THOUGH Artificial Intelligence 9AI) will benefit humans, we must consider its negative effect on employment and the social upheaval it could cause, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) First Deputy Managing Director, Gita Gopinath, has warned.
In a lecture at Glasgow University to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Scottish enlightenment economist Adam Smith’s birth, she said it’s possible that AI might simply replace human jobs without creating new, more productive work for them to move into.
“Given that the well-being of the individual and the plight of the common worker underpinned much of Adam Smith’s thinking, this would surely have troubled him. He was interested in developing an economy that worked for everyone—not simply a chosen few.”
Today, the market for the components to develop AI tools is highly concentrated. A single company has a dominant position in the market for silicon chips best suited for AI applications, for example. Only a handful of large corporations may have the data firepower to develop high-end models in the future.
“While Smith would have been impressed by the emergence of such a powerful technology in a globalised economy, he might also have realised that the invisible hand alone may not be enough to ensure broad benefits to society,” Gopinath said.
“In fact, in many areas—from finance to manufacturing— the invisible hand hasn’t been enough to ensure broad benefits for quite some time.
She said AI raised productivity task, and would help humans spend more time on things that make us unique.
According to Goldman Sachs, if generative AI lives up to its hype, the workforce in the United States and Europe will be upended.
The sobering and alarming report about AI’s ascendance also indicated that the investment bank estimates 300 million jobs could be lost or diminished by this fast-growing technology.
Goldman contends automation creates innovation, which leads to new types of jobs. For companies, there will be cost savings thanks to AI. They can deploy their resources toward building and growing businesses, ultimately increasing annual global Gross Domestic Product by seven per cent.
In recent months, the world has witnessed the ascendancy of OpenAI software ChatGPT and DALL-E. ChatGPT surpassed one million users in its first five days of launching, the fastest that any company has ever reached this benchmark.
Goldman predicts that the growth in AI will mirror the trajectory of past computer and tech products. Just as the world went from giant mainframe computers to modern-day technology, there will be a similar fast-paced growth of AI reshaping the world. AI can pass the attorney bar exam, score brilliantly on the SATs and produce unique artwork.
While the startup ecosystem has stalled due to adverse economic changes, investments in global AI projects have boomed. From 2021 to now, investments in AI totalled nearly $94 billion, according to Stanford’s AI Index report.
If AI continues this growth trajectory, it could add one per cent to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030.
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