Are we becoming too artificially intelligent?

This question must raise many points of view and is foundational and topical to the career coaching approach we adopt when conducting 1-2-1 sessions with our MBA students. jobcoach.org.uk

  A major TV network asked the question Can computers think? And this prompts the debate what do we mean by ‘think’? In the human context it incorporates emotion, mood, bias, intelligence, experience, attitude, initiative and personality. All this conglomeration of attributes is not intended to be replicated by a software programme.

An AI programme does what we tell it to do. It can replicate and supersede certain deductive processes and we can programme it to process many complicated permutations which we as humans may be unable to deduce. We can programme AI to incorporate big data computations.

Technology is now at the centre stage of our lives and growing exponentially. Does it then degrade our thinking process and construct or does it offer more intellectual challenge? Is it a friend or foe?

The ability to harness huge banks of narrative for codebreaking in the last world war was critical to its success but the intellectual interface in terms of human initiative

had to be superimposed to decipher the codes into meaningful messages.

This is a nice example of AI and the human intellect working in complementary harmony.

If we look back further at the friend criteria we observe huge advances in curative medicine and robotic engineering. Data mining has put mitochondria centre stage and its role in cellular respiration. The cynic might substitute mitochondria for hypochondria and think we are allowing AI too much space and credibility. Certainly, it needs managing. And we are becoming more and more aware on hacking as a constant treat.

When I am making a new journey, I focus on the destination and let the satnav focus on the journey. And my journeys by plane, ferry or train are all computer technology dependent. AI is in fact my hidden facilitator.

But are we becoming too artificially intelligent? I don’t think we are. On the whole we are managing, integrating and capitalizing subliminally or overtly on the advantages of AI in our lives. We should see the growth of tech as a positive facilitator.

When I am coaching CEOs regarding the core assets for successfully managing projects I introduce them to the critical 4 elements incorporating Accountability, Responsibility, Transparency and Outcome. But I am not fully convinced that we can apply this criteria when applied to AI particularly if there are flaky outcomes.

  A further challenge is when AI begins harnessing data for malicious intent when we will be compelled to impose ethical controls similar to the current challenge we are experiencing with the excesses of multimedia.

AI can perform amazing and yet to be conceived tasks. It can directly and indirectly enhance the quality of our daily lives. However, we must not over inflate its attributes and process. However amazing the outcome, we must always remember it is a facilitator in the guise of a programmable piece of software. It does what we tell it to do. We are still its boss.