Artificial Intelligence: Should we embrace it, fight it, or fear it?
Written and posted by Gamaliel Baez, MovilDesk, on LinkedIn on October 17, 2018.
An Administrative Professional’s Perspective: Artificial Intelligence: Should we embrace it, fight it, or fear it? - Gamaliel Baez. This article was originally posted on LinkedIn. Aside from some grammatical updates, the article remains the same as the posted version.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), whether we realize it or not, is a big part of our daily lives. It is in our phones, cars, and homes, and the appliances and furnishings that fill these. AI seems to know everything about us. It knows what we want when we want it, even before we do. It can track every aspect of our lives, from how much sleep we are getting, the status of our health, our exercise routine, our circle of family and friends, and our interests.
Today, we can even find AI in some form or other in the workplace. Some systems of AI have been with us for decades, and we have become reliant on them. For example, the spellchecker in our computers or, more recently, the implementation of "chatbots" by some companies to provide IT support to their employees and customer service to their clients. These programs are designed to mimic and recognize, in real-time, human speech through Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning ("ML"). According to Gartner, "twenty-five percent of customer service and support operations will integrate virtual customer assistant (VCA) or chatbot technology across engagement channels by 2020."
Today, it is not uncommon to hear someone summoning their virtual assistant with words like "Hey, Siri!" "Hello, Google," "Alexa," or "Cortana," followed by a list of commands. We can order takeout, make flight reservations, order a pair of shoes, make a phone call, and text someone all with the sound of our voice. All this is possible thanks to Artificial Intelligence.
Should we embrace it, fight it, or fear it? Well, it all depends on whom one asks. Many feel AI is poised to usher in a new Industrial Revolution. In the 17th and 18th centuries, new technologies in manufacturing changed the way people worked and lived, and, to some, AI seems to hold that same promise.
WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS?
Not all feel this optimistic about a future where AI is king. The 100-page report "The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation" warns that AI is "altering the landscape of security risks for citizens, organizations, and states. Malicious use of AI could threaten digital security, physical security, and political security." AI's potential to perform tasks at superhuman levels raises a serious security concern that should not be ignored.
The emergence of fake news and misinformation creates a real risk to the stability of governments and public safety. AI-generated content created with the intention to mislead is a real and present danger. This danger will only increase as the technology matures.
Examples of the dangers of Artificial Intelligence, when misused to generate fake news, are the videos created of President Obama by the University of Washington's ("UW") research team and, in a separate effort, by Actor and Director Jordan Peele and Buzzfeed, a digital media company. In both instances, the President is observed saying things he never said or speaking out of context.
In the UW video, using proprietary software, the researchers combined audio of Obama with footage from his weekly addresses. In the Jordan Peele and Buzzfeed video, Obama is seen speaking, but the voice and the words are those of Jordan Peele. Unlike the UW video, the Peele and Buzzfeed video was created with existing off-the-shelf tech, Adobe's After Effects and FakeApp, an AI face-swapping tool.
The proliferation of consumer drones brings forth another risk. The weaponizing of these devices through the use of AI's facial recognition and autonomous software systems by non-state actors. The implementation of these consumer devices in terrorist attacks or assassinations is a real threat.
Then, there is the threat of job loss. Many feel that as the use of and reliance on AI systems continues to increase and as these systems get better at performing given tasks, more jobs could be lost to automation. However, this threat is not limited to the factory floor; office jobs such as Administrative Assistants, Accountants, Project Managers, IT Support, and other support personnel are starting to see AI's encroachment into their respective fields.
Services like "Julie Desk," "Clara Labs," and "X.ai" offer AI scheduling assistants. You copy ("cc") the AI, the AI reads your calendar, and makes suggestions to the recipient based on your availability. The AI interacts with the recipient just as a real person would. Some may not even notice they are communicating with an artificial person. These services are here and will continue to get better and expand to other areas.
AI IS NOT OUR ENEMY
What do these advancements in technology mean for support professionals? The future is no longer twenty or thirty years out. The future is here today, and if we are not careful, it will soon outpace us and leave us behind.
A key to staying relevant in this modern world as an Administrative and Support Professional is to keep pace with advancements in technology. Do not fight the change. We need to incorporate these new technologies into our Toolbox today and learn to effectively use them to augment our skills, knowledge, and value.
Think of all the things that we can achieve if we could make multiple copies of ourselves, one for every task we needed to tackle. That is what AI will allow us to do as Administrative and Support Professionals.
CONCLUSION
Artificial Intelligence, like with every other technology or tool, is a double-edged sword. If used responsibly, good things will come out of it and should not be feared. When we are careless, AI can and has proven to be very dangerous. Whether it will do more harm than good is ultimately up to each one of us.
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