artificial intelligence (AI) is essentially machine learning in real time. The more data points we ingest to form data sets, and the more data sets we connect, the more time and brainpower we need to make sense of it all. Thus explains the rapid rise in the number of data scientists and applications of AI used in the marketing and finance industries. The advanced processing systems of AI can conduct most of the grueling, data-crunching tasks for us. In this paradigm, AI actually frees us to focus more on strategic thinking. In theory, it would take a fraction of the time to generate descriptive and prescriptive analytics.

The use of AI has moved beyond mere data crunching. AI is also being applied within the creative world. We have seen examples recently of AI-produced movie scripts and commercials. The algorithms combine rules and disparate items to form unusual results which seem more formulaic than creative. Nevertheless, they are incredibly useful to jumpstart the creative process. Whether the results are hilarious or creepy, by themselves, they can’t compete with human dreams, nightmares or the genius of Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock. The key is to leverage AI as a super tool in a brainstorming session rather than a replacement for human capital.

Issues arise when the attitude surrounding AI is one of “set it and forget it,” rather than partnership or control. Consider the Sci-fi thriller, Eagle Eye, featuring the computer system referred to as the "Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst" (ARIIA). As its name suggests, this fictional supercomputer was authorized to act on its own in matters of national defense, but things go horribly wrong. ARIIA had the ability to reason and apply the literal meaning of rules with cold, efficient logic. However, without a human partner, it couldn’t assess the value of the subtleties or the intangibles. 

AI will never reproduce the human ability to interpret meaningful nuances. Let me illustrate this with an extreme example: In a military operation, an airstrike pilot is given a mission to identify and eliminate five known, adult-male terrorists in a specific location. However, when the pilot sites the “targets,” s/he observes that two of the five individuals are children. The pilot will most likely radio back to mission control that intelligence and await different instructions or confirmation of the mission. Based on what we know of AI’s capabilities today, that dialogue would not happen with an ARIIA-like drone. It would reason that all rules of engagement have been met, and simply complete the mission. 

Just as you cannot teach a machine to detect nuances or make moral judgments as in the example above, you cannot program AI to have emotional intelligence (EQ). EQ is the capacity to reason using emotions -- especially empathy -- to enhance decision-making. High EQs have been empirically linked to greater employee productivity, increased leadership effectiveness and stronger financial performance. Thus, by pairing individuals possessing high EQ with AI, it’s reasonable to assume this would lead to exponentially higher productivity, effectiveness and financial performance.

This concept of pairing high-EQ individuals with AI makes me hopeful for our future overall. The ability to form and maintain healthy social networks and relationships (aka social skills) - a key aspect of EQ - is what also defines Generation Z. While Generations X & Y fumble around bringing humanity into the Age of Algorithms, it will be Generation Z that harnesses and controls it. Herein lies the promise for the future. Gen Z which ironically has been raised in a high-tech, multi-screen world, is more connected, and more relationship-oriented than the previous two generations. They are cautious. They care. Most importantly, they are hell-bent on saving the world (from us) and cleaning up our mess. So while we speed forward with technologic advancements, laying waste to whatever is in our path, the iGeneration is preparing on the sidelines to step-in and course correct us.

The shortcomings of AI are paradoxically human (aka, “operator error”). Twentieth-century author, Harry Emerson Fosdick, once said, “The tragedy of [humankind] is that it uses man's best to do man's worst.” In other words, AI is not in and of itself a threat to our livelihoods or our existence. Humankind’s application of AI is what we should fear. In the wrong hands, a simple powder known to make elegant fireworks, will create a weapon of destruction. 

All of this is to say, don’t despair and obsess over the possibility of AI displacing you or making you obsolete in the work world. Control the AI and you control the situation. In our household for example, my 14 year old is adept at making Alexa, Siri and our Google Assistant talk to and work with one another. While the results can often be hilarious, they highlight how she controls AI to get the results she wants. Without her intervention, it gets stuck. So take heart. Empower yourself to use AI as a tool. Form a lasting partnership with it, that you control, and manifest your own destiny.