Artificial Intelligence : Why will AI not replace humans ?

Artificial Intelligence has been most talked domain in 2017 and it will be in the same in 2018. This article will look at the key elements that are not yet satisfied to fully replace human jobs.

What is AI?

According to John McCarthy, father of AI,  Artificial Intelligence is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. PWC report in March 2017 has described AI system in very effective manner.

AI system overview: https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/publications/2017/artificial-intelligence-and-robotics-2017.pdf

History of AI: https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/publications/2017/artificial-intelligence-and-robotics-2017.pdf

Why AI will not replace humans?

The idea of Artificial Intelligence can be accurately described as a prehistoric one. Ancient Greeks, as well as Egyptians had come up with various automation techniques in order to make the job easier for humans. The term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ was coined in the 20th century. It was fairly recently that the notion of AI completely replacing human beings came up. This is primarily due to two reasons. One, the exponential growth in the field of technology. Second, especially with the prominence of multiprocessor computers. Now even personal computers have multi-core CPUs. Furthermore, quantum computing is another area the world is looking at. With the exploitation of computers, human beings came up with the question that excited them most. Can a computer think and behave like humans?

What is AI currently being used for?

Today, vast plethora of fields use AI. Fields ranging from aviation, medicine, teaching and video games. Various technologies, especially in the healthcare department, have been developed due to the inputs available on artificial intelligence. Recently, various scientists have taken the notion of machines replacing human beings more seriously. It will be fair to say that the revolution of machines has already started, with thousands of jobs having been already replaced in the previous century, especially the ones that require high amounts of physical labor, possible majorly due to the capability of machines to work quicker and more efficiently than humans at tasks that require repetition.

Can AI replace humans completely?

It has been claimed that a further five million jobs will be replaced by the end of 2020. However, a lot of existing jobs do require human finesse, and that is the area AI has not yet been able to sneak into. A common example would be the level of satisfaction a customer feels when he is given information by a machine, when compared to a human being. AI has not yet developed to the extent that it can engage, think, adapt and respond in exactly the same way as a human does. One of the McKinsey reports identified sectors where machines could replace humans.

McKinsey&Company report : Where machines could replace humans

That is perhaps the next stage of evolution, as far as AI is concerned. Again, although machines have done an increasingly efficient job in certain situations related to healthcare and first response, they still need to be controlled and operated by a human who directs its use. Hence, it might be possible to replace monotonous jobs which do not require creativity; the machines still need to be governed by human beings. It appears as though that a healthy balance between the two is required to be struck. Another thing that is to be kept in mind is that AI cannot completely replace human  beings simply because it is too expensive to do so, in the current scenario. It is only the most successful of companies and businesses that can keep up with the high costs of the repair and maintenance of machines. Moreover, no evidence suggests that the cost of the same is about to go down anywhere in the near future. The same PwC report from March 2017 describes what kind of decision makings were possible by humans and intelligent machines.

Humans Vs Intelligent machines, decision making - https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/publications/2017/artificial-intelligence-and-robotics-2017.pdf

Furthermore, machines  do not have the intelligence or the emotional quotient that is present in humans, a fact that disqualifies them for many jobs at the outset. Most industries have jobs where the worker might be exposed to a situation he is new to, and in those situations only the human being can prevail, another issue that currently plagues the AI industry. Human beings are progressive learners, and improve their work rate and abilities when they devote time to a particular activity. Moreover, they are creative, find new ways to do a job, and  invent things, tasks that machines cannot yet be expected to do. Finally, there are certain other areas of worry, questions related to the future of human beings if automation lead to the replacement of their jobs. Large scale unemployment will take place, and human beings will become increasingly lazy and lose their creative power, which will lead to fewer inventions and advancements. It appears as though AI, a product of human endeavor and creativity, may in the end feed on the very characteristics of humans that have made them capable enough to create machines. AI might lead to a generation of individuals who are unemployed, and incapable of evolution.

What lies ahead?

It can be said the creation of artificial intelligence is the biggest event for mankind, but the task ahead is not to fully replace human beings with machines. That is a notion not only undesirable for human growth and development, but also harmful for it. Instead, we must look forward to an age of altruistic cooperation between the machines and their creators, in order to maximize the potential for both beings, whether alive or not. Human beings should look at AI as a means to increase productivity and solve major world problems such as hunger and poverty, not as a method to bring forth an age of unemployment and reduced levels of endeavor. We might need machines to make our jobs easier, but the machines need us too. The future therefore, is one where there is cooperation between the two, and not domination of one over the other.

What do you think? Will there be a need for human beings in the industry, twenty years from today? Do let us know in the comments below.

By Rishabh Bhatnagar:
Rishabh is a law student with a passion for the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Startups. He is an avid reader with a taste for writing. He likes learning about new things and is a writer at TechSutram.Opinions expressed by techsutram contributors are their own.