KEEPING ROBOTS REAL
Sometimes we can become so excited about the future of artificial intelligence that we forget how much AI cannot do. In spite of how well business processes are streamlined and customer experiences are enhanced (which are good things to be sure), AI is nowhere near ready to replace people in a holistic fashion. Nevertheless, some folks in earnest hope, (and others in grave fear), anticipate a future ruled by robots.
Don’t hold your breath. AI is a single IT approach that adds value in certain circumstances, and where those circumstances exist, let’s use it. Simultaneously, we must remember that AI is a powerful tool, but it is not all-powerful, nor will it be. I like the way that Christopher Mims summarizes the status of AI (“Artificial Intelligence Has a Way to Go” The Wall Street Journal , December 5, 2016, pp. B1, B4):
“ Reflecting on my own brief experience as an invertebrate neuroscientist, I’d say that today’s AI is at the jellyfish stage in the evolution of biological intelligence. Real brains–and genuine intelligence–are so far in the future as to be beyond any reasonable horizon of prediction. ” (B4)
