More than job displacement: Experts fear AI's effect on humanity

Dive Brief:

The economic gains of artificial intelligence are undeniable, from industries as expansive as healthcare and education to making the minutiae of daily life more efficient. But the power of AI also brings the capacity to change essential elements of humanity and free will, according to a survey of almost 1,000 relevant business, technology and policy experts by the Pew Research Center.
Survey respondents expressed concerns about the effect of AI on data abuse and surveillance, job losses that will widen economic divides and cause unrest, as well as mayhem resulting from autonomous weapons, cybercrime and weaponized data. A reduction of cognitive, social and survival skills as dependence rises and a loss of personal agency as "black box" tools are accepted were also identified as pain points.
But fears about what AI bring don't have to be inevitable: Experts suggested improving collaboration across groups and borders to foster collaboration for the global good, establishing policies and values to guide the technology, and reorganizing systems to prioritize people and foster collaboration with AI.

Dive Insight:

Cloud-based AI, low code tools and affordable compute power are extending the technology throughout the enterprise and society. A watershed moment is less likely than the gradual integration of AI supported and based applications, from chat bots and analytics to autonomous vehicles, slowly reshaping how humans work and interact.

As the technology seeps into more facets of business and the economy, public demands for responsible AI are rising as consumers see the effects of data scandals and misuse.

More pledges and declarations for responsible use of AI will be created, with high pressure for companies to sign and adopt them, according to Ketan Karkhanis, SVP and GM of Analytics Cloud at Salesforce, in a statement provided to CIO Dive. Employees will continue demanding more influence about what the systems they create are being used for.

Many organizations are still struggling to implement the foundational building blocks of AI, inhibiting the creation of value at scale. But without proper values and guidelines in place from the start, AI adopters be unknowingly aggravating the potential dangers highlighted by the Pew survey.