Artificial Intelligence represents intelligent machines which display evidence of cognitive functions similar to those of human minds including problem-solving and learning.
Ever since it was first defined by John McCarthy in 1956, it has been a matter of great controversy.
Some see it and fear it as a real-life Skynet coming out of the Terminator movies and into our lives, while others see it as an ultimate tool for enhancing the quality of human lives and helping us reach our full potential.
While we are still far away from full automation, the technology has managed to introduce certain AI solutions and announce an introduction of others in the near future. With these in place, it is only right to consider the economics of artificial intelligence and the great influence it is predicted to have.
The self-driving cars
We can start off but looking at some of the most practical and most exciting sides of AI tangible and possibly understood by lay people. The car industry has been going through some of the most talked-about technological advancements lately.
With the aim of preserving the natural environment, we are witnessing the rise of hybrid and electric cars. Some are already available to the general public, others are still experimental. Another type of an experimental vehicle is the self-driving car.
The aim of this new-age development is to automate transportation and reduce the number of accidents. While there are people who could argue that the car is only experimental and serve as a proof to its creators of how much they can achieve, others hope to see it out on the streets in not so distant future.
Google is, in fact, quite close to making a fully automated car, however, the question is how soon it will be available for sale and affordable by most. There are numerous ways one of these personal vehicles could enhance human lives and their pockets.
They could reduce the number of accidents and drive according to the traffic law thus saving you money on traffic tickets, insurance coverages, reduce health bills, depending on the law that will be in place you possibly won’t even have to take driving lessons, it will probably be combined with other new developments mentioned above so you could be looking at a lower cost per mile etc.
Senior and disability assistance
As an honorable mention in this chapter, we have cyborg technology which could serve a practical purpose of helping people with amputated limbs gain more control over their robotic prosthetics by having it communicate directly to the amputee’s brain.
The mention is only honorable not because of its lesser importance, on contrary, it is due to its fascinating nature and a scope so potentially great that it is hard to talk about all the things it could potentially do.
We will focus on home robots which are being developed with the purpose of assisting those who need help with their everyday tasks. Apart from the practicality, we could perhaps hope to see them integrated with some of the technology used to make robotic companions which are able to feel and understand human emotions.
These are meant to fight loneliness and depression since their goal is to show empathy and make humans happy. An introduction of the home robot will help finances and lifestyles of its users and their families.
The robot could reduce the cost of having to hire around-the-clock care or pay for assisted living, as well as reduce the need for many other items in a home aimed at helping the elderly and disabled function around their homes, including personal alarm systems.
Improving productivity
Every business owner knows that no matter what they do, they always have to take into account a possibility of a human error happening and consequences it may cause. By using artificial intelligence for data processing, such errors will be eliminated where they happen and hurt the most.
Not only that AI should help reduce mistakes, but it will also increase the speed and thus the volume of data processed. When knowing exactly where you stand and have a full financial acumen, it will be easier to create successful strategies. In case you haven’t noticed some of the magic is already happening.
We can see signs of AI in unique property algorithms and intelligent agents used by Facebook, Google, Netflix, and Amazon. They are all designed to improve user experience and target a business’s audience and their needs with greater accuracy. Successful business strategies and marketing campaigns lead to more revenue and more profit for those running and included in a business.
Making certain jobs obsolete
Having said all of the above, and by mentioning the fact that industries are investing efforts into introducing AI to cover for some of their most dangerous jobs, we have to assume that certain job positions will be made obsolete.
This mostly refers to some of the lower-skilled work and entry-level positions. The workplace automation could forever diminish the need for welders, miners, production line workers and many others who are exposed to a high health and safety risk in their working environment. Apart from the risk factor, there is a greater ability and better organizational skills of AI which could cause it to replace secretaries, various admin workers, call center workers etc.
Such developments are a danger to those who are currently occupying one of these positions. While we can be sure that the governments and the industries will try to accommodate anyone replaced by AI by introducing new positions and offering training, it will certainly be a painful process to most.
Offering better jobs
On the other hand, once we have a fully functional system of improving those workers who used to occupy entry-level positions, we will see a world of the highly-skilled workforce and increase in well-paid jobs. In theory, this could mean that a secretary will not be made redundant but trained and promoted to a better –paid position. This could also improve working conditions by offering a safe working environment for everyone.
Economy is a great machine fueled by many different sources. Since the developed countries could so far predict nothing but prosperity and an increase in their GDPs we can hope that AI will have the same impact globally. An overall good economy should have positive effects on each individual and though AI may not make you the richest person around, you will certainly be able to improve your current status and lifestyle.