Can you imagine a world in which robots rule over humans (in an “I, Robot” kind of way)? According to some tech futurists, this scenario is what our world will look like! Some are hailing artificial intelligence (AI) tools as the “masters” that will become unmanageably powerful with the intent of replacing humans. Poppycock!
Using AI technology doesn’t have to mean putting humans at risk in the workplace — it can take on all the mundane drudgery and free up time for higher-level tasks. That time will help us achieve more than ever before.
It is important to remember that any tool can be used for both good and bad. This includes the powerful AI technology available today. While this tech can give us a unique competitive advantage and tremendous benefits if used correctly, it also, like any tool, has the potential to work against us in unseen ways if not appropriately managed.
I feel empowered by, not threatened, by AI. In the past, I’ve always felt hindered by my many shortcomings — a lousy speller, a poor typist, etc. Those deficiencies made writing a time-consuming, unfulfilling undertaking that I dreaded and avoided. But with today’s AI-powered technologies like speech-to-text dictation, chatbots, and grammar and spelling checkers, I feel more empowered than ever in my ability to share the ideas that are rattling around in my brain.
I was looking for a quote to include in this article, so I dictated to my chatbot underling: “Give me five recent quotes from small business leaders describing how they think AI will disrupt their business in the next year.” With an investment of 30 to 40 seconds of researching by my chatbot underling, I found this quote by Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo.
“AI has already transformed some small businesses, giving them access to powerful technology that used to only be available to large enterprises,” Yang said.
The quote fits the most likely outcome that AI will not only be a tool to help us be more efficient in our work, but it also will help level the playing field for small- and medium-sized businesses competing with larger ones.
Are you ready to step into the future? Have you been preparing for major disruptions and technological advancements that will shape your business in the coming years?
We all should be ready to embrace the coming changes!
— Troy Linker, publisher
Click here to read more from the April-May 2023 issue of Northwest Indiana Business Magazine.
