AI versus EI

As Malta’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) guiding principles are up for consultation, different teams of stakeholders – such as programmers and lawyers – have a month to give their views on the subject to the government.

In this modern day and age, it is totally understood that the eyes of the world are focused on the 4th industrial revolution, led by new technologies and trends – such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) – which are changing the way we live and work.

Our island’s main resources are human resources and it would be wise to also focus our attention on the impact these new technologies are having on the human brain and humanbeing as a person.

Human resource management is the branch of management that includes several aspects of learning without any of them championing the subject; psychology, economics, physiology, law and ethics are just a few that come into play. But perhaps the most important is psychology. People need to be able to speak to their CEOs and peers: listening skills are of the utmost importance as our islands are becoming more and more multi-cultural.

It is at this juncture that Emotional Intelligence (EI) becomes extremely handy. As jobs are lost and robotics make way for AI, our Generation Z is at risk of not being able to express itself on an emotive level as many young – and not so young – are consumed for long hours on computer games such as Roblox and Minecraft, to mention just two.

Just a simple question such as: ‘ What can you tell me about yourself, during an interview can come as a challenge, as many people do not know themselves and who they really are. The dehumanisation of technology requires the emphasis of EI even more.

But EI is built over time and requires an element of trust. People who are consuming their time at home in front of virtual reality and simulated reality must be able to come out of their ‘individualised sheltered emotional complex’ and learn to meet people face-toface. They need to learn to go back to the basics of asking such simple questions as: ‘How are you feeling today?’ These questions are not merely clichés but are meant from a person who is without a mobile in hand and can focus on a discussion. This is becoming a challenge and one can imagine what AI can do to further devastate the fragile emotional complexes of individuals.

Are we unwittingly paving the way for people not to get to know themselves – and each other – as persons and thus destroying human relations, as technologies continue to dehumanise the face of society?

Indeed, EI needs to be developed hand in hand with AI in a future world of AI, as technologies become even more quickly threatening our emotional stability, well-being and healthy living relationships.

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Anthony Zarb Dimech Birkirkara