In any business, whether employee or employer, the ability to work autonomously is essential. As much as teamwork is critical to any successful company, there will, inevitably, come times when people have to take real initiative; often anticipating needs and situations and addressing them before they become a problem. However, as the age of Artificial Intelligence continues to develop and evolve, the nature of autonomy and automation (and what it means for the companies that use it) takes on a very different meaning.

In this new techno-industrial age, education and qualification can only go so far. Even though Australia plays host to some of the best business schools around, such as the Melbourne Business School (also MBS online); the rapidly approaching era of AI and automotive technology in the corporate sphere is upon us.

The best thing we can do is to know how to use it.

AI and ethics

When we consider Artificial Intelligence (AI), we tend to meet the topic with a culturally preconceived idea of doom and gloom. While most leading experts agree that although AI does present a certain risk, the most pressing ethical concern is with AI’s immediate effects on the world’s industries.

The very definition of AI is a machine that functions with a similar cognitive function to humans. Observe, analyze, define, remember, and apply stored knowledge to new situations. The “issue” is that a computer’s computational ability is far more efficient than a human brain’s. Computers don’t sleep, they don’t get tired, and in matters of logic, they are utterly infallible – unless they are fed erroneous data and variables.

From this information, we can extrapolate two extremely important questions when we think about AI ethics and the workplace. First, how can we implement AI without destroying our existing workforce? Second, does using AI constitute a breach of client trust?

AI taking our jobs

A major concern among several industries since the rise in AI is that these automated programs will steal some jobs, and eliminate others. The truth is far more encouraging. Although there is a lot of AI impact in spheres such as law, finance, and marketing, the fact is that AI’s dominant failing – soft skills and abstract thinking – are essential to most of the world’s major industries, if not all of them.

Although AI is a logical powerhouse, a computer’s ability ends as soon as abstract information and concepts become involved. A good demonstration of this is in the film Blade Runner, where androids with AI are asked a series of questions designed to be confronting and trigger emotional responses. For example, “There is a turtle on its back in the middle of a hot desert, why aren’t you helping it?”.

In a human, this question would illicit an almost immediate, empathetic, or defensive reaction, for example, “I would help it!” However, a computer can only answer through purely logic-based cognition: A turtle shouldn’t be in a desert. It is important to help animals that are in danger. Make sure the turtle gets to a vet. Ensure that it gets water. So on and so forth.

AI can only play a limited role in a human’s workforce due to this difference in cognition. AI is a useful tool for research, summarisation, calculation, and more of these tedious, logic-and-process-based tasks. However, for everything else that requires abstract, cultural, social, understanding or delicacy, AI invariably fails. AI can be used to summarise a research paper, but it cannot be used to produce an opinion on the validity of the research within a different culture.

AI to produce

When a client engages in your services, there is usually an understanding of what they’re getting for their money, usually a meeting with some people around a table, introducing who is in charge of what and what the plans are. How does this happen when an AI is involved?

You can’t just set up a computer with a ChatGPT tab open on Firefox and say “This is the head of content that’s going to be responsible for your contract.” That would be awkward at best. AI can produce, but what it makes just isn’t human-ish enough. It’s generally fine overall but there’s always something “off” about it, whether it’s a dead tone or extra fingers, AI just isn’t very good at being human.

However, the question is does using AI breach a contract of trust with a client? Unless the contract specifically states that AI is not used in the production of a client’s business then no. It can also be considered if an AI created a product, then the human behind it hasn’t. However, AI doesn’t possess creative intelligence this way. An AI model can’t say “I want to draw a picture” and then do it, it needs to be fed instructions on what to draw, and then needs further instructions to enhance/perfect the final product.

In short, while AI does minimize human involvement, this involvement should not represent an unethical misrepresentation of the work involved in a client’s needs. As usual, honesty is the best policy.

The fear of AI

While not entirely unfounded, the social fear of the AI industrial revolution need not be as feverish as it is. While the rotation of a society’s industrial structure is concerning; with effective laws and the appropriate regulations put in place, there is no reason that AI can’t be more like a new hammer instead of replacing the hand that swings it.

Not to mention the variety of new career options that it opens up and the new opportunities as the AI industry develops. All we need is the right controls and contingencies in place.

Featured image credit: benzoix/Freepik.

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• Source: https://dataconomy.com/2024/03/15/age-of-automation-how-it-can-help-your-business-for-the-better/