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Artificial Intelligence: Are we ready for it? by Anukriti Dua

The status quo is witnessing major investments being diverted to the research and development of Artificial Intelligence from Indian enterprises. One of the recent fundings was made by Infosys CEO towards OpenAI, a non profit AI research company, mainly associated with Elon Musk. Sikka, himself a Phd. in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford, believes that AI is the backbone of change and agreed to this support on the condition that the technology be openly available. This particular project has received considerable grants from many organizations and thus, validates a firm belief in the project and its capabilities. It is also adduced by experts that adoption of AI in developing countries will be much faster than in developed nations, as the magnitude of change it will bring will be far larger. What is the core purpose of AI, then? And where is it expected to be put to use? And what are the expected changes with the introduction of AI? Are we, as a nation, ready for it? Artificial Intelligence refers to the ability of a computer or a computer enabled robotic system to process information and produce outcomes in a manner similar to the thought process of humans in learning, decision making and solving problems. By extension, the goal of AI systems is to develop systems capable of tacking complex problems in ways similar to human logic and reasoning, just a lot faster than a human. The earliest applications of fully functioning AI are predicted to be in fields of Data Analysis, Image recognition and analysis, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Call center services and in the long run furthering schemes like Make in India and Skill India, with other major high level functions to be following soon after. Absolutdata, a leading data analytics firm, recently launched an artificial intelligence (AI)driven decision engine, the NAVIK AI Platform. The platform combines data, analytics and technology to optimise decisions on an ongoing basis without a data science team. The AI research has been extended great financial support from investors all over the world as it is expected to give results in the coming decade and once the technology goes wide, the benefits would be uncountable. The technology is aimed at providing results and services faster and more proficient than human labour and thereby being a better substitute to human workforce. This notion is well observed in Thyrocare Technologies which has employed 200 technicians to operate automated clinical chemistry laboratory in Mumbai, processing up to 200,000 investigations in one night, testing nearly 45,000 samples. A decade ago, the same task would’ve required the hardwork of at least 1,000 technicians extended over a period of several days. As more and more Indian companies come closer to yielding results with their AI research, a study released recently conducted by ASSOCHAM-PwC and titled ‘Leveraging artificial intelligence and Robotics for sustainable growth’ draws attention to the lack of legal infrastructure in India, governing this area. In contrast to this, the USA government is making constant attempts to develop laws for emerging technology of driverless cars, although unsuccessfully, so far. A major question is also raised on the placement of legal liability in case of AI, there being no supervising human in most operations concerning this technology. As the technology becomes enhanced, once fully developed, it will not be long before AI effectively replaces human workers in most sectors in order to serve us all better. It will cost

less than an aggregate pool of human workers, make fewer errors, serve longer without interruptions and this cost-competition will leave many unemployed and unfit for work. This possibility challenges the traditional benefits model of tying health care and retirement savings to jobs. For most countries, it is an issue to be discussed at later stages as their rates of unemployment are relatively low and the jobs being taken away are middle and lower level jobs, which can be substituted with higher level training programs. But in India, this issue is of paramount significance at this very stage. With unemployment being a potent evil in the society and the population continuing to rise at a robust rate, can we afford to replace our workers with better functioning robots? While emerging technologies can improve the speed, quality, and cost of available goods and services, they come at a great cost to India. In an economy that employs dramatically fewer workers, we need to rethink if this development is a wise choice for all the parties – the entrepreneurs, the customers and the society. This also raises a big question on the schemes implemented by the PM like ‘Make in India’ that not only promises strengthening of India’s in-house innovation but also creation of jobs for the middle skilled strata of workers. The introduction of AI leads us to a capital intensive future and decimates the purpose of such schemes. The point to consider here is that if investments are made without due cognisance of how Industry 4.0 (the next industrial revolution driven by robotic automation) may evolve with respect to demand for workforce size and skill sets, there is a possibility of ending up with capital-intensive infrastructures and assets that fall short of being optimised for automated operations and a large workforce skilled in areas growing beyond the need for manual intervention only. The main sectors to get affected are agriculture, manufacturing, forestry, fishing, etc which are also, in fact, the least likely to generate new positions in the coming decade. The shift from labour intensive to capital intensive production, therefore, inevitable. The pacing development of the country, while making it technologically advanced will leave it socially and economically backward. In light of this major drawback, is it wise for Indian business and tech minds to continue their investment in AI? There is a problem, and there are proposed solutions. It is believed by many that with the introduction of AI in certain sectors, new jobs for operational tasks will be created. A scenario wherein low-skilled, repeatable labour can be assigned to robotic systems providing an incentive for part of the workforce to be trained in higher level skills such as designing, monitoring and oversight, and adjusting machine algorithms to enable AI systems to operate in a reliable and transparent manner. What is difficult to fathom is that whether the literacy rates and current generation of middle aged workers be able to cope up with the expectations pinned on them for livelihood. The second proposed solution is to initiate a Flexicurity Program or as commonly understood, a Flexible-Security Program where healthcare, education and housing assistance is provided universally irrespective of one’s employment status. This again raises questions whether the Indian government, entangled its own debts and deficits, is competent enough to undertake such a step and do away with taxpayer money for the unemployed.

The third solution proposed is by Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, who insists that there will be no job crunch created by AI. "In a country like India, where there is going to be a services-led economy, there are going to be many, many jobs. There are many things AI will never be able to do... (like) show empathy," said Nadella. "When there is a lot of artificial intelligence, real intelligence will be scarce, real empathy will be scarce, real common sense will be scarce. So, we can have new jobs that are actually predicated on those attributes." The issue remains, however, how many jobs can a show of empathy create and a scarcity of human intelligence is a situation we do not expect to see in India in the near future. In hindsight, is job displacement the only problem we should expect to be facing? The study conducted by ASSOCHAM-PwC on AI also highlights another significant problem. Universities will struggle to retain AI talent, especially academicians studying the rapidly growing and in-demand field of Machine Learning, with talented individuals getting concentrated in a few organisations. This might lead to AI research priorities getting narrowed down to a few ventures focusing on the ‘now’ and the ‘profitable’ rather than the ‘long-term’ and ‘socially benefitting’ potential across a broader range of applications. Each day as we approach the future of our dreams, technology continues to be a substitute for labour and this will prolong the dramatic consequences on the middle class jobs. As technology is advancing, it is creating new and better jobs but also fewer and more complex jobs. Jobs which are beyond the immediate reach of the largest sect of socio-economic groups. And this pushes India’s crippled economy towards a jobless growth. And each day that we head to this future, we are consenting to the naturala consequences of rising unemployment – a higher crime rate, more poverty, widening the gap between haves and have-nots. Are we sure that this is the change India needs? Like the suave Keanu Reeves said in the hit movie The Matrix – “Never send a machine to do a human’s job”....