Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is a broad field and includes various technologies that can carryout tasks which previously required human cognition. AI uses techniques such as rules based systems and decision trees, to manage tasks ranging from text, image and audio generation, to image recognition and controlling machines. In this article I briefly look at the use of AI in business and industry, the possible economic and social impact of AI and what the future of AI might look like.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems that can carry out tasks which would otherwise require human intelligence, such as pattern recognition, data analysis, problem solving, language processing and content production. AI can process big data sets that are far larger than those commonly found in small business databases and managed using office applications to store, analyse and update client and customer records. While business owners looks for productivity gains, such as how artificial intelligence can improve customer service, many employees are concerned about how to prepare for future job market changes.
Artificial Intelligence Ethics
A Brief History of AI
Theories related to AI emerged in the 1950s, although thinking machines had previously appeared in science fiction stories. During the 1960s AI was used mainly by universities and government departments. Expert systems developed during the 1970s and 1980s were used by organisations in areas such as finance, market analysis, managing supply chains and medical diagnosis. However, the use of AI was limited by its high cost and lack of sufficient computational power. This impacted investment in AI during the 1980s.
Increasing availability of computational power and the need to analyse large data sets led to growing interest in AI in the 1990s. Large businesses, including retailers, began using machine learning (ML) when looking for buying patterns, identifying customer preferences and to assist their decision making in relation to stock control and forecasting sales. Search engines also used AI to index and rank the rapidly growing number of web pages.
During the first decade of the twenty-first century there was a rapid increase in the volume of big data, which organisations wanted to analyse in the search for information that could drive success and innovation. Online businesses such as Amazon and Netflix used AI to provide a more personalised experience to their customers. AI was used to deliver more targeted digital advertising services to businesses promoting products and services online. Governments used AI to deliver more efficient public services.
A chatbot is a software interface that can be used by people to communicate with a machine using text or voice. Chatbots have existed in a primitive form for more than twenty years, but early versions were designed in a manner that limited communication to a predefined range of questions and answers. However, developments in AI research led to chatbots being able to manage more complex human like communication, to the point that they are now able to pass the Turing test.
AI assistants became available on devices such as mobile phones in the 2010s. Neural networks led to the development of deep learning, greatly increasing the power of AI, which could be used for complex tasks, such as image recognition and language processing. E-commerce platforms used AI chatbots for customer support and to dynamically manage pricing. Autonomous vehicles controlled by AI were developed. Technology companies, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, offered cloud services with AI powered features, making them more affordable for smaller businesses.
During the early years of the 2020s generative artificial intelligence and Large Language Models (LLMs) became widely available online, enabling individuals and businesses to produce content by entering text into a text box, using what is commonly termed prompt engineering. The use of virtual assistants powered by AI for tasks such as customer services and staff training increased, as did use of AI in robotics and business functions including managing supply chains and inventory. However, concerns related to copyright, data security and privacy has led to discussions regarding ethical codes.
Business and Industry
Throughout most of human history, the items people used each day were either obtained from the natural world or made using traditional tools and skills. Few people travelled beyond their home village or town and interactions were person to person. The Industrial Revolution led to mass production and advances in the twentieth century to global transportation and communications, using machines of increasing complexity. Rapid advances in computer technology, enabled the building of powerful control systems, but they were all designed and understood by human beings. For decades, computers in business and industry automated tasks, displacing people from many roles, but also creating new opportunities.
Research into artificial intelligence began during the middle decades of the twentieth century and speculation about thinking machines has existed in fiction for centuries. However, attempts to develop AI had not got beyond the level of human beings programming computers with step by step instructions. After solving a problem, such as efficiently completing a business or industrial process, programmers wrote code to give machines instructions to follow, displacing workers in many routine manufacturing and office jobs. However, during the early years of the twenty-first century this changed. Developments, such as deep learning and access to vast datasets, enabled computers to begin recognising patterns and solving complex problems, without people understanding how they did so.
For many years machines have been replacing people who were carrying out repetitive tasks that could be broken down into logical steps. However, AI is now beginning to take on roles that until recently were assumed to beyond anything machines could do. Content generation, such as AI writing social media posts is already happening, and tools are available that personalise customer marketing messages, drawing upon past communications. Companies are using AI powered customer service agents and virtual assistants, to help their customers. In engineering, AI can rapidly analyse alternative design solutions, which could accelerate technological development, reduce costs and improve performance. Medical science is using AI to find novel molecular compounds, rapidly analyse samples and aid in diagnosis. AI is also impacting roles in areas such as HR, law, logistics, retail, administration and education.
The Impact of AI
There is controversy surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the production of content that would previously have required human level creative intelligence. Many artists, designers, writers, musicians and others are voicing their concerns regarding the need to protect original creative work and their future career prospects. However, AI will increasingly impact all of our lives and the issues it raises should be of concern to everyone, even those with no interest in the technology and its implications.
Artificial intelligence tools for business owners are being developed that could increase their productivity and reduce costs. Many are trying to plan their own AI business strategy. For example, they might want to know how to use artificial intelligence in marketing, finance and during the research and development of new products or services. This has raised concerns among workers regarding the future of artificial intelligence and jobs they might replace that are currently done by people.
In academia, politics, industry, entertainment, business and many other sectors that AI has impacted, or soon could, people are attempting to predict what the consequences might be, for individuals and society. Some state that within a few years AI will outperform and replace humans in all job related activities, aside perhaps from those requiring particular human qualities, which AI cannot cost effectively replicate. However, others believe AI lacks essential capabilities and that this will prevent it from displacing human beings from many roles.
Economics and Society
Use of generative AI in marketing, education, law and many other business and industry sectors is likely to have a huge impact on the global economy and employment prospects for millions of people. Existing, or new, businesses that rapidly adopt an AI strategy could increase their productivity, reduce costs and take market share from businesses that do not. New roles might emerge, for which training would need to be provided, but artificial intelligence and jobs will likely become an issue of growing importance. AI has the potential to provide every student with a personal tutor that can give them an education well suited to their aptitude, needs and preferences. However, in a rapidly changing world many will ask which jobs are going to remain after so many have been replaced by AI.
Some individuals using AI might outperform companies currently employing hundreds even thousands of people, resulting in them becoming hugely wealthy. At the same time millions could feel lost, without the prospect of a job or career, which would previously have provided them with both an income and sense of meaning, purpose and identity. Governments across the world will be forced to deal with the social consequences. Optimists envisage a world in which most people take on work of value to their local community, while AI continues to deliver material wealth, which is shared among the population. However, others fear a future in which a few become very wealthy, while most people struggle to survive and compete for the few jobs not taken by AI.
AI is already being used to generate artificial influencers that have attracted thousands of followers online. There will likely be increasing numbers of celebrities that are AI generated and in an often lonely world people are already beginning to form relationships with AI. At the same time many people will prioritise real world connections with other people and reject the virtual world of AI, as they seek a more traditional way of living. Governments and companies confronted by the challenges of delivering essential services and managing complex systems might increasingly make use of AI, but they will also want to remain in control of decision making processes.
Artificial Intelligence Ethics
Citizens could become increasingly concerned about their privacy and the need to distinguish what is real, in a world where simulated audio and video appear to be real. Individuals carry cameras and video recorders in their mobile phones, but could soon also have access to artificial intelligence that outperforms human expertise in many areas. AI might be used to produce games and movies of a quality that currently costs millions to create. Such developments could upend creative sectors and businesses that currently employ millions of people worldwide. Artists are already struggling to get their work noticed, as the volume of often low quality AI generated content proliferates. Media companies could also struggle in a world of personalised channels, where everyone can be the star of their own reality show or movie.
The power of AI, combined with technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality and additive printing, could cause governments to bring in regulations to restrict access to certain technology. For legal purposes, a Limited Company can be classed as a person with rights, but what would be the position of an AI that forms such a business. Regulatory authorities could struggle to decide who is responsible for actions that are taken as a result of decisions made by AI, rather than human company or government employees. Issues related to intellectual property rights are currently an issue, but what will be the position of an AI that starts a company, registers patents and competes with businesses run by people. Insurance companies are likely to raise concerns regarding financial liability, which could also lead to legislation.
Both practical and ethical implications of artificial intelligence are likely to be of growing concern during the years ahead. If human beings increasingly depend upon decisions made by AI, without us knowing how they arrived at those decisions, we should be aware of potential risks. Regardless of how well AI can mimic human thought, speech or behaviour, machines lacking sentience follow patterns that they have learned, but with no inner sense of perspective or ethical values. The question of whether AI exhibiting human behaviour should be given some form of rights and protection could become an issue for society. Ideas explored within science fiction books about AI ethics have gained greater relevance with the rapid advances now taking place and their potential implications.
Many people will demand that humans must remain the final decision makers in relation to critical infrastructure and essential services. People might also be expected to seek advice from AI, so that they are able to make more informed decisions. Regulations could be put in place that require organisations to have a clear hierarchy, with humans at the top who are responsible for the final decisions and accountable for the consequences. The use of AI within robots, equipped with visual, auditory and other sensory systems designed to enable them to interpret and interact with their environment, could bring them into frequent contact with humans. This could produce both positive and negative responses from the people they encounter.
The Future of AI
Voice assistants, such as those available on mobile phones, use artificial narrow intelligence (ANI). There is currently much discussion of when or if artificial general intelligence (AGI) will emerge, which could rival the capabilities of human intelligence. Beyond AGI is artificial super intelligence (ASI) that would greatly exceed human intelligence, but it is hypothetical and many believe it will remain in the world of science-fiction. However, even if AI never exceeds human intelligence, the speed at which it can analyse data and find useful results could still deliver huge scientific and technological advances. Some believe this could lead to solutions being found for problems such as climate change and currently incurable diseases, but we might go through a period of traumatic societal change before then.
There are discussions about people augmenting their intelligence by having AI interfaces implanted, similar to medical devices. Many would reject the idea on ethical grounds, or fear of possible side effects. However, AI implants might appeal to some as a quick and easy way to acquire specialist knowledge and skills, that could provide an advantage in a competitive world. Combining human motivation and creative intelligence with AI, possibly with individuals connected and working together across networks, might produce something similar to ASI. Many people though would be concerned about the loss of human qualities, such as independence, free will and having a unique sense of self.