AI Disruption Is Right Before Our Eyes; What Should We Prepare For?

Elon Musk once said in 2018 that artificial intelligence or AI is "much more dangerous" than nuclear warheads. Is AI really that dangerous?

These words are merely a concern because, at that time, AI was like an imagination that had not really appeared and was widely implemented.

However, Elon Musk's concerns need to be taken more seriously in 2023 because what is known as artificial intelligence technology is real.

So, is AI really as dangerous as Elon Musk said because it will create disruption in all fields? Let's dive in.

AI Awakening

ChatGPT can be considered a very revolutionary AI model with extraordinary capabilities. This chatbot made by OpenAI can do what humans order only through instructions in the form of text input.

ChatGPT can create articles or posts according to the instructions given - although the results still require human correction, presenting snippets of programming code to answer questions quickly.

Examples of other AI-based platforms are the existence of DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Artbreeder, where the three of them are considered to be slowly disrupting the creative world because they can produce works of art such as paintings quickly with just text commands such as ChatGPT.

In the business sector, AI is also starting to be used in several critical sectors, such as financial services, insurance, health, marketing, energy, aviation, manufacturing, and many more.

AI, in general, can perform tasks essential for human needs, such as recognizing images and speech, translating languages, providing recommendations, performing automated trading, detecting financial fraud, and so on.

This shows that repetitive tasks will gradually be replaced by AI. No longer using human power because it is considered ineffective. At this point, the term 'Disruption' slowly began to occur.

The ability of AI that is so impressive indirectly makes humans worry that they - most likely, will be the party that is eliminated due to the impact of the disruption that has occurred.

These concerns lead to predictions that AI disruption is right before our eyes. Even in the future, disruption may occur on a much more massive scale and globally.

Growth in AI adoption globally

Human fears that artificial intelligence will one day disrupt specific work sectors are not just empty words.

If you look at IBM's report entitled IBM Global AI Adoption Index 2022, the data shows that almost 80% of companies globally currently use AI technology in their business.

While the remaining 20%, based on the report, do not use AI as part of their business or at least are still exploring the possibility of using it.

Countries like China and India dominate the amount of AI usage in their companies with more than 60%. While the use of AI is in developed countries such as England (26%), the United States (25%), Australia (24%), and South Korea (22%).

The IBM report can be used as a prediction that the use of AI in the future will undoubtedly become more massive and become more common. Artificial intelligence is considered a part of everyday life and is not a new technology.

Moreover, most companies benefit from using AI, such as increasing efficiency in daily operational activities, reducing costs, reducing manual labor, automating work processes, etc.

The current AI technology may have technical deficiencies because it still needs to be improved based on future human needs. But the increase will only last long because the core technology has been mastered.

Moreover, humans and their businesses have gained much experience and are mature in understanding. They will be more proficient in utilizing existing technology because they have interacted intensely with AI.

Why does it have to be AI?

The current implementation of AI has revolutionized mindsets and changed how humans work by giving them benefits and new perspectives on a broader scope. Gradually, there will be a shift from traditional to modern methods.

When the Covid-19 pandemic occurred worldwide, AI played a significant role because it forced humans to survive for their safety and maintain productivity by carrying out various innovations.

In the health sector, for example, AI is handy for tracking sufferers and their social interactions in certain areas, using face detection sensors to monitor mask use, monitoring the transmission spread, processing big data related to health history, and others.

From the business side, AI is a transition that changes traditional work patterns to become more modern by emphasizing effectiveness. There is no more effective strategy than using AI to address increasingly complex economic and market challenges in the future.

Processes that were previously done manually will also be disrupted by AI due to limited human capabilities. Its existence unknowingly has integrated into everyday life because it is considered to facilitate human activities.

Google, for example, the largest search engine, uses AI to process searches from its billions of users around the world. Some of its products, such as Gmail, YouTube, and Adsense, are also integrated with each other to make human life more manageable.

Facebook utilizes AI, which can provide friend recommendations based on user activity so that they become friends with one another. ECommerce platforms like Amazon also rely on AI to recommend suitable products to their users.

One of the most important things is that AI has been working behind the scenes to drive these applications. Technology has succeeded in disrupting how humans search for information, make friends, and shop online.

Prepare for AI disruption

AI has yet to entirely replace human labor because the technology still needs further development. However, who can predict that this will not happen soon? 5, 10, or 20 years from now?

For companies and business owners, it is crucial to be aware of AI and the potential of the technology. Instead of rejecting it, they can use artificial intelligence to improve business performance and efficiency from various sides and prepare to manage it.

1. Keeping your mind healthy

Seriously, this is no joke. You must maintain your sanity and sound logic because disruption can change everything. Including completely overhauling the old paradigm regarding work processes that run on traditional systems.

Sometimes, a change that occurs means making someone's role obsolete. The sudden and massive disruption of AI can make employees or workers suffer anxiety because their role is replaced by technology.

Keeping your mind sane can increase your self-confidence and emotional well-being. In addition, you are also more prepared for the changes that occur because you have an open and flexible mind.

2. Collaboration between humans and technology

Collaboration is an effective strategy in the all-digital Industry 4.0 era. The preparation that can be done is to understand how AI works and its ability to make work processes efficient. So there is still a human role here.

In their book, "Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI, " H. James R. Wilson and Paul Daugherty find unique facts about collaboration between humans and machines (AI) to accelerate maximum achievement in a business.

The two of them, who researched digital transformation at 1,500 global-scale companies, found that companies that reorganized work involving human-machine relations (AI) were three times superior to their competitors regarding flexibility, speed, and scalability.

3. Setting the mindset to anticipate change

AI moves so fast that it can create new trends in technology. For those who are ready, this change includes opportunities that can be utilized to improve capabilities and business growth in the future.

Putting yourself in the position of being able to move quickly along with the changes taking place makes you better prepared to seize the opportunities generated by AI in the future. Setting a mindset is the most effective way when disruption is in your eyes.

An organized mindset facilitates the transition process when facing disruption. Instead of being pressured, you can think and map out what strategies to do to deal with these changes without feeling nervous.

4. Keep learning and updating your knowledge

The World Economic Forum, in a report titled "The Future of Jobs Report 2020," said that around 85 million jobs will be replaced by AI globally by 2025. In his notes, Kai-Fu Le, the computer scientist and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, confirmed the same.

Kai-Fu Le estimates that 50% of all jobs will be automated by AI in just 15 years. It is clear that this is a very massive disruption and is currently happening slowly, although not completely.

Therefore, you must be willing to keep learning and updating your experience by adapting to new technology. You can use AI to increase work capacity or better understand AI performance.

Learning programming languages related to AI can also increase knowledge. Keep in mind that the existence of AI is to streamline work processes, with us humans as the controllers behind the scenes.

Conclusion

The emergence of technology, such as AI, cannot be stopped. There is no choice but to prepare to welcome a new era by collaborating with artificial intelligence or AI with a human perspective.

Moreover, the human touch is still needed because AI still has deficiencies and needs to be directed. Does it exist to increase efficiency and provide benefits, or does it take over and reduce human tasks? All decisions remain in our hands, humans!