“Growth and comfort do not coexist. Be essential.” Ginni Rometty
A.I. is everywhere — the chances are you probably interacted with A.I. today if you spoke to a virtual agent or drove to work.
AI has applications in both our professional and personal lives. It can be a powerful force for good and a source of growth and improvement. It can help feed the discovery of new approaches in the fight against cancer, it fuels science in space, and can even help the elderly live more safely in their own homes.
At the heart of this powerful force is data – our ability to generate it, capture it, organize it, interrogate it and ultimately learn new things from it. The limiting factor is our ability to think. The human brain is a truly exceptional piece of machinery. However it is not one that can think exponentially. We are designed to think and learn linearly. We need help.
We need new technologies like AI to help us manage this growing complexity and to make sense of the data it’s generating. We need to look at AI and other technologies as a benefit, not an adversary. This new era will be one of humans with machines, not humans versus machines. At IBM, we refer to A.I. as augmented intelligence because it’s intelligence that will help and develop human knowledge rather than usurp it.
The new era of AI will also see the creation of new kinds of jobs and roles in our organisations, jobs which IBM CEO Ginni Rometty calls “new collar jobs”. In fact many reports suggest that the majority of today’s children will work in jobs that have yet to be invented. That is an incredible thing to consider! How do we prepare, educate and train the next generation with the necessary skills and capabilities to be able to deal with such a transformation?
Whilst there is so much opportunity in this brave new world we also need to be careful. AI and other new technologies have much to offer us and can be a real force for good but we must make sure they are used for legitimate purposes.
We must hold ourselves accountable and not be afraid of asking big questions. What is our promise? What is our commitment to our employees, our customers and partners, our citizens? How we are dealing with their data? How we are dealing with their IP? IBM was one of the first companies to join the Artificial Intelligence Association in the US so we could address A.I.’s ethical and moral aspects. We don't have all the answers in all dimensions yet, but we need to be strong, clear, and creative with our thinking and approach to using technology.
And, at the same time, we have to work together with governments and companies to tackle some of the issues and the open questions, particularly with data protection. We all must demand the ethical use of data and technology. This needs strong leadership.
We are at the beginning of a data economy, in which everything is translated and enriched by data. It’s a new resource, a new fuel, that will power and reshape our businesses, industries, lives, and societies. There is much at stake, but also very much to gain. While every new major technology, like the automobile or the steam train or the internet, brings fear and uncertainty, we must work together to ensure the gains dominate and the dangers are minimized.
Learn more about AI in manufacturing, automotive, or electronics.
