DUBAI, OCT 17 – Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most transformative technology since the Industrial Revolution, but most jobs will remain secure if businesses and policymakers focus on improving human tasks, rather than replacing roles altogether.
That was the message delivered by the Director of the Digital Economy Laboratory at Stanford University, Dr Erik Brynjolfsson during the panel session Keeping AI on Track at the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Council 2024 (AMGFC24), reported the Emirati news agency, WAM.
Brynjolfsson argues that AI should improve the quality of tasks, not replace entire jobs.
“Work is a combination of various tasks. AI can help with some of that,” he said, giving the example of a radiologist.
Despite concerns that the introduction of AI image recognition will make radiologists redundant, the demand for them tripled between 2016 and 2022.
“There are about 27 different tasks performed by a radiologist. One of them is interpreting images. But they also do other things, for example sometimes they have to give sedatives.
“I want people to be involved in this. AI helps with some tasks, but for others, we really need humans,” he said.
Brynjolfsson presented data showing that 80 percent of the United States (US) workforce may have as much as 10 percent of their jobs affected by AI, with 19 percent of workers, especially in high-paying jobs, seeing up to 50 percent of their jobs affected.
He emphasized that too many CEOs and policy makers are focused on automating jobs, when the real potential lies in enhancing human capabilities.
“The greater opportunity is to improve; use AI to enhance what humans can do,” he said. – Named
