Artificial intelligence is a marvel of human design that continues to improve over the years, earning praise from people around the world. An AI that can post to Twitter has become something of 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 run, a similar pattern begins to be seen: the smartest is the boss who leads the workers in the best way they see fit. With AI’s ability to mine vast amounts of data and analyze it faster than any human, it’s easy to see why one company in China has already employed an AI “Boss” to analyze market changes. This move is the beginning of what they see as a complete shift from the traditional human model to one of computer power. The AI is much more efficient and consistent than any human can be. He’ll never need a day off, he’ll never lose interest in his homework, and best of all, he won’t go against what you say. Over the next five years, this will cause many corporations to turn to computerized-only workforces for maximum efficiency. The article “AI Evolution: Past, Present, Future” by Chrstina Aguis even goes so far as to say that “it is likely that around 70% to 90% of all initial customer interactions are performed or managed by AI” . AI is likely to become almost the entirety of our workforce, increasing efficiency and revenue, the raison d’être of every business. These businesses will be able to expand and provide more comprehensive services to their customers at a lower cost, which will benefit both sides of the consumer-seller relationship. The list of pros for this new generation of AI seems like a surefire way to boost business and the economy, but one can’t help but consider the cons as well.
A global shift in computing jobs and specializations is the most prominent impact of AI in the coming years. Universities will start putting more money into these programs to attract more future workers, but this will take funding away from other careers. Those who worked in the jobs now controlled by AI will be forced to find other forms of employment, 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 on legal matters, major and minor. With AI, all the smaller cases that don’t require a lot of creativity and critical thinking will be passed to programs to reduce time. Therefore, all human judges will only be needed for larger cases that are few and far between, drastically reducing the hours that anyone can work (Aguis). The final con of this AI evolution comes in the form of class splitting. As far superior AI becomes more and more integrated into business, those who once held those positions will be forced to take lower-paying jobs within other corporations. The only human employee that will be needed will be those in positions of power who already earn top notch salaries. With those people earning more and middle class workers getting laid off, the middle class will start to shrink exponentially, leaving a gap within society as a whole. As you can see, while AI is going to be revolutionary for business, the full implications of this are not as positive as one might think.
Looking both ways, it seems that the direction of this AI evolution heavily favors the upper class. Those who are rich will continue to earn more, while those below them will fall further behind. To offset this, government intervention will be required to maintain certain numbers 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 arrive without protests from everyone around the world.
In five years, online businesses and marketplaces will not work without the help of AI. These businesses will operate at peak performance all the time without concern for the morale or health of the workers. However, with these benefits also comes a cost. Replacing humans with robots will cause unemployment, rapid changes in the presence of the workforce, and declines in the already dwindling middle class. This is where the advancement of AI as a drive for more money prevails forever.
