Be smart about Artificial Intelligence that is here to stay

According to Stanford University's annual AI Index report, India ranked fifth in terms of investments received by startups offering AI-based products and services last year. Total investments in AI startups in India stood at $3.24 billion in 2022, placing it ahead of South Korea, Germany, Canada, and Australia. Overall, this indicates that the demand for trained workers in the AI sector will drive job growth

Worried about Artificial Intelligence (AI) being a potential job-killer and its penetrative power? Well like there are two sides of the same coin, same is the case with artificial intelligence.

AI, which is transforming people's lives like never before, is a comprehensive tool or application that combines information and analyses data to help in the decision-making process. Given the myriad benefits that go with it, AI is changing the world while also propping up questions that are of significance to the economy, governance and the society.

Of the coin’s two sides, one view is that AI will take away jobs given the technological innovations that are beneficial to the society, while the other view is that it will create new engaging roles and jobs and can also be threat to privacy and security.

According to a recent report in LinkedIn.com, the United States has the highest penetration of artificial intelligence skills among its workforce, followed by China, India, Israel and Germany, in that order. Nasscom’s February report estimates that India has the second largest pool of highly skilled AI talent.

Meanwhile, according to a McAfee survey, the majority (69%) of Indians are unable to distinguish between a genuine human voice and an AI-generated voice. Recently, it was also revealed that cyber attackers are using AI-based voice technology for their nefarious activities.

Will it take away jobs?

These two revelations accurately project an insight into the recent debate, fear and excitement surrounding artificial intelligence, particularly Chat-GPT. To those worried of AI’s ability to kill jobs, it should be noted that while 75 million jobs may be lost, the new phenomenon can actually create up to 133 million new ones, according to Carolyn Frantz, Microsoft's Corporate Secretary.

If you learn things and are ready for their adoption, you have more options; if the doors to new technologies, including AI, have been closed, you will soon become its victim.

Aren Axion, CEO of Allen Institute of Artificial Intelligence, has stated that many jobs will be lost in developing countries. According to McKinsey and Company, new technological changes will threaten 40 to 80 million jobs worldwide by 2030. Around 35 crore people will be forced to leave their current positions and seek new opportunities in the AI sector.

AI demand in India:

The boom in artificial intelligence is transforming the job market while correspondingly making it an ideal investment destination.

According to Stanford University's annual AI Index report, India ranked fifth in terms of investments received by startups offering AI-based products and services last year. Total investments in AI startups in India stood at $3.24 billion in 2022, placing it ahead of South Korea, Germany, Canada and Australia. Overall, this indicates that the demand for trained workers in the AI sector will drive job growth.

Al footprints all over:

AI is now being used in a variety of industries, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing and transportation. It is being used to create self-driving cars, diagnosing illnesses and to provide consumers with personalized recommendations. Deep-learning AI, a subset of machine learning and AI, is used for creating systems that can recognize images and videos and understand natural language.

The animation industry is rapidly changing as a result of artificial intelligence (AI), whose tools are being used to automate tasks, generate content and boost animation quality.

AI in the gaming industry is enhancing the overall player's gaming entertainment experience. Now mobile games are becoming smarter and more realistic with AI. Voice intelligence powered by AI will alter the way games are played.

Journey began long ago:

Launched in December, Chat GPT is only new entrant in this category. Given its resourcefulness, it is soaring high in the popularity stakes with patronisation coming from varied sectors like education, business and everyday life.

Meanwhile, many AI tools are already in use, including TensorFlow (developed by Google), Amazon Recognition (Amazon Web Services), IBM Watson (IBM), H2O (an open-source AI tool), Dialogflow (Google) and Open AI.

Whether for personalized language learning or real-time speech and text translation, AI-powered language tools like Duolingo and Skype are bridging social and cultural divides in our workplaces, classrooms and day to day chores.

Machine learning is part of AI:

Entire technology debate was around machine learning a few years back. It is not different from AI but integral to it. Machine learning is the most well-known type of artificial intelligence. It is used in everything, from self-driving cars to marketing software. At its core, it’s about teaching computers to program themselves to take decisions or perform actions based on its existing knowledge. Several examples of AI in everyday life are smart thermostats like Nest and transportation apps such as Uber; drones for delivery of medicines, accurate test results and even personalized medicines as well.

Into the future:

Developing responsible AI adoption strategies, investing in AI research and development and developing ethical frameworks and deployment are all critical factors. These steps can assist us in leveraging AI's potential to build a more productive and innovative society that meets the needs of every stakeholder.

In order to effectively address the difficulties and worries that are bound to crop up, it is essential to constantly monitor how AI is affecting various professions and industries. This way, we can realize its full potential and create a better future for everyone.

(The writer is an expert on digital technologies and the Managing Director of Hyderabad-based 7Seas Entertainment Limited)