Whether we like it or not, the development of artificial intelligence is gaining traction. It is not going away, nor is it going to go away. On the contrary, AI as we know it is evolving at such a pace that it\u2019s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the constantly emerging technologies, discoveries and trends. For many, this is intimidating, which is why many have a hard time embracing artificial intelligence in the workplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I listened to a fascinating podcast interview with American futurist, Amy Webb, on the topic of AI called \u201cThe future is the result of decisions we make today<\/a><\/strong>\u201d, and she presented an interesting statistic from PWC\u2019s recent global \u201cSizing the Prize<\/strong><\/a data-aos=\"fade-up\">\u201d report, which states that up to 60% of CEOs believe that human headcounts in the workplace will drop significantly in the next year, due to AI.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to this statistic, Ms Webb asks a poignant question: \u201cIs this inevitable? Or is this your ambition?<\/em data-aos=\"fade-up\">\u201d Is it possible that, as humans are known to do, we are getting carried away by an extremist notion that machines are destined to replace humans at work? We have to evaluate this on two fronts: is this feasible? And, is it wise? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bringing the discussion a little closer to home, in comparison to America and China, Germany is being left behind when it comes to the development and innovation of artificial intelligence. We can credit this to having significantly smaller budgets, and a greater sense of skepticism and fear about the future of AI in our economy and society. Supporting this, PWC did a separate study called \u201cK\u00fcnstliche Intelligenz in Unternehmen<\/em>\u201d <\/strong data-aos=\"fade-up\">(Artificial Intelligence in Companies) that surveyed 500 CEOs in Germany, and 49% of the respondents said that AI is still irrelevant for their organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, AI has already infiltrated numerous interactions within our world. Think of call centers and chatbots, translation tools, content creation, and even our digital banking and online shopping. The algorithms that determine what you see on your social media feeds are essentially artificial intelligence models that you<\/em data-aos=\"fade-up\"> have trained, through how you choose to browse any given platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Therein lies the crux. Language models need to be trained on the meaning of a word, as well as its context and its many nuances. Even then, it cannot fully understand how emotion might be implied by the word, or how it\u2019s used. Image recognition and generative models have to be taught that humans have five fingers on each hand. As Ms Webb so aptly put it in her interview, \u201cAll this AI stuff requires a ton of people. Machines are not training machines. You still need human annotation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we ready for an AI transformation? As surprised as I am to say it, I believe we aren\u2019t there yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\nArtificial Intelligence in Germany Today<\/strong data-aos=\"fade-up\"> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n