ALIBABA: A.I., ROBOTS WILL KILL MANY JOBS
Ability of machines to not only interact with, but manipulate humans, among big issues discussed in Davos
ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) and robots will kill many jobs.”
It’s a depressingly blunt statement for anyone to make, but even more so as it is the prediction of Jack Ma, chief executive officer of the Chinese online giant Alibaba.
The rise of AI — its huge potential and fears over its potentially negative consequences — was just one of the big issues discussed at the World Economic Forum (WEF), here, along with breaches of personal data and fake news.
But it is probably AI and the ability of machines to not only interact with, but manipulate human beings that raises the most suspicion.
Aware of growing governmental and public distrust, the giants of technology are trying to address the issues.
“Technology should always give people new opportunities, not remove them,” said Ma .
But when IBM president Ginni Rometty admitted that “100 per cent of jobs would be somehow affected by technology”, it might be a tough sell.
It’s not just about jobs.
“People want to trust technology, as long as they know who is behind it,” said Neelie Kroes, now a member of the Open Data Institute, after having been for years the European commissioner in charge of digital issues.
In recent months, Uber found itself in the hot seat after several murders perpetrated by its chauffeurs, notably in the United States and Lebanon.
“You have to remember that the rating of a driver can evaluate his driving but cannot predict if he is a serial killer,” said Uber director Dara Khosrowshahi.
Uber is the best known example of a fast-growing company with a bruised reputation — accused of bad working conditions and sexual harassment — it has faced chaotic legal proceedings and massive data piracy, which have sapped the firm.
“For a long time, the answer of many digital companies has been to say: we are only the software, the platform, but technology now penetrates every aspect of our lives, our trades, our homes, our r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,” s a i d Z v i k a Krieger, who leads digital projects for the WEF.
There was also concern about Internet giants hoovering up huge amounts of personal data, sometimes illegally and sometimes sharing it with authorities.
“The danger is that we are too slow and that the world is de- stroying us while we are still asking who really owns our data,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her Davos speech.
In the same way, attitudes towards social networks and search engines are changing.
“The main question is whether Facebook and Google are technology companies or editorial companies, it is a question that remains unresolved,” said Martin Sorrell, CEO of the British advertising giant WPP.