Will Artificially Intelligent Robots Replace Us?
The workplace challenge is that our evolution from one skillset to the next isn’t a straight line.
Last week I was asked to provide expert comment for a 1 NEWS item about robotic AI self-driving tractors.
While the expectation might have been that I’d provide the classic Futurist fear-inducing “the robots are coming for your job” narrative, the reality is far more nuanced.
The robots aren’t replacing us. And they’re not taking our jobs.
However they are slowly but surely taking away some of our tasks.
So if over a generation of advancement they take enough of a particular job’s tasks, then yes that profession may almost entirely disappear.
Don’t believe me? Next time you walk into a building or ride in elevator, just ask the doorperson or lift attendant.
In parallel, technology shifts also create new tasks and as a result new professions. However the workplace challenge is that our evolution from one skillset to the next isn’t a straight line. Which is why developing our very human ability to vision and apply foresight is critical for moving forward together.
Not that everyone wants to be reminded of how intelligent and capable we collectively can be… The morning after the news item aired I received an email from an irate viewer that read:
“I am hoping to get some confirmation or rebuttal to a train of thought. I’ve summarized this train of thought in a 3000-word document I’ve attached to this email. I saw you on one news on 24th May 2021. It felt like you were completely bastardizing our current day capabilities. It’s outrageous to postulate technology can’t cook a dinner, tie a shoelace or drive a car to say the least. Hope you can help – Thanks”
With such polite outrage I felt compelled to reply:
“Thanks for reaching out. Great we have different perspectives – it’s what makes life vibrant and interesting. The fact I shared was that no single computing device… except for a human… is even close to being able to accomplish all three tasks. In other words, while significant progress has recently been made in artificial narrow intelligence, our most powerful technology is a long way from approaching the state of artificial general intelligence.”
So with that in mind, enjoy and embrace the humanity of your own intelligence.
Sure a machine could have read this email far faster than you did.
It might even be able to craft a seemingly intelligent response.
But that same machine most certainly can’t now wander away from the screen.
Looking upwards. Imagining beyond. Creating forward.
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