Research Paper Final

Amanda Louise Waldon

Ethics in Communication & Technology CST 373_02


THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON TRADITIONALLY
HUMAN LED JOBS

INTRODUCTION
It is important that as moral, human-beings we look at not only the ethical questions
surrounding artificial intelligence such as its safety and security, but also that we
contemplate the chance that it may replace millions of jobs and take away the
financial security that many American, and global, citizens have because of their
current careers. As outlined in a report written for the United States Government,
The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan, it is
important that we understand and address the ethical, legal and societal

implications of artificial intelligence and that they behave according to the formal and
informal norms to which we hold our fellow humans. We also need to ensure the
safety and security of artificial intelligence systems. Before these systems are in
widespread use, assurance is needed that the systems will operate safely and
securely, in a controlled, well-defined, and well-understood manner. (National
Science and Technology Council, 2016).

What if we all become unemployed because of technologies such as artificial

intelligence stealing our jobs? Financial experts at the White House have forecasted

that soon all workers earning an hourly wage of less than $20 would be replaced by
Artificial Intelligence systems. If you talk real figures, this means that around 350
million employees belonging to the production, warehouse, or service industry will

lose their jobs (Fowler. G., 2016). There are of course both advantages and
disadvantages to artificial technology taking jobs from society and it is important to
think about the impacts before the event actually happens. We can only hope that

this opportunity will enable people to find meaning in non-labor activities, such as
caring for their families, engaging with their communities and learning new ways to
contribute to human society (Bossmann. J., 2016).

This report will outline the ethical issues, as well as the advantages and disadvantages
of artificial intelligence taking jobs classically performed by humans. It will also look at
possible solutions of how to deal with the level of unemployment that could result.

ADVANTAGES
Depending on ones lifestyle, career and general opinions, the introduction of artificial
intelligence into the American and global workforce could either be great news or
horrible news. It is important that we analyse both the advantages and disadvantages
of the widespread use of this technology to gain a better understanding of how it may
impact our future.

As Shyam Sankar mentions in his TedGlobal talk about the rise of human-computer
cooperation, humans are so amazing how we think, our non-linear approaches, our

creativity, iterative hypotheses, all very difficult for computers to do. But, we are
terrible at scale, computation and volume (Sankar. S., 2012). It is important to realise


that although humans are great at many things, in order to progress as a society, it
may be important to gain the help of technologies such as artificial intelligence.

When we think of industries that artificial intelligence could impact in a positive way,
not only profit wise but also in terms of benefiting society, the medical industry is a
big one. IBM Watson is a great example of artificial intelligence technology potentially
aiding and even improving elements of the medical industry. According to IBM, IBM
Watson will be able to transform health with new ways of working to improve

approaches to care, productivity and well-being. Its cognitive systems understand,

reason and learn helping translate information into knowledge that can help drive
more informed decision-making. With this kind of technology we can see and analyze
more data than ever before and achieve more than we ever thought possible.
(IBM, n.d.) IBM Watson, once fed data, will be able to analyze millions upon millions
of patient records, which contain symptoms, diagnosis and other crucial information.
It will be able to take this data and map it out, comparing it to all of the other data it
has previously analysed, including millions of patient, drug and research data, in
minutes. This will decrease diagnoses times and allow patients to get the care they
need more quickly. It may also help map out the potential spread of diseases, link
symptoms and even diagnose patients with correct diagnoses that doctors may not
have been able to recognise previously. A big advantage of using a system such as
IBM Watson in the medical industry is that doctors are not able to keep up with all of
the new findings and data that are being released everyday, it is simply impossible.
However, a system like IBM Watson is able to constantly take the new data and apply


it to medications or symptoms of every patient logged on its system and find issues or
even possible solutions to previous diagnoses.

Another big advantage to having jobs lost to artificial intelligence and other similar
technologies is the potential for citizens to live happier, more innovative, inclusive
and open lives. As Andrew McAfee said in his TedxBoston talk, Are Droids Taking Our
Jobs?, yes, the droids are taking our jobs, but we will be freed up to do other things

and what were going to do, I am very confident, is reduce poverty and drudgery and
misery around the world and were going to learn to live more lightly on the planet
(McAfee. A., 2012). When people feel free and supported, innovation and the best
ideas thrive. The take over of jobs may be better for our planet and society than just
resulting in more efficient and effective work practices. It may result in people trying
new approaches to solving particular problems and spending more time researching
and doing things that truly make them happy or those they have an interest in.

Artificial Intelligence could play a very big role in the progression of our society, not
only through prolonging and improving life in the medical industry and other
industries, but through innovation and raising the quality of life for many citizens. It is
important that we do not just look at the negatives of artificial intelligence in terms of
job loss, but that we think of the positives too.


DISADVANTAGES
There are some obvious disadvantages of letting technologies such as artificial
intelligence taking over jobs. In the last year alone, technology companies spent $8.5

billion on deals and investments in artificial intelligence, four times more than in
2010. In order to keep up with this rapid investment in artificial intelligence and
ensure that we have a workforce ready for the takeover, there is a need for better
education and training in order to educate future workers and transition current
workers to be able to work alongside artificial intelligence in the future
(Economist.com, 2016). The idea of educating and training is a process that will cost a
very large amount of money, will need to be integrated into many cities and
communities and will have to be researched and planned thoroughly before being
implemented to ensure that the right approach is taken. It is important that we utilize
training and education programs to ensure that collaboration between people and
these artificial intelligence machines is possible and efficient. This issue with this is
that the education really needs to be starting now. Children need to be learning about
the technologies and start working with them as they reach the end of their schooling
to be ready in time to align with the first interactions with this technology in the
workplace. Workers also need to be trained and integrated with the technology too.

This is a massive task and it is something that cannot just be thrown together quickly.
Research into the technologies and the most efficient ways of collaborating needs to
be done to ensure that the education and training programs are effective and not a
waste of time.


An ethical issue surrounding the implementation of technologies such as artificial
intelligence in the workplace is the assurance that human morals and ideas will be
instilled in the technology and that the technology cannot take over our world.

Nick Bostrom spoke about his belief that machine intelligence is the last invention

that humanity will ever need to make in his Ted2015 talk (Bostrom. N., 2015). A big
question that came out of his talk is which values will machine intelligence take on;
our values or values of their own? If we create a machine super-intelligence, which
will do anything to achieve its goals, will we end up with a machine that will harm
humans, wildlife, even the planet itself, simply to achieve its end goal. Suppose we

give an AI the goal to make humans smile. When the AI is weak, it performs useful or
amusing actions that cause its user to smile. When the AI becomes super-intelligent,
it realizes that there is a more effective way to achieve this goal: stick electrodes into
the facial muscles of humans to cause constant, beaming grins (Bostrom. N., 2015).
Bostrom believes that the answer to this ethical dilemma is to figure out how to instill
human values in these machines, so that if a machine decides to escape its confines
of work to achieve its goal, it will not do anything that a human in the same situation
would not do.

There needs to be careful consideration by the companies creating these

technologies and the organisations employing them, to ensure that there is no risk
of the technology doing something the majority of society would not value or find
ethical. Programming and constant observation and modification of these
technologies will be needed by humans and the companies that create and use them


to ensure this does not happen. However, this needs to be given to trained and
educated groups of people to ensure that there is no misuse of these technologies,
as this itself could be a massive danger to society. The ethical concerns and potential
decisions that will need to be made, must be discussed and debated now, before
there is a possibility an issue arises in the future, according to Demis Hassabis, the
head of Googles $400 million machine learning business (Ahmed. K., 2015). We

need to think now about who controls these machines.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Probably the biggest ethical issue facing the implementation of so many artificial
intelligence technologies into workforces, is what happens to all of the people facing
unemployment as a result? From the research conducted for this report, it has
become clear that there are two main paths that can be taken to solve or at least help
minimize this issue. These are the idea of increased collaboration with artificial
intelligence technologies and the idea of a Universal Basic Income, which would allow
companies to take on the technology, while still ensuring society can live and thrive.

First, we will consider the idea of collaboration as a way to counteract the devastating
effect artificial intelligence could have on jobs and the future of society as a whole.
The main advantage of collaboration in the workforce with artificial intelligence will
be the saving of many jobs. This will cut down the need for unemployment plans such
as a Universal Basic Income in which the population gets paid an amount in order to
sustain their current living conditions. Collaboration will not only benefit the human


race, but it will also potentially enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of artificial
intelligence technologies. Traits such as empathy and human interaction are hard,
maybe even impossible, to put into machines. This will make humans with highly
regarded skills in this area more sort-after for jobs based around collaborating with
artificial intelligence. As outlined in The National Artificial Intelligence Research and
Development Strategic Plan produced for the President of the United States, Rather

than replace humans, most AI systems will collaborate with humans to achieve
optimal performance. Research is needed to create effective interactions between
humans and AI systems (National Science and Technology Council, 2016). However,
there are of course some disadvantages to the idea of collaboration. This includes the
cost, research and resources that will be needed to get current and future workers to
be educated enough to actually be able to collaborate with this level of technology. It
will take collective input from top artificial intelligence companies, governments,
researchers, and the public and ethical debaters to ensure that the education and
training programs will align properly with the kind of technology that is coming.

The second option that is feasible for a country needing to live with the prospect of a
loss of millions of jobs is to adopt the idea of a Universal Basic Income. Technology
entrepreneur Robin Chase and author Martin Ford believe that universal basic

income is Americas best chance to survive an automated future (Hines. N., 2016).
According to basicincome.org, a Universal Basic Income is a periodic cash payment

unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work

requirement (BIEN, n.d.). Finland has recently initiated a two-year trial period in
which each person gets $600 per month as a basic income. Sam Altman, American


entrepreneur, programmer, venture capitalist, blogger, President of Y Combinator
and co-chairman of OpenAI, wants to test a similar idea in America. We want to run

a large, long-term study to answer a few key questions: how peoples happiness, wellbeing, and financial health are affected by basic income, as well as how people might
spend their time (Fowler. G., 2016). He is currently leading a team piloting an
experiment in Oakland to look at how the human behaviour might change when one
does not have to work for survival. A potential issue with introducing a Universal Basic
Income is the idea that citizens will become bored and basically become pets to AI
assistants as a result. However, previous testing of the idea has shown the opposite.
There was a pilot project established in Namibia, a country in Southern Africa, (Krahe.
D.,2009), based around the idea of a basic income and it created astonishing results.
General poverty levels dropped 18%, the crime rate plummeted 36.5 % and amazingly
employment rates grew. This lead to a 29% increase in general income levels.
Artificial intelligence could very well push America and other countries to have to
adopt a universal basic income technology doesnt care what race you are, or

whether youre a blue collar or white collar worker. In a way, automation is the great
equalizer, and it may be enough to make universal basic income an inescapable
reality (Hines. N., 2016).

CONCLUSION
From the research and analysis conducted in preparing and writing this paper, it has
become clear that it is almost safe to make the assumption artificial intelligence will
take over many jobs, if not millions, leaving countless people unemployed. Now is the

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time to discuss, debate, formulate and implement plans to ensure that society can
still function and companies are not thriving while society is sitting in poverty. There
are many advantages to the introduction of artificial intelligence and similar
technologies into the workforce, such as enhancing the lives of millions through
medical technology and allowing citizens to more freely explore what they are
passionate about, which could lead to more innovation and solutions to some of the
worlds big problems, such as poverty. While a lot of research and money is going into
creating and developing artificial intelligence and similar technologies, companies
need to ensure that they are considering the ethical and moral implications of their
decisions and make sure that they are not jeopardizing the futures of millions of
American and global citizens. Companies looking to employ these technologies need
to consider that in order for citizens to be able to buy the products these machines
make, they need to have a standard of living that allows for it. This means that
companies should be looking at keeping jobs through collaboration or realising that
they will most likely need to pay some sort of tax to support a universal basic income.
My recommendation is for there to be more discussion about the technology itself
and also the ethical questions surrounding current jobs and artificial intelligence. I
feel that a combination of collaboration and a Universal Basic Income is a great place
to start for a country where millions might be out of work. However, it is crucial that
Governments, companies, researchers and the general public start having these
conversations now, before it is too late to implement plans. Today AI is the domain

of tech geeks, but its future matters to everyone (Economist.com, 2016).

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