With the current advancement in technology, the world has seen the creativity from different individuals and some of the best innovations that are changing the world is the artificial intelligence and automation. For the past few years, automation and artificial intelligence changes took technology at a challenging standard for the next generation. For instance, development of self-driving cars, Bluetooth speakers, and fascinating robots working as receptionists has changed the working environment like ever before (Cunningham, 2017). In fact, the focus of artificial intelligence has been developing machines and computers to do various activities more different from the ways humans are doing or might do (Blackford & Broderick, 2014). Furthermore, many contemporary institutions and organizations have welcomed automation and artificial intelligence as a means to advance from using manual labor since such innovations aim at improving accuracy (Cunningham, 2017). The widespread of artificial intelligence and automation has helped much organization to do automated integrations which have significantly increased productivity, efficiency, security and safety to mention but a few. However, despite the positive impacts of changing the workforce considerably, artificial intelligence and automation have brought many problems primarily affecting the middles class which include but not limited to cultural related. In a bid to understand the AI and automation, areas such its impact on the workforce, advantages and disadvantages, cultural connotations, its impact on the middle class, policy limitations, and how universal pay may be a solution are explored.
AI and Automation Impact the Workforce
Increase in Productivity
With the development of automation and artificial intelligence, the use of manual labor is deducing day in day out. For example, many banks that used to employ hundreds and sometimes thousands of people to manually do different activities including but not limited to reconciling books of accounts, the number of their workers has reduced significantly(Blackford & Broderick, 2014). In fact, many banks have started utilizing the use of computation machines in their daily business which is causing high levels of unemployment especially those in the accounting profession. Furthermore, not only the accounting class has been affected, but many other fields have not survived including legal professions (Cunningham, 2017). For example, the development of different computer programs which are capable of examining large volumes of several legal documents has reduced costs as well as the employment levels.
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Employment Decline
Also, innovations in artificial intelligence and automation have made the introduction of automated teller machines possible which has recently reduced the number of employees in banks inevitable. Indeed, most of the countries especially in developed countries like the United States, have seen their average number of employment opportunities in the banks fell by a bigger percentage, and it is still falling (Blackford & Broderick, 2014). In fact, many investors in banks have embraced the innovations because such automation of computer programs have helped them to reduce operating costs including those of running different bank branch. On the other hand, the automation has recently and still reduced the employment levels in the fast food industries. For example, the world has seen automated burger flippers which have taken over jobs of hundreds and thousands of people across the world.
Cultural Problems with the Change
Decline in Human Interaction
Because of great minds behind artificial intelligence and automation, development of almost human robots has become more and more accurate at holding long human conversations and even relationships (Logan, 2016). In fact, this has resulted in a decrease in real human connections since some of their attention is taken up by robots. Therefore, this milestone that artificial intelligence and automation has reached, there is an apparent likelihood in future that machines and robots will significantly compete with humans on getting attention. Strongly enough, some of these robots are designed to work with customer service personnel, sales, and receptionists to mention but a few. While research indicates that people are becoming less kind to others, these incredibly developed robots can have shown a bigger potential in building and maintain relationships.
Social Inequality
Increased levels of inequality because of the introduction of artificial intelligence and automation application have become inevitable. Looking at the traditional cultures before such innovations came in, most of the economic systems in different countries were based on the reward and compensation for someone’s contribution to the economy (Falling Walls Foundation & Films Media Group, 2016). But with the coming of artificial intelligence and automation, many companies stopped relying on human workforce or labor, and those that are still valuing them are considered to have been left behind (Blackford & Broderick, 2014). It is at this point that people’s cultures have been and are still in danger because of such automation. Consequently, people who have the ownership of this artificial intelligence and automation applications have made a lot of money which has created a big gap between people them and the rest.
Pros and Cons AI
Accuracy
With the use of artificial intelligence and automation, room for making errors in reduced or even eliminated to zero. In fact, most of the system integrated programs give accurate results on what they were programmed to do (Logan, 2016). For example, most of the intelligent robots are capable of detecting that there is something wrong and they act swiftly in solving it. Furthermore, most of these developed artificial intelligence machines can easily endure any harsh environment. From performing roles in mining, lifesaving and security missions, artificial intelligence and automation have been used to overcome most of the limitations that human beings have had previously. In other words, the introduction of artificial intelligence and automation has seen robots assisting people to do things that would otherwise be impossible without them.
Instant Responses
In recent years, most of the advanced institutions and other big organizations use artificial intelligence and automation to give automatic responses given if there is no one around. For example, the use of avatars the digital assistants that can even interact with users depending on what it was designed to do, thus reducing the need for a large number or a team of human resources (Falling Walls Foundation & Films Media Group, 2016). In fact, artificial intelligence and automation have helped and are still helping financial institutions like banks to manage their data related to all daily business transaction. Also, artificial intelligence has been and are still uses in improving the securities of organizations and other institutions like banks and even government agencies (Cunningham, 2017). Therefore, the advantages of artificial intelligence are many depending on what an individual project is designed to do.
Expensive
Despite the benefits that came with artificial intelligence, there are disadvantages that associate with them. For example, developing these artificial intelligence machines are costly, and they usually need a lot of money. Also, even after they have been set up, the cost of maintaining them has never been little (Cunningham, 2017). In fact, most of these artificial intelligence machines require almost regular upgrading since technology advances day in day out in ordered to cater and deliver services to the most changing contemporary world (Blackford & Broderick, 2014). Besides, some of this artificial intelligence break down, and as a result, they lose valuable information of clients and other confidential files at some times. Therefore, some someone to fully embrace the use of artificial intelligence, they must be having some financial ability to help them maintain the project.
Job Reduction
Alarming level of unemployment has also been witnessed in contemporary world because of the use of artificial intelligence like robots to do the work that humans could have done. In fact, people have been replaced by machines especially to a great organizations that could be employing thousands of workers (Logan, 2016). For example, banks introduced automated machine which service people without any individual monitoring, and as a result, many people have lost their jobs. Also, even if some of these innovations are good like robots, their level of improving their experience as time goes on is limited (Cunningham, 2017). For example, all of these machines designed cannot manage to change any response in case of any error. Therefore, the fact that these machines diversity, they cannot do their work with passion and whole heartedly as humans do.Therefore at the current stages, social networking has been incorporated into the developed analytics of software to maintain the market of the globe. It is with such high essences that BPO companies have become partners to the clients in the daily running of the business processes.
The Negative Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Middle-Class Citizens
Threat to Jobs
Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically the use of robots to do the work which has all along been done by humans threatens the jobs of many middle-class citizens. When the robots take over what has all along been done by humans, those working for a wage will be left with no means to fend for themselves. The automotive industry, for example, with the advent of automated vehicles could threaten to throw into oblivion the jobs of between 2.2 million and 3.1 million jobs which specifically exist in the United States (Rotman, 2017). Car rental service, Uber, recently tasted its self-driving trucks which drove a consignment of Budweiser’s beer from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs when one of their trucks drove 200 kilometers. Rotman (2017) also points out that the man who went in control the self-driving car spend his time sleeping as the truck left no room for human intervention.
Distribution Implications
Automation, furthermore, has been found to threaten particular jobs than others. In a study published by the Executive office of the president of the United States (2016, p. 14), it is noted that a whopping 83% of those jobs making 20 dollars each hour would be significantly affected by the pressure from automation. Such a stance hails out in comparison to the jobs in other regions, amounting to 4% where people accrue close to 20 and 40 dollars each hour.
Machines do a better job
Since the mid-1970s, machines have been coming on the assembly line to replace human workers. While the United States rose above everyone except China in the manufacturing sector, the advent of AI on the scene revealed something more: machines do a better job than humans can dare imagine themselves to do (Metz, 2017). Unlike humans who get stressed and tired and therefore need a rest, a robot will go on for hours without rest, may be it will need just oiling, but that is all. Human workers are human; they have demands, join labor unions and also harbor goals, dreams, and desires. They also lose the battle against sickness, all of which have an impact on their productivity. We cannot, however, say the same with machines which are effortless and built for work.
Solutions posed by policy limiting AI
Over-reliance on Machines
Machines may be able to do a good job, but our over reliance on them is worrying. With Artificial Intelligence, we have come to trust machines to do for us what humans have been doing since time immemorial. Entire security infrastructure with the complex code has been entrusted to the care of these machines. Robots may be efficient and effective at what they do, but they are not smart (Lohn, Parasiliti and Welser IV, 2015). Robots can be wrong, and what makes their case even sadder is that they will not know that they are wrong. For example, in a study, the computer was shown two parallel lines of yellow and black in block format, and it concluded that what it saw was a school bus. The state-of-the-art artificial intelligence was not just “not sure” of what was shown to it; it was 99% certain that those small lines of black and yellow were a school bus (Vanhemert, 2015).
Health threats
The environmental and health threat of the products churned out by an artificial intelligence has to be questioned. Can AI do a good job of providing products that are environmentally and health compliant? Lohn, Parasiliti, and Welser IV, (2015) are concerned about the fertilizers produced through AI. To them, if the products made through AI help reduce atmospheric carbon and the Environmental Protection Agency finds them to be environmentally compliant, they ask the question: are the products safe? Their concern is that through artificial intelligence, products may be made that pass the environmental compliance test but not those which are safe. Are we to concentrate on safety, or skipping environmental safeguards? The former should be a priority but not of artificial intelligence. These are grave concerns that need to be checked and realigned properly if health dangers exposed to the environment through AI are to be laid to rest.
Benefits with or without AI
Since machines or artificial intelligence threatens the jobs of the less educated and those who are at the bottom feeder of the earning structure, it is important that governments woke up to the conditions their people are in. For a job taken away by a tireless, emotionless, ambitionless, family-less machine, financial burdens are laid on the shoulders of those who have been displaced. The monthly pay check will go, but also social security and employment benefits. This is why the executive order paper from the office of the president of the United States of America suggests that those displaced by machines should continue earning employment benefits so that their families stay afloat (2016, p. 37). They posit that health insurance should be available especially to those who may not have this privilege.
How living salary or universal pay may be a solution
Replace salary
Since robots and automation are thought to be on the way of putting many employees out of work, there will be a growing need to replace their salaries. Even though the basic living salary is not much, it is better nothing. This way, these people are able to feed their families and get a few supplies to use at home. For example, in Finland, the government has been paying a guaranteed basic pay of £478 ( €560) to its citizens who are between the games of 25 and 58 but still unemployed. This basic fee is earned for two years (Sodha, 2017). The basic living salary can go a long way not just to provide basic needs but inspire those who are entrepreneurial to go ahead and use some of this money to start an income generating venture so that their monthly income will increase.
It inspires Risk-taking
Elon Musk thinks that a universal pay will be the answer to automation. After many people have lost their jobs to robots and automotive machines, he thinks a universal and standard pay worldwide will be the answer. To Musk, this is a consolation to losing a job to a robot. Furthermore, author Martin Ford predicted that technology would cause these challenges where people would lose jobs to machines. He further predicted that this would lead to people becoming more enterprising by finding part-time jobs and engage in entrepreneurship. He also added that the loss of jobs to machines would inspire risk-taking which in turn will help build the economy (Clifford, 2016). Ford added that there would be a negative element to the spun of things as others would sock in despair to fill their lives with drugs and video games.
Conclusion
Artificial Intelligence and automation have had an impacting role in the workforce, for one, there has been a reduction in manual work done especially in the banks where people used to stand. With automation and the introduction of teller machines, the service has been quickened. With the minimal reliance on labor, service delivery has been quickened. Automation has also had cultural implications on society; robots that are developed these days can hold long conversations and relationships. The advent of AI also marked the end of the traditional economic systems of reward and compensation. Despite the fact that most employees were affected by the imminent shift and transition to a more digitalized working realm, companies kept on accruing higher incomes than before; thus, heightening the essence of this development. Artificial intelligence has also had a devastating impact on the middle class in that; the middle class is losing its jobs to the machines which can do a better job than humans. Automaton and AI have also not had a smooth welcome as policy has been proposed to limit its use, majorly on account of its inaccuracy and the dangers it poses in agricultural production. Like any other new phenomena, Artificial Intelligence has its drawbacks, this, however, should not cloud all the benefits associated with it.
References
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Cunningham, A. C. (2017). Artificial intelligence and the technological singularity. doi :10.1007/s10472-017-9553-y
Clifford, C. (2016, November 18). Elon Musk says robots will push us to a general basic income—here’s how it would work. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/18/elon-musk-says-robots-will-push-us-to-a-universal-basic-income-heres-how-it-would-work.html
Falling Walls Foundation, & Films Media Group. (2016). Breaking the Wall to Mind Machines . How deep knowledge can give birth to general artificial intelligence.
Logan, R. K. (2016). Understanding new media: Extending Marshall McLuhan. doi :10.3390/philosophies1020153.
Lohn, A., Parasiliti, A., & Welser IV, W. (2015, October 22). How We Can Overcome Risks Posed by Artificial Intelligence | Time.com. Retrieved from http://time.com/4080577/artificial-intelligence-risks/
Metz, C. (2017, February 10). The AI Threat Isn't Skynet. It's the End of the Middle Class | WIRED. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2017/02/ai-threat-isnt-skynet-end-middle-class/
Rotman, D. (2017, April/May). The Relentless Pace of Automation. MIT Technology Review . Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603465/the-relentless-pace-of-automation/
Sodha, S. (2017, February 19). Is Finland’s basic universal income a solution to automation, fewer jobs and lower wages? | Society | The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/19/basic-income-finland-low-wages-fewer-jobs
United States. Executive Office of the President, issuing body. (2016). Artificial intelligence, automation, and the economy . doi .org/10.1787/5k9gsh2gp043en.
Vanhemert, K. (2015, May 1). Simple Pictures That State-of-the-Art AI Still Can't Recognize | WIRED. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2015/01/simple-pictures-state-art-ai-still-cant-recognize/
