Is AI Just Reducing Human Effort?

Intelligence is one quality that has always made humans unique since ancient times and from that intellect came the inception of science and technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) in that sense is the ‘child of science’ created to make humans’ daily life much easier. However, is that all its capable of?

True to its purpose, AIs are capable majorly assisting humans in several fields. Just with a vocal command, the AI in your phone can show anything you want, be it the best restaurant in your area or help you navigate the fastest route towards your destination. It can also help doctors analyze the health and symptoms of a patient to better diagnosis.

For a business owner, it can manage market data and derive graphs of a products lifetime. AIs are already capable of replicating a famed artist’s life work in a matter of just a few seconds.

Science and technology are growing rapidly, and maybe in the future that doctor or businessman might not even be needed as AI would automatically do their work—probably better they could themselves.

However, the question is — where does that leave the humans who once created Artificial Intelligence? In our current times, the so-called assistants of humanity has become an indispensable part of daily human life. Even our social life is now dependent on AI operating apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, amongst others. Online life has become so close to our real life that even a post on social media can lead to devastating impacts.

The advancement of artificial intelligence pave the way for a plethora new opportunities in the future. Yet, normalizing the usage of AI without proper laws and monitoring might not be as spotless and harmless as we thought it to be. For example, let’s say an artificial intelligence system can do the work of ten office workers in one minute, with more efficiency and accuracy. Then, would there be a need to employ ten people for the said work?

Essentially, with the world’s population increasing every day so is the number of employment seekers. With AI exerting its presence with such dominance, it is just a matter of time until AI replaces humans in most creative jobs, leaving artistes, singers, writers, editors, architects, doctors, and many others unemployed.

In the future, AI might be seen across a wide range of fields, be it medical science, managing businesses, educations, or even personal works and much more. The presence of AIs in the future, might even take care of all the major works like automatically navigating road traffic, to inscribing your medications, or paying your daily bills. Moreover, in a broader sense, the usage of AIs would probably be operating the society from tedious works to major consignments.

Such usage of artificial intelligence in the future, can indeed make human life much easier. However, the problem lays in the aspect of monitoring and controlling the usage of AIs.

From an economic perspective, the implementation of AIs hold tremendous potential. Take, for instance, the field of transportation, a sector that stands to benefit significantly from AI implementation. In a not-too-distant future, automobiles capable of driving themselves which are now available for purchase, will be filling the roads. Experts anticipate that the AI driven automobile market share will continue to expand in the years to come due to its rising demand. On top of that, the roads will potentially become much safer for everyone.

Similarly, the application of AI in logistics and supply chain management can lead to optimization of these processes, and boost productivity in any industrial field. In turn, the integration of AI will lead to more timely and cost-effective product distribution. In the near future, AI operated industries would use the methods that experts in fields such as marketing, design, and medicine use to develop, modify, and evaluate visual information, would be replaced by AI algorithms. Know also more about Chatmasters.

Thus, making human intervention effectively unneeded. However, in awake of this, human employment might be taking a hit while economy bolsters.

While predicting such a future impact, many socialists often take a dig at the issue, claiming that the  current labor market would simply become irrelevant.

There is a possibility that the progression of technology will render some vocations irrelevant while simultaneously giving rise to others. Individuals with expertise in fields such as data analysis, machine learning, and programming for artificial intelligence will be in great demand.

Such a situation would lead to a large number of people losing their jobs due to the rise of automated technology.

Nonetheless, the benefits of utilizing mechanical processes should not be ignored and should not be considered negligible.

Automation has the potential to boost productivity while simultaneously cutting costs and increasing productivity significantly in comparison to the amount of work done by humans. If this is successful, it has the potential to stimulate economic expansion and raise individual wealth.

However, in a capitalistic society, the benefits would most likely be hoarded by the ‘wealthy class’ who are capable of affording AI technology. If AI driven mechanisms take over different fields of works, the majority of the population which are the ‘working class’ people might be left in a ‘pit of economic devastation’. Yet, alternative ways to channel such a humongous population of human resource should be considered as well.

The rise of artificial intelligence will have repercussions that are far-reaching for both our culture and lifestyle.

The application of AI in other domains, such as education, promises to gain the most from its proliferation. The implementation of AI in educational settings will possibly lead to improvements in both the efficacy and the efficiency of educational practices.

The learning style of a student can be analyzed by artificial intelligence, which will then adapt the student’s courses accordingly. This gives individuals the ability to learn at their own pace, which in turn improves their overall academic achievement while promoting autonomous learning. However, what will happen to the professionals who have chosen to become a teacher? – this is one question yet to be addressed by edu-tech experts.

Normalizing the usage of Artificial intelligence in every sector might have massive prospects in alleviating global concerns such as poverty and climate change. For example, by making buildings more energy efficient, AI can help bring about a reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Moreover, AI has the potential to increase economically disadvantaged groups’ access to medical treatment.

It’s fascinating to see what AI can accomplish in terms of artistic creation. The use of computer-generated graphics has a wide variety of potential applications, including but not limited to video games, virtual reality, and cinema. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish computer-generated graphics from the real thing since it is becoming increasingly lifelike.

Even while computer-generated imagery by an AI, can be used in a broad variety of applications, the widespread use of it has given rise to severe ethical concerns. It is possible for images produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence to be utilized in the spreading of false information or fake news.

In Bangladesh, many artists have already protested against AI generated images which impeccably replicates their work. Even photographs are not exempt in this case. Therefore, anyone with an app can recreate any artwork or photo with complete ease. Yet, we must also note that fake imagery constructed by an AI could easily ruin someone’s reputation.

This is only one example of the many applications that AI can have. Therefore, before utilizing AI technology, the necessity to monitor and regulate its usage needs to be measured.

It is true that the future of AI in our current world is almost a dream come true. However, considering the pros and cons, one thought that all in and against the rise of AI should ask is – are we considering the future long-term impacts AI is most likely to have once it becomes accessible to all, regardless of their persona, intention, or goal?

Without a doubt, AI is a powerful tool but is power something humans handle know how to handle?