Artificial Intelligence: The Fourth Industrial Revolution

“AI is likely to be either the best or worst thing happen to humanity”.

-Stephen Hawking

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the present scenario in the world. AI has the potential to drive a car, determine the nationality of a person through his handwriting, detect machine breakdown on listening to its sound and can produce 20,000 lines of copy in a second.

All in all, it will alter our day-to-day lives. As pointed out by CEO of Google – Sundar Pichai that artificial intelligence can become more vital than fire or electricity.

On the other hand, billionaire investor Ray Dalio remarked that it is a “two-edged sword.” It is boosting the productivity but eliminating jobs, which in the run will create gaps between wealth and opportunity.

From here we need to understand is AI just a robotic apocalypse or the fourth industrial revolution.

AI: Fourth Industrial Revolution or Robotic Apocalypse?

Artificial Intelligence is one of the key rising technology breakthroughs because it can transform the world in exceptional ways. AI and robotics can change the way businesses function and advance efficiencies and cost.

Arti Pande, Lead Consultant at ThoughtWorks said that putting it in simple words, AI will aid enterprises to make better decisions because intelligent tools will augment human capability with increased efficiency, precision and creativity. Arti further stated, “The critical argument is that the fourth industrial revolution will not cause unemployment but will evolve the quality and types of jobs. Humans will re-skill and equip themselves with new capabilities, compatible with an AI-powered workplace”.

As quoted by Professor Klaus Schwab in ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’, we are living in a world where technology is influencing the way we live, connect with systems, access information, leverage services, and relate with each other socially. And when used judiciously, this new technology – AI - will certainly boost productivity, operational efficiency and customer experience in enterprises, and can provide a platform for digital reach in societies. AI can be prevented from turning into a robotic apocalypse by putting adequate regulations, governance and sense of responsibilities in place, said Dr. Kiran Marri, VP- Solutions, Digital Engineering & Testing Services at CSS Corp.

Mahesh Nayak, SAP Labs India holds that with AI becoming increasingly ingrained into our lives, it offers a lot of promise, but can also be a double-edged sword. Gartner in a report says that by 2020, artificial intelligence will create 2.3 million jobs whilst eliminating 1.8 million. But, everything about AI so far has been about helping human minds to work better, not theirs. We can simulate perception, reasoning, planning, learning, creativity but at the end of the day this is pure simulation on our terms.

Thus, artificial intelligence is definitely the fourth industrial revolution, rather than a robotic apocalypse. It is faster, efficient and more widely accessible. Moreover, a plethora of opportunities has been ushered in, as AI can now handle complex tasks including Object detection, Speech and Face recognition, etc. We may expect AI to be increasingly capable of performing complex tasks, especially in areas of application with massive data sets, believes George Mundassery, Tech Mahindra.

Artificial Intelligence & Future

While talking about the future and its impact of this disruptive technology, Raman Sapra, Sasken pointed, the advancements in AI will augment human decision-making capabilities by providing more contextual information at the right time to enable us to be more productive. In the AI-driven 4^thindustrial revolution, the role of technology will be to assist and enable end decision makers – humans. It is leveraging in areas such as production optimization, worker safety and quality improvement. Hence, it will enrich our interactions with the environment and be giving us better control over our decision making.

In near future, AI could also surpass the expectations of its creators. It has the power to surpass our expectations, given its inherent nature, and also has a flip side that possesses real and potential danger, but with the right rules and regulations I hope businesses and governments can work together to both protect and evolve the technology to the benefits of all, KT Prasad, Zendesk India