Alex Hristakis
IS Blog #3
Firms across the
globe are becoming increasingly reliant on Artificial Intelligence and advanced
technology to carry out operations. This article I have chosen comes from the Harvard
Business Review entitled “How Companies Are Already Using AI.” The article provides
perspective on how corporations are implementing artificial intelligence and
its relevant possible effects on the work force. The article states that studies
show that as much as 47% of jobs could be automated by the year 2023.
After seeing
studies on how much AI is growing in the business world, I must disagree with
companies releasing large amounts of employees and replacing their duties with
software and AI programs. Granted, AI is not driving human contribution to
companies out of existence, but a lot can be said about studies showing nearly half
of human jobs in various sectors of commerce and business could be replaced by
automated technology in the near future. Though I believe that that the
advancement of technology and how far we have come with it is an amazing
accomplishment, I must ask what will the affects be to the unemployment rate
and the work force itself? According to
the article, the growth of AI in business is no cause for alarm among workers, but I am skeptical. One study showed that 41% of IT companies using artificial
intelligence are implementing it to solve users’ technology problems, as well
as an additional 44% being used for detecting and deterring security intrusions.
These duties are ones that can be fulfilled by human employees, but the
increased implementation of artificial intelligence threatens the job security
of those employees as well as up-and-coming IT professionals seeking jobs in
those sectors. Another threat to job security that AI poses can be seen in the
marketing sector. Almost one fifth of marketing companies are reported as using
artificial intelligence programs to anticipate future customer purchases and
presenting offers accordingly. I feel as though there is no need to use such a
vast amount of AI programs in this area, as marketing professionals work hard
to analyze consumer behavior, project future customer behavior and regulate
offers accordingly. The article would counter my argument by saying how surveys
show, for the most part, the purpose of increasing AI in companies is not
intended to eliminate jobs altogether. Once again, I am still skeptical of the repercussions.
Another counter-argument would be how profits margins and operating efficiency could
see great increases with the increased use of AI. Being that I am obviously not
as experienced as the experts in this area, I cannot offer a particularly strong
rebuttal on this front.
2 comments:
The idea that AI and robots can take up a good portion of jobs in the future is alarming. This could be a problem for the current and future work force. I think it is important to keep as many jobs for people as we can. I am against trying to totally make everything AI driven. Like the article said, it is good to automate “machine-to machine” transactions, but not to overtake people. I think AI should be used to make people’s jobs and lives easier, but not do their jobs for them. While AI can greatly increase revenue and save time and cost for companies, I think it would be more detrimental to society as a whole if AI took over jobs and left many people outside of these companies without jobs. As suggested in the Vox video, economic inequality will widen as more AI is used in these top companies. The top 1% will benefit exponentially more in terms of profit from the widespread use of AI in jobs. I found it surprising that as automation grows in society, labor productivity growth has been slowing down the past decade or two, even though labor productivity is steadily increasing. This could be because there has been a shift in new AI being created to better our lives, and not necessarily effecting the economy.
I thought your article was interesting because it explained how automation could directly impact the business world. Often times, automation is discussed in the context of lower paying jobs such as truck driving. However, it is very possible that automation could soon begin replacing many business jobs as well. This is somewhat concerning to think about as a business student. It makes me reflect on which career I ought to pursue. As you said in your blog: “studies showing nearly half of human jobs in various sectors of commerce and business could be replaced by automated technology in the near future”. I have never really thought about avoiding career paths that could be replaced by automation, but I now realize that I ought to strategically pursue a career that will not be merely wiped out by automation. While I am looking for a job, I now realize that I ought to consider the implications AI could have on that career path.
While I agree it is important to think about how AI could affect prospective careers, time, to a certain degree I do not think you should worry about the effect technological advancements will have on job security in the future. I think in many jobs of the business world; the element of human touch cannot be replaced. Instead, I believe artificial intelligence will be utilized by companies to do routine mechanical tasks such as collecting data. As an article by Tech Crunch states: “While a machine can perform a given task, often more efficiently than we can, what it lacks is the artistry in the activity, that uniquely human ability to cater to the needs of the individual”. I do not believe this capability is not able to be replicated anytime soon. Therefore, while the presence of technology will continue to expand in the workplace, I believe the need for human skills will remain present for the near future.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/15/technology-cant-replace-the-human-touch/
Post a Comment