“The potential benefits of artificial intelligence are huge, and so are the dangers.” Dave Waters
In the contemporary world, there have been many tremendous technological advancements happening all around the globe. Out of all of them, artificial intelligence is rampantly making its way to the top and is surely changing the dynamics of every industry. In fact, as per statistics, 91.5 per cent of leading businesses are investing in AI regularly.
However, we all are very well aware of the fact that every coin has two sides. On the one hand, where its pros are widely gaining popularity all over the world, AI also has some considerable cons. Hence, before making any investment decision, it is essential to know both sides of the story.
That being said, this blog will effectively highlight some of the advantages and disadvantages artificial intelligence has brought to the modern world. So, let’s start with the pros of AI by delving deeper right into the blog without further ado.
Advantages of Artificial Intelligence
1. Automates tasks effectively
Whenever we talk about our professional or personal life, there are millions of tasks that need to be done in a day. Some of the tasks require our full attention whilst others are mundane and repetitive tasks that can even be performed without human intelligence.
In such scenarios, artificial intelligence can be one of the most effective tools for humans. This brings us to one of the most common yet most effective advantages of artificial intelligence, it can automate repetitive and mundane tasks.
For instance, sending across emails or auto-responding to the queries and questions of the customers can be a time-consuming task but AI-enabled CRM software has got it all covered.
To continue, several benefits come with automation using artificial intelligence. A few of them are mentioned below,
- It saves the time and effort that goes into performing repetitive tasks.
- It saves up the money that is spent by you on performing tasks manually.
- It enhances your overall efficiency and productivity.
Moreover, AI can also offer assistance to people with disabilities. For instance, the integration of AI with smartphones such as Alexa and Siri has assisted many people with disabilities to perform certain tasks.
These two can be operated through voice and automate various tasks for specially challenged individuals.
2. Reduces Human Errors
A small mistake can cause you big consequences. However, when we talk about humans, as per research, humans roughly make 50 mistakes per day. Isn’t that huge?
Mistakes are often manageable in personal life but when we talk about businesses, they can actually cause you serious losses. So, the question is what is the solution? The solution lies in the effective integration of AI.
As AI is a machine, it reduces the possibility of the occurrence of errors. Once the possibility of human errors is reduced using the implementation of artificial intelligence, it can enhance the efficiency of the tasks. It can also benefit the overall performance of your business. Moreover, it can lead to bringing profitability to your business.
Alongside, when we talk about physical tasks, it often involves the risk of injuries and safety issues. In these cases, AI can effectively be utilized to save humans from taking risks in their lives.
3. Extracts Powerful Insights
We all are very well aware of the fact that insights are the biggest asset that a company requires today. That being the case, AI offers the biggest advantage of generating powerful insights that can assist you in gaining a competitive advantage over others.
To elaborate, AI has the potential to collect and analyze the data based on the customer’s interaction with your website, app, or social media handle. These interactions can assist AI in interpreting the preferences and demands of your consumers.
That being said, these insights can assist you in making better-informed decisions. With insights, individuals and organizations can drive continuous improvements.
Moreover, this data can also assist in predicting the possible future trends which can majorly benefit businesses. It can assist in stocking and restocking the raw materials or final products based on predicted future trends. This will assist you in saving up the money and preventing the wastage of stock.
Furthermore, based on the data, AI can also assist in personalizing the content or recommendations for customers. This can assist in enhancing the experience of customers with your brand. This can contribute to increasing the growth of your business.
4. All-time Availability
Humans get tired, they need a break and they cannot be productive for the whole time they are on their duty. In fact, as per statistics, an average employee is not even productive for 3 hours a day.
Now wouldn’t it be better that instead of paying humans who are not even productive for a quarter of the time, you invest in a machine that’s available 24/7 with equal productivity throughout the day?
This highlights another big advantage of AI, it continues the operations 24/7 without getting tired. This feature today is most commonly used in chatbots which assist in answering questions and queries of your customers in your absence.
As per a customer success survey 2022, 88% of CEOs believed that AI is more effective in business management. Furthermore, it adds the satisfaction of the customers which can benefit you in the long run in the retention of your target customers.
Along with this, AI robots and machines can also work 24/7 in manufacturing or production units. Implementation of AI in these places can assist in enhancing the speed and efficiency of business operations. Hence, achieving SMART goals can be much easier with AI.
5. Assists in New Inventions
The contemporary world is constantly evolving and several technological advancements are taking place all over the globe.
AI is one of the most effective inventions of all because it is also assisting in creating further inventions that are useful for humankind. This highlights our last but the least benefit of artificial intelligence, it can assist in creating new and useful inventions.
For instance, in many places around the globe, AI has assisted in making the concept of telemedicine possible. To elaborate, telemedicine made it possible for doctors to treat and diagnose patients remotely using AI and information technology. This invention of telemedicine has been widely accepted all around the globe.
In fact, as per statistics, the market share of telemedicine was approximately valued at USD 104437.92 million in 2021. Not only healthcare, but AI has also assisted in creating many new inventions that have assisted in enhancing efficiency in multiple aspects of business operations.
Moving ahead, after discussing the major pros of artificial intelligence, it is now time to flip the coin to the other side. Hence, the major disadvantages of AI are given below.
Disadvantages of artificial intelligence
1. Replacement of human jobs
One of the major disadvantages and the biggest fear of humans is that implementing artificial intelligence will take the place of humans and will replace their jobs.
In fact, as per the World Economic Forum’s report, artificial intelligence will be responsible for replacing over 85 million jobs by 2025. That is actually scary, isn’t it?
To elaborate, looking at the benefits in terms of efficiency and profitability, every business leader is looking for a way to enhance business efficiency. Hence, they are focused on investing in machines and technological advancements rather than hiring full-time employees.
This has created a fear among employees that soon their jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence which can lead to long-term unemployment.
2. Huge setup and maintenance cost
For personal life, there are many free tools and features available that can make human lives easier. However, if we talk about business operations, you have to invest a lot of money in setting up AI machines. Alongside, as they are machines, they also require maintenance at regular intervals to operate smoothly.
For example, there are many companies that use third-party software for pre-built chatbots. On average, these kinds of chatbots can cost you up to $40,000 per year. This can cost your business a lot of money which might not give you profit instantly and can affect the overall revenue of your business at the beginning.
3. Poor decision making
As artificial intelligence works on the synchronized and pre-installed data, there can be pretty good chances that the decision or predictions made by AI can be wrong or insufficient to take out the whole process.
Moreover, AI also lacks basic emotional intelligence and ethical judgment which can lead to serious consequences and losses to the business. Hence, in situations where we need emotional intelligence in the decision-making process, using AI in such situations can lead to poor decisions.
One of the biggest examples of loss that can occur due to the poor decisions of AI is in self-driven autonomous vehicles. The major reason behind this is that there are some situations where ethical judgment is more important than a practical approach while driving.
Lack of ethical judgment in AI can affect the decision negatively which can lead to serious consequences. In fact, as per the largest survey by Nature, 2.3 million people around the globe suggest that leaving decision-making to AI machines can be risky.
4. Lack of creative aspects
Every business has technological advancements but very few of them have creativity and uniqueness that differentiate them from others. No matter how much AI succeeds in advancing and conquering the contemporary world, it can never replace the human mind’s creativity.
Although AI has the capability to adopt human behaviour, it can never think out of the box as the human mind can. They will always perform tasks that are pre-programmed or are commanded to them. This lack of creativity becomes another disadvantage of artificial intelligence.
5. Enhanced Dependency on Technology
Although technology has brought along many benefits to enhance the efficiency of multiple aspects of personal and professional life, it has also enhanced the human dependency on technology.
To elaborate, AI might be good to some extent but extra dependency can also bring severe consequences if unchecked. This reminds us of a very relatable quote given by Christian Lous Lange, “Technology is a great servant but a dangerous master”.
Alongside, this over-dependency also made humans lazier to perform their tasks on their own which has resulted in decreased productivity and performance at a personal level. Hence, you always need to keep in mind that AI is assistance only and should be used mindfully.
To encapsulate, as an old saying quotes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Hence, your necessity is the best determinant to decide whether the invention of AI is useful or not. After discussing the pros and cons of AI in-depth, you are the best person to judge whether the invention of AI is a boon or bane.
Jessica Robinson loves to write interesting and knowledgeable blogs regarding business management, education and life to satiate the curiosity of her lovely readers. Currently, she is serving as a content manager at the ‘Speaking Polymath’. Every piece of content that she writes demonstrates her immense love and passion for her profession.