Everyone assumes that AI is the Hollywood version with robot overlords taking over the world. In reality, AI is already here and we are using it in society.
Phone apps such as Uber using an AI to figure out the closest car to your destination, Netflix suggesting films for you to watch based on your history, Amazon prompting ‘customers also bought’ options on checkout, digital assistants like Alexa and Siri all of which are helping to make our lives better.
Pros
- Enhanced decision making
In our business, we develop machine learning solutions to predict patterns in data, for example, to predict customer churn and enhance decision making. - Improved customer experience
We are automating social media posts and using AI algorithms to improve customer experience. - Mitigation of human error
We are automating processes to make things quicker and more efficiently and mitigate human error – all of which can save costs and provide huge returns on investment.
As with all things, there are always pros and cons and there is a lot of concern about the future of AI. Film director James Cameron told CTV News “I think the weaponization of AI is the biggest danger.”
Cons
- Loss of jobs
With automation, people are concerned about their jobs becoming obsolete therefore AI integration must be careful planned to minimise displacement and allow for staff to upskill into new roles. I champion apprenticeships for the Federation of Small Businesses and this is a great route to consider when upskilling existing staff. - Ethics and morality
There are concerns around privacy, bias and transparency – remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal for Facebook (Meta)? Businesses need to address these concerns and establish guidelines to minimise misuse. - Accuracy
Where humans are involved in a process, there’s always a possibility for errors such as data entry typos so automation can help improve but AI can lack creativity and accuracy too. People are using ChatGPT but it doesn’t always give the right answer so humans are still needed to fact check and research any information given. - Cost
For a business to embrace emerging technologies it can be quite worrying, costly and time-consuming. Businesses are ruling out AI due to a lack of knowledge to implement it so the UK Government needs to support businesses and provide further training and incentives so that business can scale up.
To sum up, AI will be transformative to our society and we need to tread carefully but I still believe there are many positives that will allow business to adapt, evolve and transform.
