The AI movement into business
Artificial intelligence is a marvel of human design that continues to improve over the years, garnering praise from people around the world. An AI that can post to Twitter has become less than a miracle, but how much more can it get in the next five years? Realistic robots, smart homes, and smart software are here, so what’s next? The key is to look at the traditional business model and where AI can make its mark.
When we consider how a company is managed, a similar model begins to be seen: the most intelligent is the boss who directs the workers in the best way they see fit. With AI’s ability to extract vast amounts of data and analyze it faster than any human being, it is easy to see why a company in China has already employed an AI “Boss” to analyze market changes. This movement is the beginning of what they see as a complete shift from the traditional human model to one of computer powers. AI is much more efficient and consistent than any human being. He will never need a sick day, he will never lose interest in his homework, and best of all, he will not go against what you say. In the next five years, this will lead many companies to turn to exclusively computerized workforces to achieve maximum efficiency. Chrstina Aguis’ article “Evolution of AI: Past, Present, Future” even goes so far as to say that “about 70% to 90% of all initial customer interactions are likely to be conducted or managed by AI.” AI is likely to become almost our entire workforce, increasing efficiency and revenue – the reason for all businesses. These companies will then be able to expand and provide deeper services for their customers at a lower cost, benefiting both sides of the consumer / seller relationship. The list of advantages of this new generation of artificial intelligence seems to be a sure way to boost business and the economy, but you cannot fail to consider the disadvantages as well.
A global shift in computer science jobs and majors is the most prominent impact of AI in the coming years. Universities will start investing more money in these programs to attract more workers in the future, but this will de-fund other majors. Those who worked in the jobs now controlled by AI will be forced to seek other forms of occupation, causing unemployment in many countries to reach higher levels than ever before. An example of this is within the legal system. Judges are used to officiate legal matters, major and minor. With AI, all the smaller cases that don’t require a lot of creativity and critical thinking will be moved to schedules to cut down on time. Therefore, all human judges will only be required for more important cases that are far and few from each other, drastically cutting the hours that anyone can work (Aguis). The final downside to this evolution of AI comes in the form of class division. As far superior artificial intelligence becomes more and more integrated into business, those who once held those positions will be forced to take lower-paying jobs at other corporations. The only human employee that will be needed will be those in positions of power and already earning top-tier salaries. With those people earning more and middle class workers being laid off, the middle class will begin to shrink exponentially, leaving a gap within society as a whole. As you can see, while AI will be game-changing for business, all the implications of this are not as positive as you might think.
Looking both ways, it appears that the direction of this AI evolution is hugely favoring the upper class. Those who are wealthy will continue to earn more, while those who are below them will lag further behind. To compensate for this, government intervention will be required to maintain a certain number of positions for human workers and also to what extent the AI will control within. Whether this will happen around the world is unknown considering the vast differences in government policies, but no AI will come without protests from everyone around the world.
In five years, online businesses and marketplaces won’t work without the help of AI. These companies will operate at peak performance all the time without worrying about worker morale or health. However, these benefits also come at a cost. Replacing humans with robots will lead to unemployment, rapid changes in the presence of the workforce, and declines in the already shrinking middle class. This is where the advancement of AI as the drive for more money prevails forever.