Editor's Note: AI - The World Will End in 30 Years Or We Will Become Even Richer Yes, massive costs efficiencies can be found with AI, and the speed of launch of a new product is tenfold better than without AI. But humans are needed more than ever.
By Anil Bhoyrul
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Usually when I hear the word "Godfather" I think of Al Pacino. Then the great debate starts: was Godfather 2 better than Godfather 1? Tough question – though we probably all agree he should never have made Godfather 3.
Fans of the Narcos series on Netflix could make a case for Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, real life boss of El Chapo, being the original "Godfather." Geoffrey Hinton isn't likely to be a name that naturally fits into the above categories, but in today's world, there is a good case to be made for him to a living Godfather – of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Professor Hinton, to give him his full title, won the Noble Prize in Physics for his work in AI. Most AI experts still look up to him as the master of all things AI. Which is why his comments in a recent interview are cause for alarm.
The professor is now saying there is a 20% chance that human civilization will be taken over by AI in the next three decades. "How many examples do you know of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing?" he said. "There are very few examples. There's a mother and baby. Evolution put a lot of work into allowing the baby to control the mother, but that's about the only example I know of."
His simple explanation is that at the current pace of change, humans would be like newborn kids compared with the intelligence of highly powerful AI systems. "I like to think of it as: imagine yourself and a three- year-old. We'll be the three-year-olds," he said.
If he's right, that gives us until around 2055 to enjoy life as we know it. But it is just as possible – actually, 80% possible according to his own numbers – that he is wrong. And the opposite is true. AI, used properly, will lead to the biggest mass job creation the planet has ever seen.
Related: The UAE's Energy Edge: Fueling the Artificial Intelligence Revolution
The UAE is a good example of this, with the sovereign AI projects and large-scale data centers expected to create more job opportunities. AI will need human brains when it comes to programmers and specialists.
There is significant employment growth coming in the UAE healthcare sector for healthcare practitioners, entirely because of how it is embracing AI. Burjeel Holdings, American Hospital and Aster Healthcare are probably the best examples of this right now. And the data shows a rise in employment in even niche industries such as digital marketing.
Yes, massive costs efficiencies can be found with AI, and the speed of launch of a new product is tenfold better than without AI. But humans are needed more than ever. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report sums this up best. It forecasts that by the end of this year, 85 million jobs will have been lost because of AI. But that another 97 million will have been created.
So, my money is on Professor Hinton being wrong: if we embrace it properly, AI is the beginning of the future, not the beginning of the end. Either that, or this could be my first and last ever column in the Entrepreneur Middle East hot seat, before I am replaced next month by a machine.
Related: Scaling Smart: How AI Solutions Help Dubai Startups Grow More Efficiently
