Humans and AI: Rivals or Romance?
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been developing at a frightening pace. It is debatable to what extent it has improved our lives – being able to use geolocation and search for the best restaurants or places of interest is great; however, AI is, at the same time, eliminating plenty of jobs, fast. A frequently cited report points out that a staggering 47 per cent of jobs in the US will be automated soon [1]. Another study suggests that 45 per cent of the daily tasks currently done by humans could be automated if current trends continue [2]. These numbers are inconceivable, considering that the worst case of unemployment to be recorded was during the Great Depression, in 1929, where an estimated 25 per cent of the population was out of work.
In our most recent book, we mentioned the case of a CFO at an investment bank. Last year, he was given the task of reducing the size of his staff by 80 per cent because off-the-shelf digital technologies could be doing the jobs that were currently occupied by humans [3]. And, in 2017, we have seen large banks close record numbers of physical branches, making thousands redundant in the process. Judging by this, humans are starting to look like horses before the arrival of automobiles.
References
[1] Frey, Carl Benedikt and Osborne, Michael. The Future of Employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Oxford Martin School, 2013. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/view/1314
[2] Chui, Michael, Manyika, James, and Miremadi, Mehdi. How Many of Your Daily Tasks Could Be Automated?, Harvard Business Review, 14 December 2015. (https://hbr.org/2015/12/how-many-of-your-daily-tasks-could-be-automated)
[3] Tse, Terence and Esposito, Mark. Understanding How the Future Unfolds: Using Drive to Harness the Power of Today’s Megatrends. Lion Crest, 2017.
[4] John F Kennedy interview by Walter Cronkite, 3 September 1963, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsplVYbB7b8
[5] The Economist. Artificial intelligence will create new kinds of work, 26 August 2017. https://www.economist.com/news/business/21727093-humans-will-supply-digital-services-complement-ai-artificial-intelligence-will-create-new
[6] Ibid.
[7] Gray, Mary L. and Suri, Siddharth. “The humans working behind the AI curtain,” Harvard Business Review, 9 January 2017.
About the Authors
Terence Tse
Terence is a co-founder & managing director of Nexus Frontier Tech: An AI Studio. He is also an Associate Professor of Finance at the London campus of ESCP Europe Business School. Terence is the co-author of the bestseller Understanding How the Future Unfolds: Using DRIVE to Harness the Power of Today’s Megatrends. He also wrote Corporate Finance: The Basics.
Mark Esposito
Mark Esposito is a member of the Teaching Faculty at the Harvard University's Division of Continuing, a Professor of business and economics, with an appointment at Hult International Business School. He is an appointed Research Fellow in the Circular Economy Center, at the University of Cambridge's Judge Busines School. He is also a Fellow for the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government in Dubai.
Danny Goh
Danny is a serial entrepreneur and an early stage investor. He is the partner and Commercial Director of Nexus Frontier Tech, an AI advisory business with presence in London, Geneva, Boston and Tokyo to assist CEO and board members of different organisations to build innovative businesses taking full advantage of artificial intelligence technology.
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