AI is Less of a Risk than We Might Think
Many people often fear that artificial intelligence will change the way we work. Moreover, people think that AI will take their job. Finding a better-paid job with additional training is not really much of a comfort to people who are not willing to change their job.
According to a new study, fewer jobs are at risk due to artificial intelligence and robots. A forecast from 2013 by Oxford University stated that almost 47% of jobs in the USA are at “high risk” of being automated in the next 20 years. However, according to the new study, only 10% of people are at risk of being automated. There is something about the human touch that can’t be automated easily. This does not mean that some of our jobs will look different due to automation, but that they will be easier and leave us with more time to learn new helpful skills.
What is the difference between these two studies? It seems that the Oxford study grouped similar jobs and classifications under one job that can be jeopardized in the near future. However, the same job at different companies requires different skills and different levels of automation, if any. When we talk about wiping out certain jobs, we often forget the social part of that job, or the complex reasoning and creativity that is part of even the simplest physical jobs.
AI can’t easily replace the human touch, or the creativity and complexity of the human brain.
Tesla’s Investigation
Here is another example of how machines can’t easily replace humans. Electric car-maker, Tesla is under investigation due to a recent fatal crash involving one of their cars.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a statement, saying that they are not happy with Tesla making public details of the probe. Tesla blogged that the Model X of Tesla’s autopilot self-steering car was in use at the time of the accident when Walter Huang, who was an Apple engineer, died in the fatal car crash.
Tesla revealed details that Walter’s hands were not on the wheel six seconds before the collision on Route 101 in California.
According to the NTSB statement: “In each of our investigations involving a Tesla vehicle, Tesla has been extremely cooperative in assisting with the vehicle data. However, the NTSB is unhappy with the release of investigative information by Tesla.”
This is not the first time that Tesla’s semi-autonomous technology has been involved in a fatal car crash. In 2016, a woman in Arizona died when she was hit by an Uber’s self-driving test car. The self-driving option can be easily switched on and off via a simple button. However, according to those who defend self-driving cars, people are often distracted from the road when driving a self-driving car.
There is more talk more about a car accident when a self-driving car involved than any other type of car. However, Tesla should learn what they should do differently to prevent these accidents.
Facebook’s Memo
Technology needs more regulations and we are learning that automation and technology needs a moral code as well. Here’s where we need laws that will protect people, not robots and big companies.
A recent memo from a Facebook executive, Andrew Bosworth, discovered the ugly truth about the company. In the post from 2016, the executive said that the company must grow and “connect people” even if that means that people might die as a result of their goal. Of course, the author of this statement and Mark Zuckerberg denied that they believe in this statement.
Andrew Bosworth wrote: “So we connect more people. That can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack co-ordinated on our tools.” Needless to say, Andrew never really had a good reputation in the company.
From Cambridge Analytica to the recent memo, Facebook is not looking good in the public eye and many people are breaking the habit of being addicted to Facebook. Let’s not forget that Facebook let Cambridge Analytica collect and use the private data of 50 million people.
