Think Tank: Will AI Save Humanity? – WWD

There is a lot of fear surrounding artificial intelligence. Some are related to the horror perpetuated in dystopian sci-fi films while others have deep concerns over the impact on the job market.

But I see the adaptation of AI as being just as significant as the discovery of fire or the first domestication of crops and animals. We no longer need so much time spent on X, therefore we can evolve to Y.

It will be an evolutionary process that is simply too hard to fathom now.

Here, I present five ways that AI will not only make our lives better, but make us better human beings too.

1. AI will allow us to be more human

How many of us have sat at a computer and felt more like an appendage to the machine than a human using a tool? Ill admit I have questioned quite a few times in my life whether the standard desk job was natural or proper for a human. Over the next year or two we will see AI sweeping in and removing the machine-like functions from our day-to-day jobs. Suddenly, humans will be challenged to focus on the more human side of our capabilities things like creativity, strategy and inspiration.

In fact, it will be interesting to see a shift where parents start urging their children to move into more creative fields in order to secure safe jobs. Technical fields will of course still exist, but those gifted individuals will also be challenged to use their know-how creatively or in new ways, producing even more advanced use cases.

2. AI will make us more aware

Many industries have been drowning in data. We have become experts on collecting and storing figures, but have fallen short on truly utilizing our databases at scale and In real-time. AI comes in and suddenly we have years of data turned into easy to communicate, actionable insights and even auto-execution in things like digital marketing. We went from flying blind to being perfectly aware of our reality.

For the fashion industry, this means our marketing initiatives will have a higher success rate, but for things like the medical world, environmental studies etc. the impact is more powerful. What if a machine was monitoring our health and could immediately be aware of our ailment and even immediately administer the cure? What if this reduced costs and medical misdiagnosis? What if this freed up the medical community to focus on more research and faster, better treatments?

3. AI will make us more genuine

In a future where AI acts as a partner to help us become more aware of the truth and more aware of reality, it will be more and more difficult for disinterest to exist in the work place. Humans will need to move into disciplines they genuinely connect with and are passionate about in order to remain relevant professionally. Why? Well the machine-like jobs will begin to disappear, data will be real-timeand things will constantly be evolving, so in order to stay on top of the game there will need to be a self-taught component.

It will be hard to fake the level of interest needed to meaningfully contribute at that point. This may be a hard adjustment for some, but there is already an undercurrent, or an intuitive feeling that this shift is taking place. Most of us are already reaching for a more genuine existence when we think of our careers.

4. AI will free up our collective brain power

AI is ultimately going to replace a lot of our machine-like tasks, therefore freeing up our collective time. This time will naturally need to be invested elsewhere. Historically, when shifts like this have happened across cultures we witness advancements in arts and technology. I do not think that this wave will be different, though this new industrial revolution will not be isolated to one country or culture, but in many ways, will be global.

This is the first time such a thing has happened at such as scale. Will this shift inspire a global wave of introspection? Could we be on the brink of a global renaissance?

5. AI will allow us to overcome our most pressing issues

All of which brings us to four simple words: our world will evolve. Just like our ancestors moving from hunter-gatherers into more permanent settlements, we are now moving into a new organizational structure where global, real-time data is at our fingertips.

Our most talented minds will be able to work more quickly and focus on things at a higher level. Are we witnessing the next major step in human evolution? Will we embrace our ability to be more aware, more genuine and ultimately more connected? I can only think that, if we do, we will see some incredible things in our lifetime.

If we can overcome fears and anxieties, we can pull together artificial intelligence and human intelligence that could overcome any global obstacle. Whether it is climate change, disease or poverty, we can find a solution together. More than ever, for the human race, anything is now possible.

Courtney Connell is the marketing director at luxury lingerie brand Cosabella, where she is working to change the brandsdirect-to-consumer and wholesale efforts with artificial intelligence.

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Think Tank: Will AI Save Humanity? - WWD