Advantages and Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence
“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.”
-Cristian Lous Lange, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
While we all know that since time immemorial, mankind has always been striving for newer advancements in technology to make his life easier.
In recent times, we are also more concerned about the potential threat that particular technology would bring to the society if it’s complete potential is harnessed.
The same is true about Artificial Intelligence. It has the potential to change our lives but has some downsides to it as well.
In this AI tutorial, we will be discussing the pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence.
Advantages of Artificial Intelligence
Let us see some of the Artificial Intelligence advantages first.
1. Increased Efficiency
It is no secret that machines are much more efficient in comparison to humans as their productivity is independent of their mental state (which is absent) and the working conditions.
Artificial Intelligence empowers organizations to achieve the next level of automation wherein the machines can take critical decisions based on their past experiences and even learn from these decisions.
Being available round the clock without any fatigue means that the implementation of AI would lead to drastically improved levels of efficiency.
An example of this is PowerBI by Microsoft. Earlier a lot of time was spent in filtering, segregating and making use of the data in MS Excel.
However, PowerBI uses AI to do all of this (and even more) in a blink of an eye. This increases the efficiency of the system and saves valuable time for the analyst to use it elsewhere.
2. Reduced Human Risk
When human error originates during a lack of data , the cognitive augmentation enabled by AI can make the operator completely fool-proof by providing him with an procedure and by guiding him step by step. There are a lot of areas where it is dangerous for an individual to be physically present.
Artificial Intelligence can be of use in such cases because it would enable the machines to be able to make decisions in real-time.
An example of this can be deep-sea drilling at the ocean bed where there is a high risk of human life involved.
3. Aid in Decision Making
This is one area where AI has already been applied and delivered significant results. With the ability to dig through a lot of data in a short period of time and providing a probable outcome for the given inputs, AI is helping humans make better decisions.
It enables the automation of deciding without human intervention. AI can enhance automation thus reducing intensive human labor and tedious tasks
Take the example of a banker who has to decide whether to give out a loan or not.
Based on the credit history and spending habits of the applicant, the AI can provide an unbiased judgment of how likely would he be to default on the loan. So this would help in wiser and faster decision making for the banker.
4. Availability
Machines, unlike humans, do not need to take rests. They can work around the clock. The problem that we dealt with, until now was that in the case of a bottleneck, human intervention was always required.
But, with the advent of AI, we can rely on machines for maintaining required production levels trusting their judgment which would lead to 24×7 production units and complete automation.
5. Removing Repetitive jobs
The jobs which were monotonous and repetitive in nature are in the process of or already been taken over by Artificially Intelligent machines which can do it without any ‘boredom’.
While AI will transform many roles and make still others, experts predict that it’ll also renovate human job descriptions to focus more on tasks that can’t be easily replicated by machines – especially jobs that need interpersonal skills and out-of-the-box, creativity.
Being free of time-consuming, mundane tasks will allow companies to put more value on creativity.
After all, humans are still needed to make a decision what to use AI to, the way to apply it effectively, and what to try to to and the way to act on the results it produces.
Successfully companies will recognize the necessity to encourage creativity in their workforces to effectively apply the powerful analytical and predictive power of AI and push boundaries to become more innovative.
So this increases employee ownership in the firm and also job satisfaction.
Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence
Let us now see some of the limitations of AI:
1. Cause of Unemployment
AI for certain would lead to increased efficiencies but at the cost of employees who simply can’t function in the league of machines. A tremendous amount of reskilling will be must in order to make these employees employable again. This increase in unemployment would lead to a lot of economic and social problems.
2. High Initial Investment
Another disadvantage of AI is the high upfront cost that one has to invest in order to achieve that higher efficiency. At this point in time, only a limited number of organizations can afford it.
The technology also requires timely software updates which adds to the cost. With time though, this cost will decline as with all other technologies.
3. Increased dependency on machines
As we know,” Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master”. With declining human intervention, organizations would be much more dependent on machines. However, these machines do not have the ability to understand human emotions at all.
This can lead to severe problems if unchecked.
4. Lack of creativity
However intelligent a computer may become, it will always be that “ artificially intelligent”. It would always lack the creative touch that a human mind can provide. In tricky situations, an AI wouldn’t be able to provide an out of the box solution.
Summary
Finally, we have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence. The conclusion is that AI must be perceived and used as a tool to make solving our present problems easier.
We should make sure that with time, all of us, together be able to adapt to these changing technologies and times as we all know “Change is the only constant.”