Looking at the Pros and Cons of AI

Regardless of where you stand, it’s obvious that this tool isn’t going anywhere

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a revolutionary technology in recent years and has already begun to transform various organisations across a range of different industries. A hot topic, that continues to dominate many conversations online and offline, there is an obvious divide between those who praise it and can only speak about its benefits, and those who express concern and highlight its pitfalls. In this blog, we’ll be weighing up these pros and cons, as well as discussing the industries that are said to be affected by AI from both a positive and negative perspective.

So, what exactly is AI?

Think of AI as a simulation of human knowledge and intelligence in machines. It encompasses various techniques and technologies like machine learning, deep learning, robotics, natural language processing, and other related fields that enables computers to perform tasks that typically require humans with cognitive abilities. These capabilities include learning from experience, reasoning, problem-solving, understanding natural, human language, and the ability to adapt to new situations and changing environments

If you didn’t know, there are two main types of AI:

Narrow/ Weak AI

Which is designed for specific tasks and operates within a defined boundary. Examples include voice assistants, recommendation algorithms, and image recognition systems.

General/Strong AI

This is the version of AI that seems to replicate humans across a wide range of tasks and includes possessing consciousness, self-awareness, and the ability to reason. This form of AI, however, remains a theoretical challenge.

AI applications span a range of different industries such as healthcare, finance, transportation, and entertainment to name but a few and continues to shape our world as technology advances, offering both challenges and opportunities – which we will discuss in detail at a later stage in this blog.

Positive Impacts of AI	Negative Impacts of AI
Increased Efficiency	Biases in AI
Informed Decision-Making	Ethical Concerns
Personalised User Experience	Security Risks
Cost Saving	Job Displacement

While we have only listed a few of the benefits and drawbacks of Artificial Intelligence above, it is important to note that these are not intended to speak to all circumstances and that these may differ across industries and occupations, which we will take a look at below.

Taking a similar approach to the above, we will only be focusing on a select few industries in our examination of the positive and negative effects of AI technology. We hope that, in so doing, we can emphasise how important it is to carefully consider all of the benefits and drawbacks before making a final decision on its implementation.

Healthcare

While using AI can help sick patients and other individuals can get personalised treatment plans, and healthcare professionals can use predictive analytics to improve patient outcomes, further enhancing healthcare delivery, it also raises concerns regarding patient and individual data privacy and can increase human oversight if healthcare professionals become solely reliant on AI tools.

Customer Service

These include AI-driven chatbots, virtual assistants, and voice recognition systems that provide instant customer support, streamlining service interactions, but there is also the reality that these tools lack human emotions such as empathy and understanding which could frustrate clients.

Banking and Financial Services

The use of AI algorithms helps enhance fraud detection, risk management, and investment strategies that lead to improved financial performance and client satisfaction. However, AI tools may put specific jobs within this industry at risk, such as data entry, risk assessment, and customer service positions.

Logistics and Transportation

Using AI helps to optimise route planning, fleet management, as well as supply chain management systems help reduce costs and improve delivery efficiency. There is still the possibility that this may in turn affect manual labour roles within the industry.

Retail

It’s helpful to be able to create personalised marketing campaigns and implement inventory management systems that drive sales, but specific client-facing roles such as cashiers, stock clerks, and inventory management may be impacted by these tools.

Cybersecurity

AI algorithms can help detect and mitigate cyber threats in real-time, protecting sensitive data and prevent breaches in security. This also means, though, that professionals within the field of Cybersecurity will have to learn how to adapt to AI-driven attacks.

With the continuous advancement in technology and the ease of use when it comes to AI, it is highly unlikely that we will see a decline in the use and development of AI tools and programmes. Our intention in this blog, however, was not to sway anyone in either direction, but rather to open up a discussion for the possibilities around the future of this tool and the ways in which it can be utilised to our advantage, without negating the various risks that come with this.