Artificial intelligence technology has been the hottest trend of the past year, with the tech sector investing a record $7.6 billion in the last six months, with AI stocks rising in value.
With the world’s attention focused on AI, stocks like Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, Microsoft and Google have all surged in value, but some investors are more concerned about the possibility of robots taking over the job market.
Analysts have predicted that artificial intelligence will make it easier for workers to automate tasks, while companies are also racing to develop artificial intelligence software that can handle tasks better.”AI has been a very good catalyst for the market, but now it’s coming to the point where we’re going to see AI take over the world,” said Anupam K. Jha, managing director at investment firm KPMG.
“It’s going to be a lot more complex and it’s going be difficult for humans to keep up.”AI is already becoming a reality, with Google now being used to teach people how to make autonomous vehicles, while Amazon and Microsoft are working on building robots that can do everything from cleaning toilets to delivering packages.KPMG’s Jha said that, like other technologies, the use of AI for a specific purpose is inevitable.
“There’s no reason to think that AI is not going to take over other jobs, and that’s where the potential for disruption lies,” he said.
“But, as I see it, the future is going to involve more of a combination of automation and AI.
There’s a lot of potential in this area.”
But some analysts are questioning whether AI is ready to replace many jobs, with one industry expert suggesting that there could be a need to take a longer view on AI and see it as a catalyst for change.
“This technology is so exciting, and people are really excited about it, but it’s too soon to see whether AI will become a major catalyst for economic growth,” said Jairam Muralidharan, research director at the research firm Fathom.
“I think the real question is, is it a catalyst to help create the jobs that we’re looking for?
Or is it an asset that can be put into a holding or be traded in order to make money?”
I don’t think we can be so optimistic about AI and its role in our economy.
