For years we’ve been drip-fed horror stories about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI), and how it's set to take over the world. Watching The Matrix for the first time in my teens, the concept seemed farfetched and quite frankly ridiculous. Fast forward 20+ years later and AI technology has come on leaps and bounds, making its way into various elements of our lives, including the workplace.
AI is being used to help make our lives easier in many ways. But, should we be scared when it comes to our jobs?
Most people haven't even noticed AI in their workplace
We polled our LinkedIn followers to understand their feelings about AI and asked a how artificial intelligence has impacted their work. Despite what science fiction says, 35 percent have found it a huge help, and 57 percent haven’t even noticed its existence.
Regardless of whether our LinkedIn followers have spotted it or not, it’s there. And it's becoming more and more prominent in our working lives. In fact, some workers are even starting to fear for their livelihoods.
Mind Tools Managing Editor Keith Jackson commented, "I used to wonder if physical newspapers would survive long enough in the internet age to see me through to retirement. Looking at this new tech, I have the same unease now regarding content creation! And that's with this tech in its very early infancy, and likely to develop and improve at lightning speed."
It appears he's not alone. In fact, nearly 69 percent of college graduates believe AI could take their job or make it irrelevant in a few years.
Looking at it in this light, AI can seem threatening. But, there are certain skills that humans have that can't be recreated by AI (at least not yet), that are vital in any role.
AI lacks empathy
Although AI seems to be making some progress in "detecting emotions" and learning to respond to them in an empathic way, behavior and data scientist Pragya Agarwal argues that the majority of emotional AI is based on the flawed idea that emotion can be taken at face value.
"Emotional AI algorithms, even when trained on large and diverse data sets, reduce facial and tonal expressions to an emotion without considering the social and cultural context of the person and the situation."
They continued to explain that even though "algorithms can recognize and report that a person is crying, it is not always possible to accurately deduce the reason and meaning behind the tears."
Understanding people's emotions and acting with compassion is a skill that's important for any job role. It can help resolve conflict, build trust and strengthen working relations. All of which can impact the success of an organization, its working culture, and its bottom line.
Is AI good at decision making?
While AI technology might be able to analyze data at great speed, when it comes to complex decision making, you might require a human touch.
In business, small decisions can often make or break a project, and even define the success of an entire organization. When you're making decisions about an entire workforce, they often involve weighing up complex, personal or cultural issues. This would be difficult for a machine to consider, whereas a human can look at the impact a decision might have on the people, the industry and the world around them.
AI can create content but does that make it creative?
AI seems to be making some great strides when it comes to content generation, with programmers now using the technology to generate articles, pop songs, and even art. This is known as generative AI. It works by gathering huge datasets and training the AI to devise content that's similar, but not identical. However, there is a huge difference between content generation based on data, and original creative thought and imagination.
Devan Leos argues that, "art generated by AI is systematic, and it's important to remember that art is often a combination of architecture and the artist. The artist behind the art is oftentimes what gives art meaning and perspective."
Even if you don’t create content at your job, there are other ways creativity can help you throughout your career. When it comes to obstacles at work, thinking outside the box and producing creative solutions is a desired skill across all industries, and it's an area where AI technology falls short. Leos continues that, "AI cannot look at a problem from different perspectives or come up with unexpected solutions because it's programmed to do one thing and one thing only – achieve its goals."
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