Artificial Intelligence – The Next Industrial Revolution Or Mass Unemployment
The term "artificial intelligence" is used when a machine is able to function appropriately and with foresight in its environment or in other words, to imitate functions such as "learning" and "problem solving" (Poole, Mackworth & Goebel 1998). Many people may think that the time when AI will be having a considerable effect on us has not come yet, but in reality, it is already having a great impact on us. We interact with AI daily through our smartphones, social media, cars and drones and many other devices. The perspective is that the role of AI in our lives will become enormous in a couple of decades. “Researchers predict AI will outperform humans in many activities in the next years, such as translating languages (by 2024), driving a truck (by 2027), working in retail (by 2031), writing a bestselling book (by 2049), and working as a surgeon (by 2053)” (Grace et al. , 2018). The field of artificial intelligence is progressing very quickly.
А team led by Stanford University has compiled the first index to track activity and progress in the field, in an effort to provide a clearer picture of the state of AI. Their research shows that the students studying AI, the share of jobs requiring AI skills and investments in AI startups have increased in times for the last two decades (Artificial intelligence and life in 2030, 2016). One of the things AI will change radically is the workplace. Scientists predict that AI will play a crucial role in our economy in the near future as it could replace a diverse array of white-collar jobs such as truck and taxi drivers, judicial law clerks, cost estimators, market research analysts and many other (Chelliah, 2017). Oxford University researchers have estimated that 47 percent of U. S. jobs could be automated within the next two decades and there is a possibility the percent to grow up to 100 in 120 years (Grace et al. , 2018). Many company owners have already stated that more than 50% of all workplaces tasks at their firms could be performed by machines by 2025 (Partington, 2018).
AI is more productive than people. It does not need a sleep, breaks or health insurance. It doesn’t get sick or take vacations. It can work day and night, is much faster than people are, can quickly acquire and learn new skills and it doesn’t make mistakes (Kucheriavy, 2018). Despite the fact that AI systems are more efficient and they lower the cost of many goods and services, many people are afraid they will lose their jobs. A research done by the Fabian Society and the Community trade union showed that 10m people across the UK have worries about technology change at work (Fabians. org. uk, 2018). AI technologies will definitely have a profound impact on employment in the future, but for now, we can’t tell for sure whether the impact will be good or not (Artificial intelligence and life in 2030, 2016). The fear of machines taking over jobs is not new. If we look in the past, we will see that during the Industrial Revolution machines replaced blue-collar jobs and that provoked serious social and ethical issues. Anyway, in long term that process turned out to be beneficial for all. Mechanization didn’t destroy the economy, it made it better off. ”
However, as people integrate AI more broadly and deeply into industrial processes best practices need to be spread, and regulatory regimes adapted. Social and political decisions should control AI’s influences on employment and workplace trends, by creating safety nets to protect people from structural changes in the economy” (Artificial intelligence and life in 2030, 2016). That way the economy can adapt gradually over time without a negative effect on society. Many jobs may disappear but new kinds will be created.
Actually, according to the World Economic Forum, it is possible the new jobs created to be far more than the ones displaced. (Partington, 2018). It is expected that some AI will require human supervision, for example when it refers to critical decisions about human lives, health, and overall well-being. That means some people may not lose their jobs but instead re-qualify themselves by acquiring knowledge about AI and continue to work in their fields as supervisors of machines (Kucheriavy, 2018). Last, but not least, society should be informed about how AI will affect future labor demand so that way people could choose adequate education. We can’t stop the progress of technologies and we shouldn’t. Instead of fighting it, we should integrate AI in appropriate way thereby all people can benefit from it.
