For all our fear of AI dystopia, it may help to level up society

{"text":[[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":13.23,"text":"Will.i.am, the Grammy-award winning rapper from the Black Eyed Peas group, has long mesmerised millennials with his music. "},{"start":20.159,"text":"This week, however, he grabbed the attention of economists, government ministers and corporate leaders with a different tune — a vision for artificial intelligence. "}],[{"start":29.65,"text":"As debates about AI dominated this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, will.i.am was among the loudest extolling the technology’s putative power. "}],[{"start":38.95,"text":"That is partly because it is sparking his own creativity (this week he launched the first music radio show with a bot). "},{"start":45.217000000000006,"text":"However, there is another reason too. "},{"start":47.622,"text":"He thinks AI could pull marginalised people into the mainstream economy in future years, and thus be a tool for social levelling. "},{"start":54.327,"text":"In particular, he told me — in a lively, expletive-laden speech on stage — he thinks AI will “break down barriers” for people “who have nothing”, in a near-unprecedented way. "}],[{"start":65.12,"text":"Is this just another bit of Davos hype? "},{"start":67.699,"text":"Many might think so. "},{"start":69.242,"text":"It is true that in recent months a host of economists have predicted that AI will deliver a big boost to growth. "},{"start":74.659,"text":"Michael Spence, a Stanford university professor, for example, thinks it will add at least $4tn annually to global gross domestic product. "}],[{"start":83.52000000000001,"text":"But this chatter about a putative productivity miracle usually occurs amid fears about rising social inequalities, due to the displacement of jobs. "},{"start":91.57400000000001,"text":"Indeed, at the start of this week’s WEF meeting, a survey from PwC revealed that a quarter of global chief executives expect generative AI to lead to headcount reductions of at least 5 per cent this year. "},{"start":102.554,"text":"Meanwhile, the IMF predicted that AI will change 40 per cent of all global jobs — and 60 per cent of those affected will be in developed countries. "}],[{"start":111.60000000000001,"text":"More alarming still, there is a widening “digital divide” in terms of uneven levels of digital literacy and access to the technology across populations — and one that cannot be easily closed by education alone. "},{"start":122.804,"text":"No wonder that a poll from the Edelman public relations group shows that only 30 per cent of the global public want to embrace AI — while 35 per cent reject it. "}],[{"start":132.18,"text":"However, there are two key factors that help explain the alternative, more optimistic view about inclusion, espoused by will.i.am and others. "},{"start":140.334,"text":"One concerns how AI might hit “head, hand, heart” jobs — to cite British author David Goodhart — or those deploying cognitive, manual and caring skills. "}],[{"start":150.69,"text":"In the 20th century, digitisation primarily hit jobs done by “hand”. "},{"start":155.307,"text":"And the displacement of factory workers in the west by robots did fuel income polarisation, even if other jobs were created elsewhere, as economists such as David Autor have noted. "}],[{"start":165.75,"text":"But the difference between AI today, and automation in the 20th century is that the new tech is hitting “head” jobs (and, to a lesser extent, “heart” roles), as Josephine Teo, Singapore’s digital minister, told a WEF meeting. "},{"start":178.804,"text":"That hurts the elite professions, arguably for the first time. "},{"start":182.447,"text":"Hence the squeals of alarm from pundits — which might leave some manual workers feeling some justified schadenfreude, observes Teo (herself a former union leader). "}],[{"start":192.25,"text":"The second factor is that history also shows that technological revolutions “undermine incumbents”, says Andrew McAfee, an economist at MIT business school. "},{"start":201.242,"text":"This is the case be they companies, countries or economic cohorts. "}],[{"start":206.06,"text":"That might seem hard to imagine today, since the elite who have developed and deployed AI have become fabulously wealthy. "},{"start":212.66400000000002,"text":"But if the acronym is presented in terms of “augmented” — rather than “artificial” — intelligence, it is possible to see why hierarchies might yet be challenged by a tool that enables workers to execute complex cognitive tasks far more easily than before. "}],[{"start":226.83,"text":"Consider the jobs of writing legal contracts, advanced computer code or medical diagnoses. "},{"start":232.52200000000002,"text":"Today, they are dominated by an educated elite. "},{"start":235.65200000000002,"text":"But if less-educated workers can deploy AI to perform these roles in the future, that will break some of the barriers to entry for “head” work. "},{"start":242.99400000000003,"text":"That is scary for the elite. "},{"start":244.812,"text":"Not so much for others. "}],[{"start":246.91000000000003,"text":"Hence why some AI leaders, such as James Manyika of Alphabet, argue that this is already sparking a more positive attitude towards AI in the developing world than the developed one. "},{"start":256.90200000000004,"text":"And why social activists, including will.I. "},{"start":260.007,"text":"Am, hope that putting AI tools in the hands of more disadvantaged children will be empowering. "}],[{"start":265.66,"text":"The cynic in me would retort that there are endless obstacles that could torpedo this. "},{"start":270.15200000000004,"text":"Wealthy elites are often extremely good at finding ways to protect their privilege — and at building professional “moats”. "},{"start":276.007,"text":"And one grubby aspect of AI is that its development to date has hitherto been dominated by elites in the west. "}],[{"start":282.75,"text":"This means there is an urgent need to get wider participation in the creation of the technology, says Alex Tsado of Alliance4ai, a lobby group promoting access in African countries. "},{"start":292.654,"text":"Without this, the tech will reinforce biases and hierarchies. "},{"start":296.584,"text":"Proactive, smart and holistic government policies must be developed to bolster education and IT access — and to ensure open-source AI development. "}],[{"start":305.7,"text":"But here is the key point: if a rapper who grew up in a poor district in Los Angeles can dare to dream of a levelling upside for AI, other pundits should try do so as well — even amid the dystopian chatter. "},{"start":316.654,"text":"I just wish that the Black Eyed Peas would create a song that urges governments to deliver the policies to support this; it might finally grab attention from voters. "}],[{"start":324.51,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/138660-1705721600.mp3"}