What can AI do for me?

Do I really need it?

Ronald J. Bourque

It seems everybody is talking about AI (artificial intelligence). Some think it will save us, and others think it will destroy us. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

I recently read a paper, “Something Big is Happening” by Matt Shumer, a software engineer working on artificial intelligence. He explained how AI is improving exponentially and that it can now do his job of developing AI. Imagine, AI is getting to be so good, it can develop better versions of itself than its developers can.

Sam Altman, the well-known CEO of Open AI, recently claimed that AI can do his CEO job!

Shumer talks about a managing partner at a prestigious law firm spending most of his time on AI. It seems the machine can do a better job developing his cases than he can.

With all the research and experimentation we’re doing, we’re told medical knowledge now doubles itself every 73 days. I asked my doctor how he can keep up with that. One of his daughters is also a physician, and they discuss new developments at dinner every night. I was glad to hear that, and I’m sure they’re at the top of their game, but no human being can realistically keep up with such an information explosion.

But doctors that use AI can because this tool can get them the information they need when they need it in seconds. Many doctors carry a laptop computer into the examining room, so they can immediately look up anything they need to know. They’re no longer limited by their mental capacity to absorb all this new information that can help them do a better job.

Admittedly, there’s no doubt that AI will eliminate a lot of jobs. Several software developers were telling me that great software people are getting laid off at incredible rates. They’ve never seen anything like it. Many of the developers creating AI never envisioned their own vulnerability.

Even though AI will eliminate many jobs, it won’t eliminate all of them. Shumer recommends learning how to use AI, no matter what we do. A doctor using AI will be better and more competitive than one without it in most cases. A lawyer using it will be able to cut lengthy research to seconds to develop even better cases. He or she will be even more formidable in the court room with even more cases.

And of course, that goes for so many professions. Whatever we do, if we can use AI effectively, we’ll be better and more competitive than people who can’t or don’t. One exception may be writing. AI can probably do a better job than many writers, but we don’t know where that brilliant output comes from. We could be inadvertently plagiarizing, and the copyright laws are still in effect. We don’t want to go there.

In many cases, we already use AI without realizing it. When we search the internet, many, if not all, search engines use AI.

Have you noticed how much better search results seem to be nowadays? It’s like the computer knows what we’re thinking.

So, if we don’t want to get left behind, many experts recommend practicing AI. We have to be careful selecting a program to work with, as there’s some junk out there not ready for primetime. Even so, it looks an awful lot like there will come a day where it becomes a requirement to keep our jobs or to get new ones.

When the internet became popular, I had a colleague who thought it was an electronic version of the yellow pages, a waste of time. It didn’t take long for him to change his mind. He wouldn’t have been able to survive without it. Experts are claiming the advent of AI is like the advent of the internet.

Unfortunately, this will make an awful lot of people unemployable. No one seems to have any solutions for this, and not using AI is not an option. On the battlefield, our enemies use it, and so do we. The best AI can be more formidable than some of our most sophisticated weapons.

Like it or not, business is a form of warfare. Thankfully, we don’t shoot and bomb each other, but we compete in the marketplace. The best products and services at the best prices usually win. Our competitors are already using it; if we don’t, we’re playing a losing game.

We still need wisdom to select the best AI for our particular needs and to use it judiciously. AI is a great tool, but it doesn’t guarantee success unless used properly.

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 603-898-1871 or RonBourque3@gmail.com.