Benefits of Artificial Intelligence

Nowadays we are witnessing a formidable acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI). Robots in factories and warehouses, self-driving cars and supermarkets with no cashiers, are just some of the applications that promise to totally transform society as we know it, and in the process, destroy many jobs. Many people are in danger of being replaced in their jobs by machines, according to researchers at Oxford University and a BBC news report. But is this a bad thing? Many jobs now done by humans are downright nasty, unpleasant, boring or dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better for an unfeeling robot to do them, and liberate human beings for more interesting, fun and fulfilling work?

Here are some examples of jobs, taken from The 20 Worst Jobs in the World, Career Addict that I’m sure most people do out of necessity, not out of choice.

Sewer cleaner (Yuck! Does anybody actually like this?)

Miner – downright dangerous and not for claustrophobics; remember the 33 miners trapped for weeks in Chile in 2010. Many of them are still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Telemarketer – Making cold calls to people you don’t know to sell them things they don’t want; you have to have a thick skin for this one!

Lorry driver – Driving might be fun when you are on holiday exploring new places, but most truck drivers have to drive backwards and forwards along the same route for years. Very monotonous.

Factory or warehouse worker – Most jobs of this type are monotonous and repetitive on an assembly line.

Clerk – even more boring.

Armpit sniffer – No, I’m not kidding; this job really exists! Deodorant manufacturers employ them to test their products. Who really enjoys sniffing armpits all day?

All of these jobs and more, can (and should) be done by robots and computer systems.

But of course one asks, what are people going to do instead? The great gains from increased productivity afforded by AI need to be invested in massive education and re-training schemes for millions of people. And what sorts of jobs could people be trained for? There are so many activities that require uniquely human qualities:

• Empathy
• Compassion
• Humour
• Emotional intelligence
• Spirituality
• Strategic planning
• Leadership
• Creativity
• Imagination
• Artistic sensitivity

These are distinctly human virtues and AI cannot possibly do them, at least not for the foreseeable future. Even if it were possible to have AI acquiring these qualities, it is certainly not desirable (see my other article on this topic: https://www.garudax.id/pulse/possible-future-artificial-intelligence-jerome-smith/).

We can think of a long list of interesting, fun and fulfilling jobs that require these uniquely human characteristics. Here is just a sample:

• Nurse
• Doctor
• Psychologist, psychiatrist, counsellor
• Teacher, professor
• Comedian
• Movie actress/actor
• Scientist, researcher
• Engineer
• IT professional
• Data scientist
• Artist, musician
• Manager, strategic planner
• Philosopher, writer

Aside from the idea of letting the robots do the dirty work and re-training people for more interesting things, we must also think of sharing the gains of increased productivity. If the same amount, or more, of goods and services are being produced, in part by robots, there is more for everyone. If less people are needed to produce our basic goods and services and many people have much less work to do, is that a reason for people to live in poverty? Who are to be the owners of the new AI and robots? AI systems are capital, just like machines and buildings, and unfortunately, in the 21st century wealth inequality (ownership of capital) is growing, as has been thoroughly studied by Thomas Piketty in his Capital in the Twenty-First Century. If ownership of new technology and AI were to be redistributed amongst humankind, then it would be possible for everyone to share in its gains, and such schemes as a universal basic income would be perfectly feasible.

And if we are still worried about what people are going to contribute to society if they are not working, we must realise that the best contribution that any person can make to others is contributing to other people’s happiness. There are so many ways of doing this: being kind and helpful, chatting with other people and accompanying those who are lonely, playing sports, sharing knowledge and experience, helping oneself and others to grow spiritually. It’s actually so simple: just being happy oneself helps others to be happy; it’s contagious!

To conclude, artificial intelligence does not have to be a threat. Quite to the contrary, under the correct perspective, placing human beings as the most important value, and having a major rethink on our values and beliefs, AI can serve as a tool to liberate humanity from poverty, a new step in our evolution as a species.