Are we really in danger of being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) on the job? During a recent keynote, my colleague Ifanye Ikorfor, an Amazon senior product manager, shared the three main reasons why we, humans, consistently deploy novel technologies like AI:
1. Reduce effort: We are a lazy species; we are always looking for shortcuts. AI technology is developed and used to make tasks and processes easier, more efficient, and less time-consuming.
2. Multiply scarce resources: We never seem to have enough qualified people to get the job done. Whether it’s a true or a false perception, AI technology is deployed to optimize the use of limited resources by increasing productivity, improving distribution, and finding innovative solutions to address scarcity.
3. Prolong human life: In our pursuit of immortality, AI technological advancements in healthcare, medicine, and various other fields have contributed to increasing life expectancy and improving the quality of life for individuals.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Gartner shared a study that shows how “today, AI does not outperform people on most tasks.” Humans still exceed AI in tasks like writing bestselling books, moral and ethical reasoning, building new scientific theories, and personal care and therapy. Meanwhile, AI and humans coexist in tasks like creating financial analysis, competing in video games, translation, facial and vocal recognition, driving a car, medical, and software programming. The only task where AI outperforms humans right now is in predicting the weather.
So instead of fearing an AI takeover, we should look at it differently and explore what we misunderstand about AI, how to upskill ourselves and our teams, and how to use AI to be more creative and productive. The future is still unwritten; you have the opportunity to influence how AI tools get implemented to automate redundant workflows rather than replace humans on the job.
